HSR construction: Chicago to St. Louis

From Gov. Quinn's newsletter:
On July 20, Governor Quinn was joined by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin to announce that construction would begin in early September on the Chicago to St. Louis high-speed rail route. This project will support more than 900 jobs in Illinois and make Illinois the high-speed rail hub of the United States. This $98 million dollar project is federally funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Stimulus) and is part of the $8 billion allocated for high-speed rail. When completed, it is estimated that the total amount of time it takes to travel between Chicago and St. Louis will be less than four hours.

HSR planning surges!

Yesterday, June 28th, the FRA announced that it will begin accepting applications for $2.1 billion in grants to continue the development of high-speed intercity passenger rail corridors. In addition, $245 million will be available for individual construction projects within corridors. Grant awards for the $2.1 billion and $245 million from the FY2010 DOT appropriations, are expected to be announced by September 30, 2010.

Keep in mind that the report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors projects HSR to benefit Chicago to the tune of up to $6.1 billion per year in new business and up to 42,000 jobs.

---

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a packed seminar for High Speed Rail in Chicago, which was sponsored by the Japan International Transport Institute and held at the Union League Club of Chicago. Our own Rick Harnish was among the keynote speakers. The large number of attendees at the seminar, coupled with the FRA funding announcements and the eagerness of countries with HSR to work with the Midwest, and the entire U.S. for that matter, are all signs of a rapidly approaching HSR reality for our region and our country.

Below: IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig addresses the crowd.

Glowing news for rail in Chicago

As Amtrak gears up for $115 million in upgrades to Chicago's Union Station, a report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors is projecting that Chicago will gain upwards of 42,000 new jobs and $6.1 billion in additional economic activity from a fully realized Midwest High-Speed Rail Network.

The report is summarized in the below video clip:

Illinois applies for cash to plan 220 mph service

Courtesy of Chicago Breaking News:

The state of Illinois has applied for $8 million in federal funds to help pay for planning regional high speed rail service.

The Midwest High Speed Rail Association on Monday said it applauded Illinois officials, including Gov. Pat Quinn, for making high speed rail a priority. The Illinois Department of Transportation applied for the grant money. The money would be used to begin designs for a 220-mph bullet train between Chicago and St. Louis.

The money would pay for the study of potential routes, the development of a business plan and an environmental review.

Rick Harnish, the executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, says the bullet trains "are critical to reinventing the Midwest" and meeting the region's environmental, energy and economic challenges.

National Train Day in Chicago and Amtrak's CEO

Today was National Train Day across the country and here in Chicago. A commitment from IL Gov Pat Quinn to HSR in the Midwest, flowing through Chicago, and strong attendance marked the day's event at Union Station -- see below


Meanwhile, this past Thursday, May 6th, Amtrak CEO, Joseph Boardman appeared on Fox Business to reaffirm Amtrak's role in the national transportation landscape.

Congressional Subcommittee meets in Chicago to discuss HSR

The Congressional Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials met yesterday at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago to discuss the high-speed intercity passenger rail grants that were recently awarded under the stimulus act and the impact the grants will have on the region. Among the notable attendees were:

• Wisconsin Gov Jim Doyle reiterated the positive effect that HSR projects will have on Wisconsin's construction, engineering, and design & supply industries. Gov Doyle's testimony can be found here.
  
• Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky stated that rail funding would create more than 57,000 jobs, while making a long neglected national investment in rail transportation.
• Illinois Congressman Dan Lipinski said Amtrak and Metra users should notice a difference in commuter times within two years.
• Our own Rick Harnish testified on the importance of 220 mph service.
  
• FRA Administrator Joe Szabo's testimony can be found here.

*After the hearing, Administrator Szabo stated that Positive Train Control, which under federal mandate must be implemented by 2015, could have prevented the tragic accident in University Park.
"Positive train control is probably the most significant safety initiative in the history of railroading and certainly something that would have the ability to prevent a tragedy like this,''

Chicago's Auto Train and Madison's downtown station

The Tribune discusses the benefits enjoyed by the increasing number of riders on Amtrak's Auto Train between Lorton, VA and Sanford, FL (near Orlando). The Midwest is being factored into expansion plans for the unique service. According to Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero, "We would love to go east to west and also head from Florida to Chicago."

Future routes are examined on the basis of vacation and retiree markets, according to the Auto Train's operations supervisor, Larry Vollten. Besides Florida to Chicago, Chicago to Arizona and Chicago to Texas are being considered. Routes like these will only move closer to realization as more and more passengers, and in this case motorists, shift to Amtrak.

Vollten went on to say, "The fascinating thing about this crowd is that we did a feasibility study in Chicago and it found there is the same clientele in Chicago as there is in the Northeast United States."


Meanwhile, The Wisconsin State Journal mentions the progress that is being made to bring the city's HSR station closer to downtown. Alderman Mike Verveer, District 4, says it best,“From my perspective, the closer we can get Amtrak to downtown and the campus, the better."

Amtrak has also committed to servicing La Crosse, WI regardless of La Crosse's inclusion or exclusion on the HSR route between Milwaukee and Madison.

Amtrak ridership thrives in the Middle West

An Amtrak press release this past Thursday (4/8/10) states:
In the Chicago hub, ridership on Lincoln Service (Chicago – St. Louis) showed significant growth with an 18 percent jump in March and 11.6 percent for the six month period. Hiawatha Service (Chicago – Milwaukee) continues to grow with a 14.3 percent increase in March and up 4.8 percent fiscal year to date. Elsewhere in the Midwest, the Missouri River Runner (Kansas City - St. Louis) is up 24.2 percent for March and 15.8 percent for the first half of the Amtrak fiscal year, while the Blue Water (Chicago - Port Huron) increased by 21.7 percent in March and 5.2 percent for fiscal year to date.

This increase is due in part to:

• Airlines passing more petty costs onto passengers. Spirit Airlines recently announced that they will start charging $45 per carry-on bag. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will be proposing legislation to prevent Spirit and other airlines from doing this.
  
• More travelers seeing the benefit of rail over air travel for trips of 500 miles or less, as evidenced by the quote from Amtrak spokesman, Marc Magliari, "While Amtrak considers the car its primary competition, the rail service has captured about 16 percent of the combined air-rail market between Chicago and St. Louis."
• 90% on-time performance for the Missouri River Runner, thanks to a 9,000 foot siding built by Amtrak and Union Pacific for $8.1 million (picture below)
  

HSR: Chicago to New York

In a concise and fantastic Op-Ed, former NARP Director, Larry Joyce, discusses the New York, Pittsburgh & Chicago Railroad that was almost built in 1907.

"The proposed NYP & CRR would have been a truly high-speed railroad with grades of less than two-tenths of one percent and curvature of less than two degrees. The mileage of the existing route between New York and Chicago would be reduced from 924 miles to 780.

The mileage of the existing route between New York and Pittsburgh would be reduced from 444 miles to 355 miles. This reduction was achieved by eliminating direct service to Philadelphia and by straightening the railroad through central Pennsylvania.

Even with maximum speed of only 110 mph, travel time from New York to Chicago could be reduced from the existing 19 hours to less than 12 hours, and the time between New York and Pittsburgh could be reduced from 9 hours to less than 5 hours."

CREATE: Englewood flyover construction

As many as 1,500 new jobs could be created from construction of the flyover at 63rd and State in the Englewood section Chicago. The flyover will separate Metra from Norfolk Southern tracks that carries southbound Amtrak train. The project is part of the CREATE program and was funded with $133 million in stimulus dollars. The completed flyover will eliminate the daily conflict between 78 Metra Rock Island trains and approximately 60 freight and Amtrak trains.


Below, the project is announced by Mayor Daley and Gov. Quinn reinforces the importance of rail infrastructure to Illinois' role as an inland port.

Freak accident between Amtrak and Detroit Fire Truck

In SW Detroit, Wolverine Train 353 was bound for Chicago when it collided with a fire truck. Thankfully no one was reported injured.

This incident reinforces the importance of Amtrak's latest rail safety campaign.

Midwest hub for HSR: Union Station or a new facility?

The Tribune's Blair Kamin reports on a proposed design and location for a new HSR station in Chicago.

"Union Station is a poor candidate to serve as a high-speed rail hub.

Despite the soaring image of its barrel-vaulted Great Hall, the passenger concourse east of the hall is confusing and confining, a warren trapped within the structural columns that hold up the office building above it. Going forward, Union Station lacks adequate space to marshal more passengers and handle more trains. Nor does it connect to the Chicago Transit Authority’s express service to O’Hare. Its fundamental problem, though, is that it isn’t really a station. It’s a terminal.

Almost all of Union Station’s tracks, whether northbound or southbound, stop at the station instead of running straight through. That’s no good if you’re a high-speed rail passenger traveling, say, from Milwaukee to Cincinnati. You’d have to change trains in Chicago. Who has time for that? You’d fly instead."

A new Union Station is on the way!

Today, the Tribune's Blair Kamin reported on the Amtrak sponsored contest to redevelop Chicago's Union Station, one of Amtrak's most valuable assets, for the first time since it's 1992 renovation by Lucien Lagrange Architects of Chicago.
The firms chosen to compete are:

1. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Chicago)
2. U.S. Equities Realty (Chicago)
3. Jones Lang LaSalle (Chicago)
4. Goody Clancy (Boston)
5. Wallace Roberts & Todd (Philadelphia)
6. Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn (New York)
7. KlingStubbins (Cambridge, MA and New York)
   

Late last month, the Tribune called for a redevelopment of Union Station to accommodate the increased ridership that will result from Chicago's position as the hub for high speed trains in the Midwest. Hopefully a strong proposal by one of the above 7 firms, will help secure additional TIGER funding, the same way New York was awarded $85 million for Phase 1 of Moynihan Station.

Today's announcement arrives on the heels of last week's TIGER grants, which will support high impact CREATE programs, such as the 75th Street Corridor project, that will shift Metra SouthWest Service trains to LaSalle Street station in order to free up Union Station for increased Amtrak and Metra service.

You can help the cause for a modernized Union Station by sending an email to Mayor Daley, via the Midwest HSR Association's proposal for Union Station as Chicago's downtown airport.

----------

On a separate, but Midwest related note, the EPA will invest $2.2 billion for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan which was signed by President Bush in 2002, to clean up their polluted beaches and water.

Boston to Chicago on Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited

Thanks to Boston.com for this piece:


Also, the Infrastructurist featured a new Fox show that could be trying to scare viewers away from High Speed Rail, which isn't far off from Fox Business appearing to do the same.

Federal dollars for Illinois and Wisconsin rail projects

"The federal grant, being announced Wednesday, will be used to fund the 16 rail projects under the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency program, CREATE.

It's intended to unclog bottlenecks that cause freight trains to take a day or longer to pass through Chicago and block passenger trains and vehicles.

The program includes overpasses or underpasses and track and signal improvements, including a bridge to separate rail and road traffic to be built at an existing rail crossing on 71st Street in Bridgeview.

The projects will cut rail transit delays by 57,631 passenger hours per year and reduce motorist delays by 344,499 hours annually for a combined savings of nearly $10 million per year, according to CREATE, a public-private partnership of railroads and Chicago and state transportation agencies.

Train delays cost shippers $265 million a year, CREATE estimates."

Thank you to The Tribune for the story

-----

Milwaukee's Journal Sentinel reports that "The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee agreed Tuesday to accept $822 million in federal stimulus funds for high-speed rail linking Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago, but not before lawmakers wrangled over whether the project was necessary.

The funds had been sought by Gov. Jim Doyle to link the three cities - and potentially the Twin Cities. The vote represents the final action for Wisconsin to tap the stimulus funding for rail.

The vote broke down two ways - lawmakers voted 12-4 for $810 million to build the rail system and 16-0 for improvements on the existing rail line between Milwaukee and Chicago."

HSR example: Detroit to Chicago

America 2050 has just released this video of one possibility that high speed rail will bring our region:

An Architect's POV of HSR in the Midwest

The Chicago Tribune's Blair Kamin examines an Architectural point of view of high speed rail in the midwest and making stations "proud gateways", rather than "eyesores."

Discussed are upgrades to Chicago's Union Station and "the proposed $2 billion West Loop Transportation Center under Clinton Street, which would connect Union Station and the Ogilvie Transportation Center with CTA buses and rail lines, Pace buses and high-speed rail."

The Amtrak World Series

2 Months ago the St. Louis Cardinals took Amtrak from DC to Philadelphia. It appears that the Cards set a trend because "for the first time in recent memory, the [Philadelphia Phillies] boarded the Phillie Express from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia about 4:45 p.m., bound for New York’s Penn Station."

The article goes on to state, "When the first members of the team emerged from Penn Station on the corner of 32nd Street and Eighth Avenue, they were greeted by a couple of Phillies fans. Their voices were soon overtaken by more lusty locals chanting, “Let’s go, Yankees.”"

What a shrewd move it would be for Amtrak and Major League Baseball, the NHL, the NBA and possibly the NFL, to utilize Amtrak for travel and marketing purposes. Hannah Kirkner, a native Philadelphian living in New York, was delighted to see her team on a Manhattan sidewalk. “It’s very representative of our city to take the train. It’s so human.”

Hannah is absolutely right! Making players accessible to their fans in a great public space like a train station is a win-win-win for the sport, the fan and the profile of passenger rail. Imagine Cardinal fans greeting their team in Chicago's Union Station as they arrive for a series against the Cubs, or Twins fans wishing their team well before leaving from St. Paul's Union Depot before a divisional series against the White Sox.









Professional and collegiate sports are a key part of American culture, especially in the Midwest. Amtrak/passenger rail must become a larger part of our culture and a stronger public relationship with major athletics is an excellent place to start.



Yankees in 6

Amtrak & Disney, HSR oversight and CTA Seniors

Amtrak and Disney have teamed up for a 16,000 mile 36 state tour to promote another remake of A Christmas Carol.

Events and promotions like this are hopefully just the beginning of what will be a cultural shift towards engaging young minds in passenger rail. Yes, I know it's just a train promoting a movie, but hopefully our country's movement towards Higher Speed Rail, hopefully High Speed Rail in the not too distant future, coupled with promotions and events that interest children will nurture the next generation of travelers who will utilize rail because they grew up with it being the fastest, most comfortable and most fun way to travel. Making passenger rail enjoyable for all ages through improved performance, competitive pricing and enticing marketing campaigns will have a lasting and positive effect on our nation's transportation and social landscape.

Thanks to Streetsblog Capitol Hill for its entry on HSR Oversight.

S. 1638: The Amtrak Secure Transportation of Firearms Act is currently making its way through Congress.

On a non-HSR, but still interesting note, Mayor Daley has suggested lawmakers reconsider free rides for seniors, people with disabilities and military personnel during the CTA's latest budget crisis, which is resulting in fare increases from $2.25 to $3.00 for the L.

On the eve of something big...

It can be best to distract yourself from the anxiety of waiting to see what you'll wake up to. Perhaps we could use a distraction from the tension leading to tomorrow's BIG decision by the IOC about which city will host the 2016 Summer Olympics, so like a kid on Christmas Eve, I have a few things to pass the time until that decision comes down from Copenhagen.

First is a great post by the INFRASTRUCTURIST about Google's new 3D tour of old Penn Station.



Second is an interesting article by The Tribune's Blair Kamin, who says, "Chicago is not floating plans for major infrastructure improvements, like those that transformed Barcelona for the 1992 Games." I am optimistic that the reception of the bid will be a catalyst for those infrastructure improvements, not just in Chicago, but throughout the Midwest, that have long been talked about, but have lacked the necessary funding or hard deadline to get them built.

Finally, our own Rick Harnish spoke today at the Northwestern University Transportation Center about the future of HSR in the US. I had the pleasure the being there and listening not only to Rick, but to a great Q&A afterward that touched on everything from CREATE, freight, rail in Indiana, Cost Benefit Analysis of HSR and a range of other hot button issues.

All that remains to be seen now, is whether Chicago will be adding a fifth star to it's flag.