Quote:
Originally Posted by Busy Bee
I wonder if the Glenview skirmish would be less an issue if Metra was electrified on that corridor and not belching squealling diesel locomotives?
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Not quite electrification, but one of the options under study was to upgrade UP's entire New Line to shift virtually all freight trains off the Hiawatha/Metra corridor south of the Wisconsin state line. UP was even supportive, since it's basically a handout to them. The New Line was built in 1903 specifically so that C&NW could run fast passenger service up their lakefront corridor (today's UP-N line).
Potentially the New Line upgrade could enable electrification on the Hiawatha corridor down the road, especially since Metra
already owns the corridor up to Rondout.
The Glenview holding track was the cheaper option at 1/4 to 1/3 of the cost, but it only narrowly serves the needs of the Hiawatha expansion plan without any provisions for further growth of passenger service along the corridor. Unfortunately the New Line plan requires running freight trains through the backyards of plutocrats in Lake Forest, so I suspect it was quietly removed from consideration.