Midwest Regional Rail Initiative - Page 66

Busy Bee · #**1301** Posted **Sep 24, 2014, 3:28 PM**

Glimpse of Siemens Charger and Viaggio coach model at Innotrans 2014 in Berlin:

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UPChicago · #**1302** Posted **Sep 24, 2014, 6:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Centropolis

http://www.idothsr.org

I'm confused too. Danville is waaaay over there on the Indiana border.

as an aside, I wasn't aware that I was a resident of Illinois, per the map. i guess idot is in denial that the service happens to hugely benefit a city in a different state.

too many stops.....

Chi-Sky21 · #**1303** Posted **Sep 24, 2014, 6:47 PM**

Carlinville?

schwerve · #**1304** Posted **Sep 24, 2014, 7:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Centropolis

http://www.idothsr.org

I'm confused too. Danville is waaaay over there on the Indiana border.

as an aside, I wasn't aware that I was a resident of Illinois, per the map. i guess idot is in denial that the service happens to hugely benefit a city in a different state.

This is the current preferred route for 220mph service:

I could see Kankakee-Danville being straighter and cheaper than Kankakee-Champaign.

Busy Bee · #**1305** Posted **Sep 26, 2014, 1:46 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Glimpse of Siemens Charger and Viaggio coach model at Innotrans 2014 in Berlin:

One more. This time the front. Looks different than those color renderings:

railcolor.net

It looks like the Charger is shaping up to be a bit more flat faced and a little less aerodynamic that what the earlier impressions suggested. That's a shame. I wonder how much FRA regs contributed?

ardecila · #**1306** Posted **Sep 26, 2014, 1:24 PM**

Still, this is positively graceful compared to the Talgo tow truck.

Centropolis · #**1307** Posted **Sep 26, 2014, 2:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by UPChicago

too many stops.....

Carlinville is rediculous. All of these tiny central illinois stops? Most of the riders have to get in a car anyway to get to the station.

Centropolis · #**1308** Posted **Sep 26, 2014, 2:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by schwerve

This is the current preferred route for 220mph service:

I could see Kankakee-Danville being straighter and cheaper than Kankakee-Champaign.

Champaign is integral...University of Illinois...there's plenty of students from St. Louis, and of course it's loaded with Chicagoans.

ardecila · #**1309** Posted **Sep 26, 2014, 10:38 PM**

All those small-town Amtrak stops are exactly why rail service enjoys such strong support in Springfield. Price of doing business.

Fortunately IDOT's buildout should accommodate express trains with passing sidings and flyovers.

ardecila · #**1310** Posted **Sep 29, 2014, 11:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

I am hearing that Pat Quinn wants the Englewood Flyover completed before the election, so we could see it up and running this fall. This will remove the only rail-rail grade crossing on the Rock Island between Joliet and 16th Street, so reliability may improve to the point where a mixed schedule of local, express, and intercity/Amtrak becomes possible with a few miles of extra passing track.

Boy, they weren't kidding. The flyover has started "testing"/opened to regular service during off-peak periods and should open fully in a week or two.

Time for a Pat Quinn photo-op...

sammyg · #**1311** Posted **Oct 2, 2014, 7:16 PM**

Yes, the Englewood Flyover is in operation, here's a Rock Island train going over it.

• Video Link

JonathanGRR · #**1312** Posted **Oct 19, 2014, 8:15 AM**

The new Grand Rapids station will finally be opening on October 27:
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten..._Page&code=GRR

ardecila · #**1313** Posted **Oct 25, 2014, 3:57 PM**

Well this took long enough...

Quote:

Construction begins on Chicago-Moline rail service
Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Construction has started on the new passenger rail route connecting Chicago and Moline, Ill. The $23 million in improvements underway at the BNSF's Eola Yard in Aurora, Ill., are made possible by funds from the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) $177-million grant toward the project, as well as $78 million in matching funds provided by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! capital program.

The work that just started consists of track improvements and all necessary signal and capacity upgrades to accommodate the additional trains that will be utilizing the Eola Yard each day once the Chicago-Moline service begins. Grading and drainage improvements also are included. The estimated completion date is Summer 2015.

denizen467 · #**1314** Posted **Nov 5, 2014, 6:01 AM**

Regarding the main St Louis HSR line, there was mention on the radio today about some snag (legislative, regulatory, funding, or something like that) at or around Normal that would not get resolved until next year.

ardecila · #**1315** Posted **Nov 5, 2014, 6:09 PM**

Weather delay. They won't award the contract until January.

http://www.bnd.com/2014/11/04/349239...peed-rail.html

ardecila · #**1316** Posted **Dec 6, 2014, 4:52 AM**

Troy, MI Transit Center opened as of Oct. 15.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...2284926&type=1

Meanwhile, Dearborn, MI is planning to open their new station next week. The design is a weird mix of grand depot and high school gym...

photos courtesy of Detroit Free Press

Busy Bee · #**1317** Posted **Dec 6, 2014, 5:35 AM**

^bizarre. Some things make you wonder.

202_Cyclist · #**1318** Posted **Feb 9, 2015, 8:13 PM**

These Ayn Rand-disciples really do love, love, love to cut funding for important infrastructure investments. As I said on another thread, it seems like the only infrastructure the Republican party gets all worked up for is the US pipeline (built with Brazilian steel) to export Canadian oil to Europe and Asia. In Maryland, newly-elected Gov. Larry Hogan is already getting hot and bothered to cancel the important Purple line light rail investment.

Plan for Amtrak service from Chicago to Rockford on hold

http://www.bnd.com/2015/02/08/365215...cago.html?rh=1

electricron · #**1319** Posted **Feb 9, 2015, 9:39 PM**

A

Quote:

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

These Ayn Rand-disciples really do love, love, love to cut funding for important infrastructure investments. As I said on another thread, it seems like the only infrastructure the Republican party gets all worked up for is the US pipeline (built with Brazilian steel) to export Canadian oil to Europe and Asia. In Maryland, newly-elected Gov. Larry Hogan is already getting hot and bothered to cancel the important Purple line light rail investment.

Well, that pipeline wasn't, isn't, and will not be built or operated using any government funds.
As for spending government funds on transportation projects, the question to be asked is how important it really is? Is a passenger train really needed between Rockford and Chicago, considering there hasn't been one over the last 30+ years?
Some people can not fathom the idea that money wasted on unimportant stuff means there less money for important stuff. People will always disagree on which projects are more important.

ardecila · #**1320** Posted **Feb 9, 2015, 9:45 PM**

^ Don't get ahead of yourself. The rail line to Rockford is not the most worthy use of state money at this point, given Illinois' massive unfunded pension liabilities that seemingly can't be reduced except by throwing gobs of money at state pensioners.

Don't treat this as Republican hostility to rail - as the article correctly reported, all state discretionary spending was frozen, including the boondoggle Illiana Expressway to nowhere and the clean-coal FutureGen project.

In other words: is the line to Rockford dead? Maybe, but that doesn't make Rauner into an anti-rail knuckle-dragger like Scott Walker or Rick Scott.