Midwest Regional Rail Initiative

[daperpkazoo]

I love the idea of restoring the old station in Galena. Beautiful town.

[jpIllInoIs]

The Ill DOT and FRA have announced the selection of the 10th Street corridor alignment for the new HrSR and Freight consolidation. This will move the UP freight and Amtrak off of the 3rd street corridor which is single tracked and does not have room for double tracking. The upside for the community is that the 10th street corridor will have a station stop much more centered in town and near the historical sites and tourist attractions.

A big unknown is if UP will play ball and agree to use NS rights on 10th street instead of their own rights on 3rd street. The carrot will be complete double tracking of the NS 10th street alignment...And that the entire UP line from Joliet to Alton is being studied for complete double tracking to accommodate ILL HrSR expansion. That should help persuade UP to cooperate on the Springfield segment.

IDOT Link

Federal Railroad Administration Releases Draft Environmental Impact Statements


SPRINGFIELD –The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) today was joined by officials from the City of Springfield to announce a planned $8.6 million commitment toward the Phase II engineering studies on high-speed rail service on a consolidated 10th Street corridor through Springfield, should that be the chosen corridor in the Record of Decision. The planned commitment coincides with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)’s approval to release Draft Environmental Impact Statements (DEIS) on future enhancements to the Chicago-to-St. Louis high-speed route currently under construction. IDOT is committed to helping the City of Springfield identify and secure other revenue sources to help pay for construction as the project moves forward.

“Our investments in high-speed rail and transportation create jobs, foster economic development and promote economic growth while moving people swiftly and safely across our state as people should expect in the 21st Century,” Governor Quinn said. “Our commitment to provide additional funding for engineering work demonstrates that we are moving quickly to complete high-speed rail service from Chicago to St. Louis.”

The planned funding commitment, available through Governor Quinn’s Illinois Jobs Now! capital plan, will assist the City of Springfield in developing design plans for improvements to the corridor, assuming it is ultimately selected for the new high-speed rail service. Ridership on Amtrak’s four state-supported routes in Illinois has doubled over the last five years to 1.75 million passengers, with a remarkable 210 percent increase on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor alone, from 133,036 in 2006 to 412,593 in 2011.

“I fully support the 10th Street Corridor choice and the preliminary environmental approval by IDOT. Governor Quinn’s commitment of $8.6 million will help to complete engineering,” said U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). “But understand the overall project will cost in excess of $300 million and will require an extraordinary level of cooperation to achieve. I stand ready to continue to support rail modernization and work to bring federal funds to Springfield to make it a reality.”

The DEIS released today shows only two remaining “build alternative” routes being considered for high-speed rail service through Springfield, both of which are along 10th Street. The Tier 1 DEIS focuses on double-tracking the entire line, while the Tier 2 DEIS pinpoints two alternatives on 10th Street corridor as the finalists for high-speed service through Springfield.

“We are pleased to offer our support and partner with the City of Springfield to take the first major step to implement future high-speed rail service in the area,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann L. Schneider. “Once a final decision is made for the Springfield corridor, we hope our financial commitment to pay a percentage of the project design costs will move the construction process forward.”

A series of statewide public hearings, including one in Springfield, will be held by IDOT and the FRA in August to seek comments on the DEIS documents. For a copy of the DEIS and a schedule for the upcoming public hearings, please visit www.idothsr.org. The final version of the EIS will be published by the FRA later this year following consideration of public and agency comments.

“With this funding commitment and our partnership with the State, I am excited for the next phase of high-speed rail to move forward,” City of Springfield Mayor Mike Houston said. “As we’re seeing the demand for rail ridership increasing, it’s very important that this upgrade occurs and that this project succeeds.”

In addition, as part of this agreement, interim safety improvements will be made to the existing 3rd Street corridor, mainly involving the addition of quad gates that close all lanes of traffic at a railroad crossing, thus preventing cars from driving around closed gates. This $30 million package of improvements will enable passenger trains to increase their speed from the current 25 mph to a maximum of 40 mph, the most they will be on 3rd Street.

Under the leadership of Governor Quinn, Illinois has received more than $1.4 billion in federal funding to develop high-speed service between Chicago and St. Louis, greatly reducing travel times between the two cities and creating about 6,200 direct and indirect jobs. The Governor’s Illinois Jobs Now! capital program has contributed $42 million toward construction. The first trains traveling at 110 mph will make their debut between Dwight and Pontiac in September. Upgrades to the Joliet-Alton portion of the corridor are expected to be complete in 2014.

[Standpoor]

For those interested, here is a map of a recent trip to Niles, MI I took highlighting the 110 mph running. I also went from Niles to Ann Arbor but did not keep track of speeds. 53 miles in 39 minutes.
Red=110 mph
Orange=>95
Citron=79-95
Blue=<80

[ardecila]

Citron?

Thanks for the info. I really wish Amtrak could purchase some more lightweight equipment and extend those red sections.

[the urban politician]

Not bad, we need to get rid of the blue.

And I agree--Citron? Interesting choice...

[Centropolis]

Fuck I'm colorblind, what is citron?

[VivaLFuego]

Last time I rode -- a while ago, admittedly -- the section from Niles to Kalamazoo was easily 90+ mph the whole way. Is that still the case?

Also, did you sail through Battle Creek or where there the classic signal/track/scheduling problems that seem to always hold up Amtrak there on the Norfolk Southern tracks?

What was the running time to Ann Arbor?

I still feel like the most important improvements need to happen from Union Station to the IN state line, or perhaps through Chesterton --- where trains seem to average around 30mph. The scheduled running time from Whiting (15:23) into CUS (16:16) on the Wolverine is 53 minutes! That really should not be much longer than 25 minutes even at 'normal' speeds <79mph ... a half-hour reduction which would constitute an enormous chunk off the total running time from the main trip generating cities in Michigan. The late night arrival is scheduled at 40 minutes for the same stretch, which suggests at least part of the issue is simply signalling and/or congestion. Running time from Michigan City to Whiting isn't great, either...

[Standpoor]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

Fuck I'm colorblind, what is citron?

Ha, can you even see the difference. It is a pale, citrus orange. It was a bad choice for the map but I had already uploaded it and did not want to go back to make it stand out more. My sister graduated from Western Michigan with a masters in education (white hood) last weekend and we had lengthy discussions about academic colors. My lady friend was discussing how her hoods Social Work (citron) and Public Health (salmon) had really terrible colors. So I had citron on the brain.

Originally Posted by VivaLFuego

Last time I rode -- a while ago, admittedly -- the section from Niles to Kalamazoo was easily 90+ mph the whole way. Is that still the case?

Also, did you sail through Battle Creek or where there the classic signal/track/scheduling problems that seem to always hold up Amtrak there on the Norfolk Southern tracks?

What was the running time to Ann Arbor?

I still feel like the most important improvements need to happen from Union Station to the IN state line, or perhaps through Chesterton --- where trains seem to average around 30mph. The scheduled running time from Whiting (15:23) into CUS (16:16) on the Wolverine is 53 minutes! That really should not be much longer than 25 minutes even at 'normal' speeds <79mph ... a half-hour reduction which would constitute an enormous chunk off the total running time from the main trip generating cities in Michigan. The late night arrival is scheduled at 40 minutes for the same stretch, which suggests at least part of the issue is simply signalling and/or congestion. Running time from Michigan City to Whiting isn't great, either...

I had to move a bunch of times to let families sit together, so I do not know how fast we were moving between Niles and Kalamazoo. I was also on the morning train that stopped in Dowagiac which makes it seem slower. We were 15 minutes late leaving NLS and about 10 minutes late into Kalamazoo which would be 67 mph average. I should also add that slow folks at Dowagiac took their time getting off and on, so our dwell time was long.

It was slow through Battle Creek but we never stopped. Slow again through Albion but we got through Jackson fast. We left Niles 15 minutes late and got into Ann Arbor 10 minutes late, which means we did everything on schedule from Kalamazoo to Ann Arbor. Far different from my past experiences on Amtrak. 2 hrs 49 mins between Niles and Ann Arbor for an average of 55 mph.

I agree, the most important part of the journey is from Union Station to Porter. It is so slow and so easy to get stuck waiting for a Metra or NS train. With that said, most of that 53 minutes is padding. 350 is schedule to reach Hammond in 25 minutes, which is still an incredibly slow 38 mph. Most end points have huge padding built into the schedule which is just indicative of Amtrak's inability to consistently run trains.

This route shows both the potential and problems facing Amtrak. The slow parts are mercilessly slow and the trains never run on time but I was shocked when the conductor came by 8 minutes after leaving New Buffalo telling me to get my stuff together because we would be reaching Niles soon. When you are used to getting between two points on the map in a certain amount of time in an automobile, decreasing that time just by a minuscule amount really messes with your head. It shows that incremental improvements that make trains more competitive with cars can be successful in improving the experience of Amtrak.

[ardecila]

Englewood Flyover should fix a lot of the slowness by getting the Rock Island out of the way.

[jpIllInoIs]

Story link

Uptown Station to roll out this weekend

Bloomington Pantograph
July 10, 2012 7:00 am • By Mary Ann Ford | mford@pantagraph.com

NORMAL -- Amtrak plans to begin using Uptown Station on Sunday, the day after a dedication ceremony that is expected to draw U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Amtrak Board Chairman Tom Carper and a host of other dignitaries.
...
Uptown Station received $22 million from a federal Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery grant.

The project is believed to be the first TIGER grant-funded project to be completed.

Amtrak and bus providers Burlington Trailways, Peoria Charter and the Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System will share the first floor of Uptown Station.

There also will be a Subway Cafe on the northeast corner.

Several town of Normal administrative offices are on the second and third floors, and the City Council chambers are on the fourth floor.

A 380-space parking deck is attached to Uptown Station on the west side.

Peoria Charter President Bill Winkler said bus service should be operational at Uptown Station by the end of July, if not sooner. BNPTS hopes to begin using the facility by the end of the month or the first part of August, said General Manager Andrew Johnson. The leasing contract for Burlington Trailways begins Sunday.
..
Currently, Peoria Charter picks up customers at Bone Student Center at Illinois State University for trips to O’Hare and Midway airports. Winkler said buses will stop at both Bone and Uptown Station for about a month before switching solely to Uptown Station.

BNPTS will move its transfer station from Watterson Towers to Uptown Station once its move is complete, said Johnson.
....Photos in link

[Busy Bee]

^Great news! I passed by it within the last few weeks and while I would have ideally liked to see the design a bit more progressive architecturally, I think it looks like an impressive attempt at creating a truly functional and inviting urban intermodel terminal.

[ardecila]

Fair assessment. I haven't seen the thing myself, but hopefully I'll pass through one of these days.

To be honest, I've been very surprised at the modernist station designs that seemingly come out of left field. Joliet? Dubuque? Moline? Etc.

It seems like those cities with moribund economies are willing to go for a more innovative, modern design while relatively successful cities and suburbs prefer something more nostalgic. Obviously, those cities with historic depots available will use them.

[Standpoor]

It appears that Monday morning will be make or break time for the englewood flyover. Metra has a special board meeting to discuss nothing but the project. Request for time extensions and the awarding of the contract will be discussed.

[brian_b]

Originally Posted by Standpoor

It appears that Monday morning will be make or break time for the englewood flyover. Metra has a special board meeting to discuss nothing but the project. Request for time extensions and the awarding of the contract will be discussed.

The Tribune is reporting that the contract was awarded with some sort of unspecified agreement made with the blackmailing congressmen.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,7182483.story

Metra's board of directors today approved a $93 million contract for construction of a railroad bridge on the south side that three congressmen had threatened to block because they said it would not provide enough jobs to ... the economically depressed neighborhood.

The approval came after Metra chairman Larry Huggins said a deal had been worked out between the congressmen, led by Bobby Rush, to guarantee jobs for residents of the Englewood community.

[afiggatt]

Originally Posted by brian_b

The Tribune is reporting that the contract was awarded with some sort of unspecified agreement made with the blackmailing congressmen.

Good news. To the previous poster, the flyover project was fully funded - with federal money. It was not going to be a make or break time for the project, just a matter of political deals to make all the players happy. They have done that, so the contract is officially approved.

The question is how much of a delay in completing the Englewood Flyover will this delay in awarding the contract cause? It is now mid-July, so the Spring to Fall construction season is now half over. Is it going to be the case that the heavy construction work won't start until next spring?

[ardecila]

Considering the budget is probably pretty tight, it will be cheaper to wait than to pay for overtime work. Maybe there's a more complex rerouting that can allow for a quicker timetable.

I posted in the other thread that the CTA 95th St project suddenly appeared out of nowhere a few weeks after the Englewood fiasco. My guess is that 95th is an appeasement to the politicians. This article hints in that direction.

EDIT: Nope, completion pushed back to Fall 2014.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politic...r-project.html

[the urban politician]

^ From the article:

“Whoever the prime contractor is, it’s gonna be in the contract,” Peterson said of the effort to ensure black participation in the work and local hires. “He has to open up an office on the South Side. The money that he gets, he’s got to put it in an African-American bank on the South Side.”

^ What a joke.

When the Government tells a contractor who he must hire, where his office has to be, and where he must put his money, I feel like I'm no longer in a country that values freedom.

Anyhow, glad to see that the Englewood Flyover is moving forward.

[Standpoor]

Originally Posted by afiggatt

Good news. To the previous poster, the flyover project was fully funded - with federal money. It was not going to be a make or break time for the project, just a matter of political deals to make all the players happy. They have done that, so the contract is officially approved.

The question is how much of a delay in completing the Englewood Flyover will this delay in awarding the contract cause? It is now mid-July, so the Spring to Fall construction season is now half over. Is it going to be the case that the heavy construction work won't start until next spring?

Yes it was all political theater. Doing it this way allowed Metra to voice concern about the DBE's (and to all you ladies/Asians/latinos/low income owners you all don't count) pretend they were doing something, get assurance from the contractor that won't be in the contract and when the dust settles down approve the original contract on a Monday morning when nobody is looking anymore. The worst part of it for me was Bobby Rush's rhetoric made it seem like IHC did not employ any African Americans based on DBE even though DBE has nothing to do with employees.

However, the presentation to the board had three possibilities. Acceptance, re-bid, and let the bid lapse. The two bad scenarios were presented with the caveat that they would piss off IDOT and the Feds. The contract was bound to pass but I have been skeptical of my predicting abilities lately and did not want to jinx it. So I went with the "make or break time". The last thing I wanted was to say it was going to pass and then have to come back here and hang my head in shame on the off chance they did something stupid.

[the urban politician]

..

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

When the Government tells a contractor who he must hire, where his office has to be, and where he must put his money, I feel like I'm no longer in a country that values freedom.

Agreed.

“We are committed to bringing ‘street heat’ for as long as it takes to get the contract re-bid,” Rush said. “We are sick and tired of construction contracts in our communities that bring us all the dust, all the dirt, all the delay but none of the dough.”

Seriously? A construction project like this also brings tons of construction workers to the community, all of whom are potential patrons of neighborhood businesses. And where does Mr. Rush think the money to foot the bill for all of Chicago's social programs comes from? The better the city's economy, the greater the tax revenue; and if there is any big infrastructure project that'll be a surefire boon to the city's economy, it's this one.

I understand that the plight of Chicago's black population, especially in the South Side, is a major issue, one for which the city deserves much of the blame. But the kind of wealth transfer that Mr. Rush advocates is not a solution. It's just a bunch of economic populist garbage.