Posts Tagged: St. Louis

High-speed rail*

In December, the Illinois Dept. of Transportation and Union Pacific Railroad reached an agreement on high-speed rail service between Chicago and St. Louis, triggering the release of $1.1 billion in U.S. Dept. of Transportation money. But Bruce Rushton of the State Journal-Register reports that the rail service might not always be high-speed: Union Pacific will incur no penalties if freight trains on the Chicago to St. Louis rail line interfere with passenger service. Moreover, Union Pacific “expects to dramatically increase the number of freight trains on the line” because of a new freight terminal in Joliet, Illinois.

High-speed rail sounds futuristic, but this news reinforces that, unless some decisions are made to prioritize passenger routes, it won’t be too dramatic a change. (more…)

Illinois HSR project now in motion

The Illinois Department of Transportation has negotiated an agreement with Amtrak and Union Pacific Railroad that will let the state release $1.1 billion in federal grants for a high-speed rail line from Chicago to St. Louis. (more…)