njtmnrrbuff wrote: ↑Sun Aug 16, 2020 8:36 am
The Amtrak operations are fine together at Chicago Union Station. As for Grand Crossing-after this project is done, will it eliminate the backup moves for the trains heading to Carbondale and the CONO? It looks like Homewood is a good suburban stop for those trains as it is near many busy roads.
It’ll eliminate those moves, yes. Instead of backing over the Chicago River to the south or over the Air Line Bridge to the east, Amtrak would go straight south to Grand Crossing, duck from the north side of NS under the crossing to the west side of Metra Electric, then fly over Metra Electric and CN Lakeshore at the former Nickel Plate bridge at 79th Street. It will become just about as direct as the current route via CN Lakeshore, while eliminating the backup.
The big sticking point is what to do about Norfolk Southern being congested - can’t just feed another eight daily trains into their line with no consequence. There’s also some property takings that need to occur. (Also, I’m not sure which bridges are in usable shape, which can be repaired, or if some need replacement.)
Yes, it’s expensive. Very. (Probably could be less, if let as a design-bid contract.) But assuming Amtrak gets its dedicated line between at least Grand Crossing and the Chicago River, it'll eliminate a lot of delay and a lot of padding for all trains from the east.