Metra is doing a second study to extend commuter rail all the way to La Salle County.
http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottaw...php?id=389799#
Chugging Along: Commuter rail still a possibility
10/16/2009,
Dan Churney
TOPIC:The possibility of a high-speed commuter rail line connecting several towns in La Salle County has been on the table for several years. However, a second study of the proposal is soon to begin.
WHAT HAPPENED?
More than six years ago, the Illinois Valley Commuter Rail Steering Committee proposed a commuter rail service,
linking the Metra station in Joliet with La Salle-Peru, with stops at cities along the way, including Seneca, Marseilles, Ottawa and Utica. From Joliet, connections with Chicago can be made; from La Salle-Peru, the line would branch off into lines to the Quad Cities and Quincy. The committee, which is still in place, was made up of officials from communities along the proposed route. An initial study done in 2003 found the idea viable on its face. Ottawa officials have been in the lead for the project.
Three, three-car trains would travel in the morning and evening peak periods, between 90 and 110 mph on the 60-mile long Joliet-La Salle leg. The service would make use of existing tracks, but there would need to be some track and bridge upgrades, as well as construction of sidings. The likely spot for a station in Ottawa would be the former Rock Island depot in the 100 block of East Marquette Street, which CSX Transportation uses for storage. In Marseilles, the old Rock Island depot could be used; in Seneca, Utica and La Salle-Peru, new stations would be built.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Officials involved with the project have said the rail line likely would bring jobs to La Salle County, as well as encourage and facilitate travel between the county and the Chicago area. It also would allow travelers to bypass traffic congestion and at the same time reduce traffic congestion, which in turn would reduce harmful engine emissions. Also, travel by rail is largely impervious to bad weather.
The Joliet to La Salle line is one strand of a spider web of commuter lines proposed for the Midwest, which would put 25 million residents of the region within a three-hour train trip of Chicago. Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn said he considers high-speed rail service to be the most important transportation project since construction of the interstate road system in the 1950s and 1960s. The only high-speed rail in place in the United States links Washington, D.C. with New York and parts of New England.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Another study.
Ottawa City Planner Tami Huftel said the next, more detailed study is to begin shortly and last about one year.
This study, paid for with $400,000 in federal tax money, will determine if there would be enough passengers along the proposed route. The study also will look at other modes of transportation available, such as bus service. The first study, completed in 2003, directed the next study to look more thoroughly at "red flags" uncovered in the first study, such as scheduling conflicts between the commuter trains and railroads using the same lines, principally CSX Transportation.
Further studies would follow, pending government money to pay for them. Key is obtaining support of local representatives in Washington, D.C., who in turn would work to earmark money for such studies. Huftel said U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, and U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., have been contacted for help in this regard.
If everything proceeds according to plan, the rail service would not operate for at least 10 years, Huftel pointed out.
IF YOU CARE:
Visit the Chicago-based Midwest High Speed Rail Association's Web site,
www.midwesthsr.org.