Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoChicago
For the Chicago-Milwaukee (Hiawatha) line, I have seen numbers as high as $1 billion to upgrade the line to 110 mph HSR. To me, that's ridiculous when considering the the improvement will be a whopping 23 minutes.
If the line were 220 mph, it would make more sense. What's the ridership in Glenview? I'd consider dropping the Glenview stop if it isn't substantial.
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I have actually thought it would be better to move that stop a bit north to Lake-Cook Rd. and redevelop the area around Deerbrook Mall which has all the characteristics of a great potential suburban TOD hub. Perhaps having a north suburban stop is not needed at all given the short distance though.
Expanding on the issue of suburban stops along HSR though I would bet that suburban stops are going to be considered somewhat essential along some of these HSR's corridors. America's metros are so spread and detached from a central train hub (compared to Europe/Japan) that for many suburbanites in places it would likely be no easier getting to the downtown station then the airport. Having a stop in east suburban St. Louis, west 'burb Detroit, and north 'burb Cincinnati may have have to be seriously considered to attract ridership.