urbanSTL

I can see hypothetically being dropped off by Amtrak at the Draft Kings parking lot and jumping on Metrolink. I cannot envision being dropped off in Joliet when I'm going to Chicago.

More service, amazing! Starts May 21. 

Amtrak - Introducing Amtrak Borealis trains with Expanded Service between St. Paul and Chicago via Milwaukee

The new service is sponsored by the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Amtrak now operates 29 state-supported routes with 18 state partners.

https://media.amtrak.com/2024/05/introd ... milwaukee/

Amtrak no longer has to live ‘hand to mouth’ after being starved of funding for decades, CEO says
https://fortune.com/2024/05/06/amtrak-infrastructure-biden-transportation-railroads-travel-stephen-gardner-federal-goverment/

And this was 8 mins early. Just get the avg speed up to 60 and that's another 15 mins quicker. We were slowed for waiting for the late Texas Eagle to pass. New full double tracking!

^ I took exactly this trip a few weeks ago. I had to text the person picking me up and let them know that the train was gonna be a half hour early. That was a first.

It's called Amtrak. There are a few long ones between Alton and Springfield. Have a look on Google maps to see for yourself. There's a diagram somewhere form IDOT with them too. The IL rail plan calls for total double -tracking. Just takes money.

For what it’s worth I’ve been going to Chicago twice a month (early morning departures), and I’ve avoided significant single track delays on probably 90% of my trips YTD.

Milwaukee JS- Amtrak's new line from Milwaukee to the Twin Cities is a month old. It's already had 18,500 riders

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/loc ... 327634007/

^Outside of the new service Amtrak is taking a hit on a lot of equipment and service issues as of late 

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... ound-trip/

Waiting on forthcoming Trains magazine as they have an article titled "Amtrak Illinois: slow path to high speed" noted on top of cover.  Not expecting much in substance but probably a few tidbits worth reading and noting.  Also can't help to think of the Infrastructure/FRA funds being plowed into rebuilding northeast corridor tunnels & bridges, rightfully needed, as well CaHSR & Brightline West getting some much needed Fed Infrastructure support while little has been directed to Chicago CREATE let alone Amtrak's Michigan or Lincoln Corridor routes..   

https://www.trains.com/trn/magazine/arc ... mber-2024/

I think a Minneapolis-Louisville route would still make more sense as going through Chicago. STL-Indy used to exist and I think is still viable, I believe there was a NextSTL article about STL-Nashville at some point, can't remember what the conclusion was. 

All lines go through Chicago because Chicago has 9 million people and would be the driver of demand for high-speed rail between any of these cities.

Illinois going down the pipe dream of a whole separate HSR system is probably doing more to hurt them then help in my opinion.   

Why not put the focus on continuing to add capacity for 110 running, improve metro areas; Joilet to Chicago Station, and Alton to Mississippi River for 60-90 mph urban running and add more frequency.  The current corridor still needs a lot of attention to fully maximize the service.  Heck, start adding more double tracking and grade separations so you can take Joliet to Alton from 110 mph to 125 mph before even contemplating HSR.    In meantime, you can do and add frequency with Chicago to Champaign to Springfield to St. Louis trains.  

Just don't see a need to go beyond 125 mph between Chicago to St Louis and even more so when the reality it is really HSR between Joliet and Alton.  This more of a big huge construction project that Illinois dreams of the Feds paying for most of it.   

I predict they’re going to find a private builder and operator. They’ll release a big RFQ/P and have it coincide with large state supported highway and transit projects along the way.

The consultant for this project is adamant that this project ends in East St. Louis, not St. Louis. Has mentioned multiple times that riders will connect between MetroLink and an East St. Louis station. Same thing in Chicago, you will have to transfer off the train at a suburban transportation hub (likely Joliet) to regional rail systems. Not promising.

I think I'd actually love it if the state of Illinois would do that -- if they would end the line in East St. Louis instead of St. Louis proper. 

I just hope it would be at one of the MetroLink stations. That's all I ask. 

For one thing, I do think this would actually be good for the region. For real, if the HSR could terminate at one of the city's four stations -- East Riverfront, 5th and Missouri, Emerson Park, JJK -- I think it could lead to some rejuvenation on that side of the river. 

I'd gladly catch a MetroLink over to East St. Louis, Illinois for a 2.5-hr HSR trip to Chicago, but you just know that there would be plenty of people in this region that would not -- at least initially. Part of that would be irritating, part of that would be hilarious. 

But I think you would see a shift in perception over time, especially if investment were to actually come to near the HSR and MetroLink stations in Metro East. And I think this could lead to an increased desire for regional connection from all over Greater St. Louis to MetroLink and HSR in general. Putting HSR on the other side of the metropolitan area from West County and St. Charles County may lead their residents to reconsider their stance on MetroLink. Madison County may want MetroLink up to Edwardsville or Alton if HSR is sitting there in East St. Louis, too. 

Of course, at some point, you would think that Missouri might invest in HSR if more and more states were to do it. Chicago seems to have an interest in HSR with Indianapolis as well, for instance. Say they extend that to Ohio and Michigan and Pennsylvania and the eastern starboard? Will Missouri remain okay with 50 mph trains then? Perhaps downtown St. Louis gets a station when Missouri decides to pony up. 

PeterXCV wrote: ↑

Sep 04, 2024

I think a Minneapolis-Louisville route would still make more sense as going through Chicago. STL-Indy used to exist and I think is still viable, I believe there was a NextSTL article about STL-Nashville at some point, can't remember what the conclusion was. 

i would murder for a direct route from St. Louis to DC. it's nuts that one has to detour through Chicago or New Orleans to connect to the East Coast corridor. it's like 25 hours total on the train. i did it 2 years in a row for the experience and it's just... not practical.

RockChalkSTL wrote: ↑

Sep 05, 2024

I think I'd actually love it if the state of Illinois would do that -- if they would end the line in East St. Louis instead of St. Louis proper. 

I just hope it would be at one of the MetroLink stations. That's all I ask. 

For one thing, I do think this would actually be good for the region. For real, if the HSR could terminate at one of the city's four stations -- East Riverfront, 5th and Missouri, Emerson Park, JJK -- I think it could lead to some rejuvenation on that side of the river. 

I'd gladly catch a MetroLink over to East St. Louis, Illinois for a 2.5-hr HSR trip to Chicago, but you just know that there would be plenty of people in this region that would not -- at least initially. Part of that would be irritating, part of that would be hilarious. 

But I think you would see a shift in perception over time, especially if investment were to actually come to near the HSR and MetroLink stations in Metro East. And I think this could lead to an increased desire for regional connection from all over Greater St. Louis to MetroLink and HSR in general. Putting HSR on the other side of the metropolitan area from West County and St. Charles County may lead their residents to reconsider their stance on MetroLink. Madison County may want MetroLink up to Edwardsville or Alton if HSR is sitting there in East St. Louis, too. 

Of course, at some point, you would think that Missouri might invest in HSR if more and more states were to do it. Chicago seems to have an interest in HSR with Indianapolis as well, for instance. Say they extend that to Ohio and Michigan and Pennsylvania and the eastern starboard? Will Missouri remain okay with 50 mph trains then? Perhaps downtown St. Louis gets a station when Missouri decides to pony up. 

The big mistake of the 2010s streetcar boom in American cities was looking at rail transport more as a way to drive development, than actually get people from where they are to where they want to go to. Let's not make the same mistake with high speed rail. Having a station in East St. Louis would lead to less ridership than if it were Downtown.  

You can get from any East St. Louis MetroLink station to any of the downtown St. Louis MetroLink stations in fifteen minutes or less. And it's only fifteen if you were riding from JJK to Union Station. It would be under 10 minutes for most riders. 

It takes 1 hour, 1 minute on Metra to get from Joliet to downtown Chicago. 

If there is going to be a problem with this plan, it's going to be on the Chicago side. 

^ yes, the bigger problem is Chicago.

BUT St. Louis public transportation supporters should eventually be prepared to advocate for a greater vision for an East St. Louis stop.

My vision? Have the station run right up to the river and have the actual transfer at East Riverfront. Call it One Illinois Central. Riders should exit the train and be presented immediately with a full view of the river and STL skyline.