http://www.toledoblade.com/Editorials/2013/05/03/The-road-ahead.html
Building a 21st-century transportation system will take the same commitment and vision that, nearly 60 years ago, launched the interstate highway system.
President Obama has taken a bold and laudable step by proposing to spend $6.6 billion on high-speed rail and related projects next year — and $40 billion over five years to improve intercity passenger service, develop new high-speed rail corridors, and upgrade freight rail.
The Iowa Department of Transportation, in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration and Illinois Department of Transportation, will host three hearings the week of Dec. 11 to solicit public comments on the Chicago to Council Bluffs-Omaha Regional Passenger Rail System planning study.
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Post Link: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/passenger_rail/news/Iowa-DOT-to-host-hearings-on-ChicagoCouncil-BluffsOmaha-passengerrail-study–33497
Additional Post Link: http://nebraskaradionetwork.com/2012/11/29/one-step-closer-to-passenger-rail-service-from-omaha-to-chicago/
Engineering and environmental study work is under way on the passenger rail line that will link Moline with Chicago, and the rail service is expected to be in operation by the end of 2015, project officials said during a public informational meeting Thursday in Moline.
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The Illinois Department of Transportation laid out a timeline Thursday on when the new Amtrak passenger rail line from Chicago to the Quad Cities will be built.
The department says that crews will start work on the Amtrak line in the summer of 2014. It held an informational meeting Thursday at the i wireless Center to give people an update on the project.
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Post Link: http://wqad.com/2012/11/08/amrak-line-supposed-to-be-built-by-2015/
America’s high-speed rail program is experiencing the best of times. Congress has appropriated more than $10 billion for the effort in the past three years. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia are advancing numerous projects. And about 62 percent of Americans say they would use high-speed rail service between U.S. metro areas, according to the American Public Transportation Association.
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Post Link: http://www.egcitizen.com/ara/tech_talk_and_innovation/89808b04-7e83-586e-9752-7caf3003cd64.txt
The fields of north-central Illinois may seem like an unlikely backdrop to showcase the future of the nation’s transportation system, but for fans of high-speed rail, they may have done just that.
On Friday, a train on Amtrak’s Chicago-St. Louis corridor traversed those fields at a speed of 111 mph., 40 percent faster than the line’s normal top speed of 79 mph and faster than any U.S. train outside Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.
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Leaders from communities served by the Hoosier State passenger rail are coordinating their efforts to build support for the route between Indianapolis and Chicago.
Last month, Amtrak stated the four-day-a-week service would be discontinued Oct. 1, 2013, if the Indiana Department of Transportation did not agree to pick up the cost of the local service, which is less than 750 miles.
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Post Link: http://www.jconline.com/article/20121014/NEWS02/310140035/Uniting-back-Amtrak-service?nclick_check=1
Lorenzo Simonelli, President and CEO of GE Transportation (NYS: GE) , today applauded the demonstration of 110 mile per hour rail service between Dwight and Pontiac, Illinois, thanks to a stretch of track and rail crossing upgrades, as well as advanced technology designed by GE Transportation.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Szabo, Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider, Amtrak Chairman Tom Carper and other elected officials tested out the newly completed track with an inaugural train ride from Joliet to Normal, which is just one segment within the designated Chicago to St. Louis high speed rail corridor. Along this route, speeds are being increased to 110 miles per hour between Dwight and Pontiac.
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Post Link: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/10/19/ge-transportation-applauds-110-mile-per-hour-rail-/
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Under Governor Quinn, Illinois has emerged as a national leader in the expansion of passenger rail. In the last complete fiscal year, 1.8 million passengers rode Amtrak’s four state-supported routes in Illinois, almost double the ridership of six years ago.
This fall, with the start of 110-mph service between Dwight and Pontiac, Illinois will become the second state outside of the East Coast to offer high-speed rail service. Ongoing improvements are expected to permit 110 mph trains to run between Dwight and Alton by 2015. The Illinois Department of Transportation also is overseeing more than $280 million in projects to reintroduce Amtrak service on the Chicago-RockfordDubuque and Chicago-Moline lines. Earlier this month, the initial environmental studies began on implementing high-speed service between Chicago and Detroit, a project made possible by the governor’s support of the $133 million Englewood Flyover on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
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