Midwest Regional Rail Initiative

[sammyg]

Audiofyl on Youtube has put up another update on the Englewood flyover. The flyover itself is erected, but the embankments leading up still need more work.

• Video Link

[Mister Uptempo]

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

By Jon Hilkevitch
Tribune reporter
5:58 p.m. CDT, April 10, 2014

Long-sought plans to restore passenger rail service next year between Chicago and Rockford got a boost Thursday with the announcement of a new route.

Service between the two cities stopped in 1981.

The new Amtrak service will begin in late 2015 with one roundtrip daily between Union Station and a temporary 7th Street station in Rockford, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. A permanent Main Street station along the Rock River in Rockford will be constructed later, officials said.

The cost of the project to upgrade tracks and signals and make other safety improvements is $223 million, which is being provided through the state’s capital program, officials said. It does not include the additional expense of subsequently building a permanent Main Street station along the Rock River in Rockford, officials said.

Plans call for expanding the train schedule to two daily roundtrips in late 2016 when the route is fully signalized, and increasing train speeds to 79 mph from 59 mph, which will reduce total trip times to about an hour and a half, officials said.

Stops are also being planned for Elgin, Huntley and Belvidere.

The route will eventually continue west to Dubuque, Ia,. with en route stops in Freeport and Galena.

The new route that will be utilized is on tracks owned by Metra and the Union Pacific Railroad.

The decision followed unsuccessful negotiations to use tracks owned by the Canadian National Railway.

The rest of the story can be found here.

[ardecila]

I think this is a huge upgrade over previous plans. The former CN alignment was dead-straight and (in theory) offered the possibility of high speeds through Chicagoland, but in practice it will be much more reliable to place Amtrak on Metra's trackage. Plus, that brings Amtrak service right into downtown Elgin and the growing I-90 corridor (Huntley, Belvidere), and it probably puts the new Amtrak trains into the north side of Union Station where there is less congestion.

This also opens the possibility that Amtrak funds could be used to improve the MD-W line infrastructure over time, including A-2 Interlocking, in the same way Amtrak has invested in the Northeast Corridor.

[Mister Uptempo]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I think this is a huge upgrade over previous plans. The former CN alignment was dead-straight and (in theory) offered the possibility of high speeds through Chicagoland, but in practice it will be much more reliable to place Amtrak on Metra's trackage. Plus, that brings Amtrak service right into downtown Elgin and the growing I-90 corridor (Huntley, Belvidere), and it probably puts the new Amtrak trains into the north side of Union Station where there is less congestion.

This also opens the possibility that Amtrak funds could be used to improve the MD-W line infrastructure over time, including A-2 Interlocking, in the same way Amtrak has invested in the Northeast Corridor.

One can only hope that the STB rules in favor of Amtrak in the ongoing complaint that they filed against CN over two years ago. It should make CN a little more amenable to allowing the Rockford-Dubuque segment to run on their tracks, and a little more cooperative on those Amtrak routes currently running on the CN.

[ardecila]

75th St Corridor released its Draft EIS (after several years of inactivity).

http://www.75thcip.org/envstudies.html

It's not directly part of an intercity rail corridor but it will shift Metra's SWS trains onto the Rock Island Line, proposed to become an intercity corridor with the shifting of Amtrak's St. Louis trains.

This move will also free up space at Union Station south for additional intercity trains. The recent changes to the Rockford proposal will also keep those Rockford trains out of Union Station south, so it buys the city some time to eventually add capacity.

[hygge]

Does anyone know the status of the Porter Junction work and the new siding between Porter and the Ind/Ill border for trains coming from Michigan? I was under the impression that this work started a few months ago but am not able to find any information or timeline on the work. It is kind of the final piece for reliable and faster trains from the 3 MI lines. Thanks!

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by ardecila

75th St Corridor released its Draft EIS (after several years of inactivity).

http://www.75thcip.org/envstudies.html

It's not directly part of an intercity rail corridor but it will shift Metra's SWS trains onto the Rock Island Line, proposed to become an intercity corridor with the shifting of Amtrak's St. Louis trains.

This move will also free up space at Union Station south for additional intercity trains. The recent changes to the Rockford proposal will also keep those Rockford trains out of Union Station south, so it buys the city some time to eventually add capacity.

I pored through the PDF last night. I still have a hard time believing that there wasn't a better solution to connecting to the RI main than plowing through that neighborhood south of Hamilton Park. Go up to 70th and the connection could have made a double radius turn between 70th and 72nd where there is much more vacant land and dwellings more ideal to clear than those large single families south of the park.

Also I've only been able to find one artist impression of the connector viaduct. It's the same one that's been around for several years now. Anyone know if there is another image out there and if there is specific details about the viaducts design?

[ardecila]

No details yet. It will probably be similar to the Englewood flyover, with precast concrete I-beams on ugly concrete piers.

I have a hard time getting worked up about the alignment. The people living here will likely get far more than their houses are worth, and with the foreclosure crisis there's no shortage of available homes nearby. The one church that stands in the way is actually looking forward to leaving their shitty rundown building.

[Mister Uptempo]

Purely speculation at this point, but looks encouraging...

2 high-speed train sets built for Wisconsin set to leave Milwaukee

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
By Lydia Mulvany of the Journal Sentinel
Updated: 2:55 p.m.

In what appears to be the final chapter of an ill-fated venture in Milwaukee, Spanish train-maker Talgo is vacating its factory on the city's north side, and its two unused high-speed train sets may soon take to the tracks.

The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee has received notice that Talgo will end its month-to-month lease agreement in the Century City development at N. 27th and W. Townsend streets.

"It appears that the trains will be leaving imminently," city spokesman Jeff Fleming said Wednesday.

-SNIP-

Talgo officials did not immediately return requests for comment about where the trains are going and why they are ending the lease.

There has been speculation within the industry that Michigan's Department of Transportation is interested in buying the train sets for its Wolverine service between Chicago and Detroit.

The agency issued a request for proposals in March for ready-to-operate trains capable of 110 mph speeds for August delivery.

Though no one has confirmed that Talgo responded to the request, public records show Talgo attended information sessions. There are no other companies with fully built, modern trains.

The rest of the story is here.


image source - Milw. Journal-Sentinel


image source - Talgo, USA

[LMich]

Seems this is more than just idle speculation. Here's a story from The Detroit News back on the April 20:

MDOT eyes Wisconsin passenger trains idled in legal dispute

By Leonard Fleming | The Detroit News

April 20, 2014

Michigan transportation officials are looking to buy or lease new passenger trains sidelined in a legal dispute between their Spanish manufacturer and Wisconsin.

A spokesman for the Michigan Department of Transportation confirmed officials contacted Talgo Inc. with a request for proposal for an undisclosed number of the trains to be used for at least three high-speed routes until state-of-the-art trains the state is buying arrive in 2018.

“We are examining the possibility of buying or leasing new equipment to run on Amtrak lines in Michigan until (we get) the new equipment that we have ordered,” MDOT spokesman Nick Schirripa said.

The trains that Michigan has an interest in sit unused in Milwaukee after Wisconsin officials and Talgo ended an agreement to use the cars. Talgo is suing Wisconsin after state officials accused the company of never completing promised work and suspended payment.

...

MDOT officials are looking to save money because federal subsidies to use Amtrak trains have been slashed, raising the state’s cost to operate the Wolverine route from $8 million annually to $25 million. That includes funding for two other routes that break off from the Wolverine.

...

This could be a win-win. Wisconsin is acting like they don't want them (or only want them as a pawn), and Michigan's looking to save money. If Walker doesn't want them, we'll be more happy to take them off his hands for a fair price.

[ardecila]

That photo is actually one of the two sets produced for Oregon's Cascade route.

The Wisconsin trainsets are in white and Wisconsin cardinal (red). It'll be very ironic to see these pulling into Ann Arbor... maybe MDOT will repaint them in blue and maize.

[LMich]

Oh, god, I hope not. Just paint forest green over the red, and call it a day since we're trying to save money, and all.

[guesswho]

Random question, but has there ever been a study to expand high speed rail from Detroit to Toronto?

And I ask with the Chicago - Toronto route in mind. It's only a 7 hour drive in light traffic, and both cities have excellent (when compared to the rest of the Midwest) public urban transit for riders once they arrive - no need for a car really.

[ardecila]

It won't happen unless the US and Canada reach an agreement for an open border. The security procedure would add a long time to the trip.

[guesswho]

Originally Posted by ardecila

It won't happen unless the US and Canada reach an agreement for an open border. The security procedure would add a long time to the trip.

Good point. But the AMTRAK trip from Vancouver to Seattle only takes about 30 minutes (45 at most) at the border crossing and that's the same border (I was on it as recently as February), so I don't see why it would take that much longer.....?

[Wizened Variations]

Originally Posted by LMich

This could be a win-win. Wisconsin is acting like they don't want them (or only want them as a pawn), and Michigan's looking to save money. If Walker doesn't want them, we'll be more happy to take them off his hands for a fair price.

Very smart move. Add a bigger order and move the factory from Wisconsin to Michigan.

Get a good artist who has spent time studying Japanese HSR end cap paint jobs and the locomotive would actually look rather handsome.

The particularly great looking E7.

http://www.railjournal.com/media/k2/...ba2a865_XL.jpg

[Mister Uptempo]

Originally Posted by ardecila

That photo is actually one of the two sets produced for Oregon's Cascade route.

You're right.


image source - Talgo, USA

Fixed.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by Mister Uptempo

You're right.


image source - Talgo, USA

Fixed.

Jesus every time I look at that cab car it's hard to imagine how they could have done worse. What a glaring example of thoughtless artless engineering. Don't give me that FRA crash worthy requirements excuse either, a talented industrial designer could have made it attractive. Where are the Loewy's and Dreyfuss's of this generation? Shameful.

[ardecila]

I'm guessing the economies of scale didn't allow Talgo to spend a lot of time and money in design. They were prepared to bring their existing Talgo XXI design to the US, but the FRA regs made that impossible. With only two small orders in the US and zero orders in Europe, Talgo didn't see much point to spending money on a team of industrial designers and engineers.

There are plenty of Loewys and Dreyfusses out there, but they're not working in rail. Good design adds value, but manufacturers don't need to do much when there's so little competition in the US market. This also means that there is no organized opposition to FRA's regulations.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I'm guessing the economies of scale didn't allow Talgo to spend a lot of time and money in design. They were prepared to bring their existing Talgo XXI design to the US, but the FRA regs made that impossible. With only two small orders in the US and zero orders in Europe, Talgo didn't see much point to spending money on a team of industrial designers and engineers.

There are plenty of Loewys and Dreyfusses out there, but they're not working in rail. Good design adds value, but manufacturers don't need to do much when there's so little competition in the US market. This also means that there is no organized opposition to FRA's regulations.

I somewhat disagree. All you need is a company or leadership of a company that values design. I am actually shocked Talgo was ok putting their name on that refrigerator box.