Midwest Regional Rail Initiative

[schwerve]

Originally Posted by ChiPsy

Help me out -- so the Rockford line will actually go all the way to Galena/Dubuque? Or will it terminate in Rockford?

it goes all the way to dubuque.

http://www.dot.state.il.us/amtrak/RCK_Feasibility.pdf

[jpIllInoIs]

http://www.rtands.com/newsflash/amtr...-michigan.html

Amtrak to perform high-speed rail improvement study in Michigan PDF Print E-mail
Monday, February 01, 2010

Stressing the importance of its intercity passenger rail service in Michigan, Amtrak said it will perform a high-speed rail improvement study that will focus on determining what infrastructure upgrades are needed to provide 110 mph train service on the Norfolk Southern-owned rail corridor between Kalamazoo and Detroit.

"Amtrak believes 110 mph train service across Michigan is critical for the future and we're committed to understanding what it will take to get there," said President and CEO Joseph Boardman, noting that Amtrak's Wolverine service provides three daily roundtrips between Chicago and Pontiac via Detroit over the corridor.

Boardman explained that Amtrak trains currently operate at 79 mph over the Norfolk Southern line between Kalamazoo and Dearborn, just west of Detroit. Amtrak will pay for and perform the high-speed improvement study with the assistance of Norfolk Southern and intends to complete its review by the end of May.

The study will examine all infrastructure needs and costs required to allow for 110 mph train service along the corridor including any upgrade of tracks, bridges, signal systems, highway-rail grade crossing warning devices and stations as well as analyze freight and passenger train operations. Importantly, the information gathered can support applications for future rounds of funding from federal intercity and high-speed rail capital improvement grant programs.

In addition, Boardman said Amtrak owns the rail line west of Kalamazoo to Porter, Ind., and recently increased speeds from 79 mph to 95 mph and is on target to further increase speeds to 110 mph by mid-2010. Two of the three Amtrak routes serving Michigan-Wolverine (Chicago-Pontiac) and Blue Water (Chicago-Port Huron)-operate over this section of track and each will soon reach 110 mph.

[LMich]

What line does Michigan's Pere Marquette use? I'd always thought that they all used the same line up until the Michigan-Indiana border.

[Jeff_in_Dayton]

After reading just the past few posts about all the action and desire in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan for passenger rail I am really becoming convicned that Ohio's $400M allocation for 3-C service would have been better spent elsewhere.

In Ohio there is actual political and public opinion pushback against rail transit, vs these other Midwest states, were the states are actually already subsidizing service.

This is where the Ohio money should have went, to upgrade service in Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin.

[Busy Bee]

^Start a petition to send it to Illinois! What an honorable effort

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by LMich

What line does Michigan's Pere Marquette use? I'd always thought that they all used the same line up until the Michigan-Indiana border.

The Pere Marquette splits from the Blue Water and Wolverine at Porter, IN and goes onto CSX's Grand Rapids Subdivision. It runs east of and parallel to Amtrak's line until New Buffalo, where the Amtrak line turns east and crosses under the CSX line.

This is why New Buffalo has two Amtrak stations.... previously, the Pere Marquette served New Buffalo from the CSX line, but that station was on the edge of town. New Buffalo just built a new station along the Amtrak-owned line, which runs right on the waterfront and has more frequent trains.

[LMich]

I wonder why the Pere Marquette no longer stops in New Buffalo?

[ardecila]

The former station was not ADA-compliant (no raised platform), so it would have to be rebuilt for the Pere Marquette to continue stopping there. New Buffalo chose to spend the money on a waterfront platform instead. It's just a platform, though... there's still no stationhouse, since it's really not worthwhile for 4 trains per day. Still, it's far nicer than the old one, with an attractive shelter and decorative railings.

The old station is still standing; it's basically just a large bus shelter.

[jpIllInoIs]

^^^Ardecila that is a nice graphic. This indicates that the Pere Marquette needs to cross the Blue Water/Wolverine at some point north of this junction since the Pere Marquette heads stright north and the other line head mainly East toward Detroit and Port Huron.

[the urban politician]

From SSC:

Originally Posted by jpIllInoIs

The bolded section is what interests me. We all know there is still another $1 billion of discretionary spending for HSR but There is another pool of $4 billion to be awarded for freight rail improvements. This looks very good for CREATE as well as the Indiana South of the Lake reroute project and the Ohio Gateway corridor. Most of these improvements will have excellent ancillary benefits to regional passenger rail and commuter rail and Long Distance intercity rail.

This is why the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative plan of incremental development is right for our times. We will see benefits within a year or two and continue to experience better service while the upgrades are implemented.

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking-n...as-budget.html

Passenger and freight rail win new funding in Obama's budget

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Tuesday said President Obama's $79 billion budget includes an additional $1 billion for higher speed passenger rail (HrSR) corridors as well as $4 billion for a National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund to issue grants and loans for projects, including freight rail, that provide "a significant economic benefit to the nation or a region."

These programs augment the customary multibillions budgeted for intercity, commuter/regional, metro, and light rail passenger systems and certain freight rail improvements.

“President Obama’s budget builds on an historic first year for this Department of Transportation,” said Secretary LaHood. “In addition to making critical investments in our nation’s infrastructure, we jump-started high speed rail across America, launched a campaign against distracted driving and proposed landmark transit safety legislation. This budget reflects our priorities and values by continuing to invest in safety, livable communities, and an improved national transportation system.”

The additional $1 billion for passenger rail follows President Obama and Vice President Biden’s Jan, 28 announcement of $8 billion in Recovery Act funds for states across the country to develop America’sfirst nationwide program of higher speed intercity passenger rail service.

Secretary LaHood said the budget highlights "the importance of livable communities, and providing greater choices for transportation users through the integration of transportation, housing and commercial development decisions. This budget provides $527 million for livable communities by establishing an Office of Livable Communities, creating a program to improve local and state project planning and development capabilities, and funding programs that expand transit access for low-income persons.

A budget summary document is available at www.dot.gov.

[LMich]

Originally Posted by jpIllInoIs

^^^Ardecila that is a nice graphic.

What graphic?

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by jpIllInoIs

^^^Ardecila that is a nice graphic. This indicates that the Pere Marquette needs to cross the Blue Water/Wolverine at some point north of this junction since the Pere Marquette heads stright north and the other line head mainly East toward Detroit and Port Huron.

Yes... just north of New Buffalo.

I found a copy of the South of the Lake study... unfortunately, it doesn't have the alignment maps. It does describe the 2 proposed routes in excruciating detail. Interestingly, the only route that would allow for 110mph operation (and the most expensive route) would be the construction of a new double-track main line between Englewood and Porter, parallel to (and 15 ft north of) the congested NS Chicago Line. The CSX line (Porter Subdivision) is very lightly used, and could be converted to a passenger-only line inexpensively, but it has curves that limit speeds to 79mph. They also analyzed an NS alignment at 79mph, which would require less grade separation than the 110mph scenario, and allow the Amtrak line to be built right up against the NS line instead of 15 ft away.

I posted the study over at Scribd... I found it in IDOT's Chicago Terminal application, which sought $3-4 billion to improve ALL the Amtrak lines coming into Chicago.

South of the Lake Study

[Markitect]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I posted the study over at Scribd... I found it in IDOT's Chicago Terminal application, which sought $3-4 billion to improve ALL the Amtrak lines coming into Chicago.

Do you have a link to the Chicago Terminal Application and/or any other supplemental studies for the area?



EDIT: Never mind, I found them...

High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) Program:

[LMich]

Speaking of the Pere Marquette line, I was just reading my city's alternative weekly, and an article of rail in Michigan mentions my region's quest to build itself a respectable Amtrak station. Well, they also mention that the station would be just west of the current one on the Blue Water line, but also mentions that it will sit at what could become an intersection of an extended Pere Marquette (Chicago-Grand Rapids)...

It mentions very briefly a possible expansion of the Pere Marquette from Grand Rapids to Detroit, though, I'm not knowlegable enough about current freight lines to know what freight line currently runs from Grand Rapids to Detroit. This extension would connect Michigan's three largest metropolitan areas, and given the state capital rail access to Detroit for the first time in decades.

Unfortunately, the author doesn't site the source of this speculation.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by LMich

It mentions very briefly a possible expansion of the Pere Marquette from Grand Rapids to Detroit, though, I'm not knowlegable enough about current freight lines to know what freight line currently runs from Grand Rapids to Detroit. This extension would connect Michigan's three largest metropolitan areas, and given the state capital rail access to Detroit for the first time in decades.

Unfortunately, the author doesn't site the source of this speculation.

Well, actually...

Pere Marquette Railway... currently owned by CSX.

I don't know anything about this plan, however... it's not on the Midwest Regional Rail site, so it's not in the regional plan. However, if Michigan wants to fund this new service, nobody's gonna stop them.

Lansing may just be trying to plan for the future. If they think there's even a possibility that there might be a GR-Detroit line someday, then it makes sense to build your new station where the lines would cross, to make transfers easy. It's not like you'd want a downtown station or anything radical like that.

[ardecila]

I think it got overshadowed when Obama and LaHood decided to announce the rail grants earlier than expected, but the MHSRA did a ridership study of the 220mph Chi-StL line they proposed last fall.

Check it out: PDF

Rough summary: anywhere between 2.5 million-1.4 million yearly riders, if the rail line were to magically appear tomorrow - this works out to a 26.5% mode share. It would have ticket prices of $133 for business class, or $43 for coach.

Since there's no timeline on this, they can't just pick a random year and then forecast that... So assume a fair bit of population growth and inflation between now and the line's opening, meaning that the ridership would be higher in absolute terms and the ticket prices as well.

[hammersklavier]

It's nice to see the MHSRA moving forward on that...when I originally opened it I thought it was going to be the one with the maps and stuff I saw before! But no, they're doing a whole new study...

Also, IIRC, the Chicago-Champaign-Decatur-Springfield-StL through Illinois is the one that appeared on the SNCF document, which really suggests that it's by far the most optimum 220mph route through the state (although there's no question that most of the routes that follow current freight routes should also be increased to 110).

I wonder if the MHSRA and SNCF are going to team up to work on a serious PPP proposal for this route soon? There seems to be a lot of traction for HSR in the Chicago hub (far more than 3-C). I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't ready to start building this around 2020 or so...

[ardecila]

Interestingly, they want to have a stop at McCormick Place in Chicago... despite the fact that the city wants to abandon the St. Charles Air Line (the only existing rail line connecting McCormick and Union Station). In fact, that may happen sooner rather than later, since it seems the Englewood Flyover is a go, and Grand Crossing won't be far behind.

But without the St. Charles Air Line, the high-speed trains will come up the Metra Electric line to McCormick Place, and they will need a tunnel to get to Union Station (or the West Loop Transportation Center, which would be underground anyway). The trains would then continue on along the NCS line to O'Hare, where they would presumably build the trainyard, as well as a station with a direct airport connection.

If state government continues to downplay the possibility of 220mph service (which the MHSRA really wants) then I can definitely see SNCF being brought in, IF the 110mph line is a smashing success, and IF SNCF is still interested, 6 or 7 years down the road.

[VivaLFuego]

One more reason to not turn the SCAL into a playground for a few bike fanatics just yet... even moreso than Bloomingdale, one can imagine a wide variety of usefulness as an actual transportation corridor.

[Busy Bee]

^Yep.