Railroad Forums 

  • News: The FRA Midwest Passenger Rail plan

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1585834  by John_Perkowski
 
The Cato Institute has weighed in on the plan. Needless to say, they have written a scathing review.

LINK: The Midwest Rail Plan: A Disaster Waiting to Happen, By Randal O’Toole

Brief, fair use, and (imo) deliberately inflammatory quote:
Midwestern state transportation agencies have a lot of nerve writing this plan considering that they’ve already clearly demonstrated their incompetence in building such projects. Since 2009, using a combination of Obama high‐​speed rail funds, other federal funds, and state funds, Illinois, Michigan, and other midwestern states spent more than $3.5 billion to increase speeds and frequencies of passenger trains on routes between Chicago and St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit, Chicago and Omaha, and others.
 #1585838  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Colonel, I wholly concur that Mr. O'Toole's language is unnecessarily inflammatory. Use of words such as incompetent is indicative of that.

The so-called CHI-STL "High Speed Rail" project was simply an underhanded way to provide Uncle Pete with an upgraded line to access Chicago at taxpayer expense as well as intermodal facilities near Joliet. The latter did provide jobs - needed back in '08 when ARRA09 was enacted - but of the low paying essentially unskilled varietal.

Thirteen years later, there is one segment South of Joliet where train speed has been raised to 90mph from 79. The line was double tracked until '69 when the GM&O chopped it up. The right of way was there to relay the double track which would have been needed to support high speed passenger trains - especially if the frequency was to be greater than the existing "five a day". Uncle Pete only needed single track to support his freight operations, so single track remains.

Now so far as delivered passenger cars, Mr. O'Toole is mistaken. Unless I had a mirage, as of October past when I last ride into town on the BNSF, I observed ten such cars at Lumber St. But he is correct in that none have been placed in revenue service to date.
 #1585844  by StLouSteve
 
"Thirteen years later, there is one segment South of Joliet where train speed has been raised to 90mph from 79."

Actually, I am happy to report that outside of the terminal trackage from Union Station to Joliet and from Alton to STL, speeds have recently been raised to 90 over much of the route. This is a welcome change but still not the 110 we were promised and with the lack of double track, it is still frustrating to go in the hole to allow one of Uncle Pete's huge double stacks to pass.
 #1585854  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Mr. Steve, I still hold that the main beneficiary from Federal funds appropriated for passenger train service improvements has been Uncle Pete.

I have to wonder what an average non-fan passenger, who has heard all the ballyhoo about HSR thinks when his train comes to a stop in the middle of nowhere, then hears another train pass by the other way, now he finds himself backing up, and then passing a stopped train.

"Well, that's HSR".

forgot to note last post, but disclaimer: author long UNP
 #1585903  by StLouSteve
 
"I have to wonder what an average non-fan passenger, who has heard all the ballyhoo about HSR thinks when his train comes to a stop in the middle of nowhere, then hears another train pass by the other way, now he finds himself backing up, and then passing a stopped train."

With the additional infrastructure money, more double track can be added and the Springfield section will get relocated and speed increased on that section. This route is so much better than in the weary days of CM&W. It will continue to improve next year when new trainsets are in service pulled by new locos.

I am also happy to report that back up moves on the line are a thing of the past--only place I used to see this was on the Mendota connection to the ATSF--where we sometimes would pull onto the branch, allow a train to pass and then back out. I assume that the connection is now completely gone. Unfortunately, back when it was fully in use, it did mean that there was effectively an additional section of double track by using both the old GM&O and the nearby ATSF to route traffic south of Joliet for a stretch.