Midwest Regional Rail Initiative

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by jpIllInoIs

The Blue Island site looks constrained to me. Of course it has direct Rock Island and Metra Electric connections. Interstate access is good and parking looks adequate with the many scattered lots.
One of the specific requirements is that the station dwelling train not block any streets due to the lengthy boarding/deboarding times. Im afraid that is a trip wire for Blue Island.

Not necessarily my choice, but I think the 2 Tinley Park locations are the ones to beat. More based on political sway and a bias toward suburban settings.

There is plenty of room for a lengthy unbroken platform north of Vermont St. Parking's constrained but a new parking deck could be built and the existing lots redeveloped. I think the existing Vermont St depot is too small for Amtrak anyway so they would need to construct something new.

[ardecila]

Crain's is reporting that IDOT will soon release its 220mph feasibility study for Chicago-St Louis. Even though it will project an astronomical cost, nobody's calling the cost a dealbreaker.

I'm interested to see the report and look at its cost assumptions; the Metra Electric/CN right of way already provides an entirely grade separated route from city to cornfields in Chicago, so the biggest part of cost should be the rural construction, plus more minor urban work in Champaign, Springfield, and St Louis.

[jpIllInoIs]

WI: Amtrak Considers Expanding Regional Routes

Lydia Mulvany
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Created: August 19, 2013
Trains from Milwaukee to Chicago and St. Paul, Minn., may be faster and more frequent in the near future, as Amtrak and transportation departments in Wisconsin and neighboring states study the possibility of expanding service on regional routes.

Encouraged by ridership that has doubled over the past decade and standing-room-only conditions on some trains, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has plans to add three express trains to the Hiawatha route, boosting the number of trips a day from seven to 10.

The express trains would skip local stops, serving only Union Station in Chicago, Mitchell International Airport and downtown Milwaukee, and reach a maximum speed of 90 miles per hour, compared with 79 mph now, decreasing travel times by 11 minutes.

"The department really feels that people are becoming aware of the Hiawatha service and its convenience, and are looking for alternative modes of transportation," said DOT spokesman Brock Bergey.

The Hiawatha expansion project is in its early stages. A study developing a service plan and assessing environmental factors -- such as noise, erosion and wildlife effect of added trains -- is underway, Bergey said, and a draft could be ready in a few months. Cost estimates weren't yet available.

Two public hearings will be scheduled in Wisconsin and Illinois, after which a final plan will be submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration. If approved, the proposal will move to design and construction phases.
...

Ridership growth is also driving plans for a second daily train on the Empire Builder route, which grew by 16% from 2011 to 2012, that links Chicago, Milwaukee, the Twin Cities and stops to the west, including Seattle, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. Amtrak is conducting the study.

"A second round-trip is a significant improvement for passengers by providing more same-day trips without overnight stays and by making it more likely our scheduled arrivals and departure times meet their travel needs," Magliari said.

A draft of a feasibility study should be available in December, and would focus on adding a second train at current speeds, 79 mph. It would terminate in St. Cloud, Minn., instead of continuing on to Seattle as the existing route does.

[the urban politician]

^ At 90 mph and 10 trains a day, Milwaukee officially becomes a suburb of Chicago

[jpIllInoIs]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ At 90 mph and 10 trains a day, Milwaukee officially becomes a suburb of Chicago

+2 Empire Builders = Total 12 daily round trips.

TTI study summary

[ardecila]

This is great. Built it now.

I wonder if the Metra schedule will need to shift to accommodate the express trains? The greater the speed differential between express and local trains, the more potential for conflict. Maybe a passing track is necessary.

[jpIllInoIs]

Originally Posted by ardecila

This is great. Built it now.

I wonder if the Metra schedule will need to shift to accommodate the express trains? The greater the speed differential between express and local trains, the more potential for conflict. Maybe a passing track is necessary.

I think the UP did keep 3 ROWs in the North Line rebuild???

[ardecila]

?? The Hiawatha/Empire Builder runs on the MD-W tracks, not UP. That means Metra owns the tracks south of Rondout. I'm guessing a 4-track passing segment would go somewhere around Morton Grove, but it's probably not necessary yet.

[ardecila]

TIGER grants for 2013 released today. Two Midwest rail projects will receive funding.

First is $14.4M for an underpass at Carpenter St in Springfield, IL - the first phase of Springfield's project to consolidate and grade-separate the railroads running through downtown.

Also, Michigan received $9.8M to help fund improvements to the Kalamazoo-Dearborn segment, including a second track and signal upgrades.

[LMich]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Also, Michigan received $9.8M to help fund improvements to the Kalamazoo-Dearborn segment, including a second track and signal upgrades.

I wonder if this is the end of scrounging up funds for this significant improvement. I remember the project getting the bulk of what it needed back in 2011. This needs to get going, already, as does the West Detroit Connection, which has also been crawling along. I wrote the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments fairly recently about the latter - since they are coordinating everything, I believe, since the tracks will also be used by the Ann Arbor-Detroit regional rail (MiTrains) - and keep getting the runaround. It's supposed to start construction, this year, but they've been saying that for two years, now.

[afiggatt]

Originally Posted by LMich

I wonder if this is the end of scrounging up funds for this significant improvement. I remember the project getting the bulk of what it needed back in 2011. This needs to get going, already, as does the West Detroit Connection, which has also been crawling along. I wrote the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments fairly recently about the latter - since they are coordinating everything, I believe, since the tracks will also be used by the Ann Arbor-Detroit regional rail (MiTrains) - and keep getting the runaround. It's supposed to start construction, this year, but they've been saying that for two years, now.

No, MI and Amtrak will continue to look for additional funds for more track improvements in MI. The TIGER application for $60 million for double tracking 19 miles of the Amtrak owned line from Niles to Glenwood and an engineering design & EIS for a connecting track at New Buffalo was not selected. Then there is the South of the Lake study for a passenger train route from Chicago to Porter.

As for the start of construction in MI, it starts next Monday on September 9. The Wolverine schedule is going to be affected with #350 getting bustituted west of Jackson. Amtrak posted a news release on the start of the track work which will be done Monday to Thursday in 10 hour shifts and schedule changes.

Start of the news release:

CHICAGO and LANSING -- The first of three Michigan track improvement phases for the 2013 construction season begins on Sept. 9. While the projects will cause some delays and modified schedules, the result will be upgraded tracks and more reliable service for Amtrak Wolverine Service trains as part of the Accelerated Rail Program being carried out by Amtrak for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).

When all 2013 phases of the project are complete in November, more than 30 miles of new track and 130,000 new crossties will be installed by crews working ten-hour days.

[ardecila]

So the second track is only between Wayne and Dearborn, but once that's installed, it should be a veritable racetrack between Ypsilanti and West Detroit Junction... no crawling through the suburbs. The line is razor-straight, so if the track is in decent shape there might actually be 110mph service through a populated area.

[LMich]

ardecila,

Where you'd hear that the double tracking would just be between Wayne and Dearborn? I'd really be interested to see the phasing of the improvements and exactly where they will be. This can get a bit confusing, at times, for those of us who don't know where to look.

This is all I was able to find:

TIGER funding will complete improvements in the Dearborn-Kalamazoo section of the designated High-Speed
Rail corridor to enhance 110 mph operation. Tracks 1 and 2 will be upgraded to support speeds up to 110 mph
between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. Additionally, a second main line capable of operating at 110 mph will be
constructed.

It mentions the "additional" second main line, which is what I think you're alluding to, but it the press release doesn't give the location or any other details on it.

[Xing]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Crain's is reporting that IDOT will soon release its 220mph feasibility study for Chicago-St Louis. Even though it will project an astronomical cost, nobody's calling the cost a dealbreaker.

I'm interested to see the report and look at its cost assumptions; the Metra Electric/CN right of way already provides an entirely grade separated route from city to cornfields in Chicago, so the biggest part of cost should be the rural construction, plus more minor urban work in Champaign, Springfield, and St Louis.

That would be so nice if I could see my family so quickly.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by LMich

ardecila,

Where you'd hear that the double tracking would just be between Wayne and Dearborn? I'd really be interested to see the phasing of the improvements and exactly where they will be. This can get a bit confusing, at times, for those of us who don't know where to look.

Confusing is right... I got that information here:
http://www.quandel.com/project/michi...nsportation-2/

I can't find any other mention of new double-tracking anywhere. There are already double-track segments in Chelsea, Jackson, Albion, and Battle Creek that are used for passing, and the line from Ypsi to Detroit is already double-tracked with the exception of the Wayne-Dearborn section.

According to MDOT, the "single-track with passing segments" design is enough to support 3 round trips per day, with a travel time of roughly 5:30 once the tracks are upgraded for higher speeds. Right now, more trains cannot be added because the tracks in Chicago and Indiana are too congested... right now the South of the Lake study is examining solutions to this within the "Chicago Terminal" area. The target is 6 round trips per day, but that may require an undetermined amount of work on the Michigan portion of the line in addition to South of the Lake.

Happy weekend, everyone. Enjoy this awful parody video.
• Video Link

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Crain's is reporting that IDOT will soon release its 220mph feasibility study for Chicago-St Louis. Even though it will project an astronomical cost, nobody's calling the cost a dealbreaker.

I'm interested to see the report and look at its cost assumptions; the Metra Electric/CN right of way already provides an entirely grade separated route from city to cornfields in Chicago, so the biggest part of cost should be the rural construction, plus more minor urban work in Champaign, Springfield, and St Louis.

The study's been released.

http://www.ict.illinois.edu/railroad...20/idot220.htm

Overall, the project is still incredibly expensive but seems much more in line with international standards at $61M/mile, less than half the cost of the California project and roughly similar to French TGV costs. Unsurprisingly, the line is projected to turn an operating profit and it would not require ongoing subsidies after construction.

The chosen routing uses the Illinois Central corridor down to Champaign, then cuts west to Springfield and uses the current Amtrak corridor to St. Louis. Surprisingly, it also analyzes a spur from just south of Champaign over to Indianapolis, which is a good idea and a great way to kill two birds with one stone.

At the beginning and end, there are segments from O'Hare to Union Station, and downtown St. Louis to Lambert Airport. No detail is given on how these connections will be made, but you can bet they'll be expensive and contentious.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by ardecila

At the beginning and end, there are segments from O'Hare to Union Station, and downtown St. Louis to Lambert Airport. No detail is given on how these connections will be made, but you can bet they'll be expensive and contentious.

Why duplicate a train service already being provided by local electric powered trains? You can ride the Metro and CTA between both downtowns and their international airports.

[ardecila]

The ridership estimates rely on people using the system to access O'Hare. They won't do that if they need to make an awkward, lengthy transfer to the Blue Line; CTA takes 40 minutes to trundle out to O'Hare while HSR is projected to make the trip in 10 minutes.

Passengers arriving at or leaving O'Hare will account for 25% of the total ridership - Union Station only accounts for 16%. Clearly the study assumes the HSR system will replace many feeder flights from St. Louis and Indianapolis to O'Hare.

Accessing Lambert Airport is more puzzling, since it's not a major hub. The study probably assumes a codesharing arrangement with airlines would be easier if the HSR line connected airports directly. Connecting to the airports also allows HSR travelers to take advantage of those major parking facilities.

[nomarandlee]

I really wonder where/how they would figure to run their trains from Union to O'Hare.

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

I really wonder where/how they would figure to run their trains from Union to O'Hare.

I, too, would like to know this.