'A powerhouse route': Amtrak unleashes 110 mph trains on Chicago-to-St. Louis route
After years of anticipation, Amtrak on Monday debuted high-speed trains capable of traveling 110 mph on its Chicago-to-St. Louis route.
"By upgrading to higher-speed service on Illinois' largest passenger rail line, we are solidifying our status as the transportation hub of North America," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a Union Station event attended by federal, state and railroad officials.
The service upgrades "will make a real difference to customers with speeds on much of the route up to 110 mph," Amtrak Vice President Ray Lang said.
Traveling to St. Louis from downtown Chicago "will now be under five hours, which is remarkable because most of the Amtrak trains historically were well over 5½ hours. We're knocking well over 30 to 35 minutes off the trip," Lang said.
Trips from downtown to Bloomington-Normal and Springfield will be under two hours and three hours, respectively.
"The Chicago-to-St. Louis corridor is finally poised to become a powerhouse route for Amtrak, with travel times more competitive with flying and driving," DePaul University transportation Professor Joseph Schwieterman said.
But, "it takes two to tango. Amtrak and Union Pacific will need to work together to keep freight and passenger trains moving south of Joliet without delays. Much of the route has only a single track, which adds to the complexity," Schwieterman said.
Punctuality is also key.
"It is imperative that the percentage of trains running 'on time' be increased to closer to 90%," similar to the Chicago-to-Milwaukee service, he said. The Lincoln Service had a customer on-time performance of 79.6% for May and 70.4% for the last 12 months, according to Amtrak.
The project broke ground in 2010 and totaled nearly $2 billion, with track alone constituting about $700 million. Other major costs were locomotives and railcars as well as land acquisition, gates and fencing.
Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Omer Osman called the revamp "one of the most challenging, complex projects ever undertaken by IDOT."
The highest speed on the corridor had been 90 mph, and 79 mph when the project started.
Illinois began pushing for a high-speed program between Chicago and St. Louis in the 2000s amid complaints about delays. The state received funding during the Obama administration.
"All the pieces are finally coming together, after years of frustrating setback," Schwieterman said. "We have new and better stations, passenger cars just off the assembly line, and faster speeds. This should help divert some traffic from our congested airports and highways."