Illinois celebrates start of high-speed rail work

Written by jrood

Local, state and federal officials recently celebrated the launch of a $1.1-billion high-speed rail project in Illinois, the first in the nation, reports the Alton, Ill., Telegraph. The contingent touted fast, safe travel, more efficient transport of freight and reduced need for foreign oil and less pollution with the forthcoming high-speed rail system.

Jobs were strongly
emphasized at the press conference outside the Alton Amtrak Station. Some 900
jobs will be created initially, with that number eventually reaching 6,000.
Overall, directly and indirectly created jobs will total 24,000, officials
said.

The gathering was to mark
the start of the improved Union Pacific right-of-way, the first leg running
nearly to Springfield. Eventually the trains will travel 110 mph from St. Louis
to the Chicago hub at Dwight, south of Chicago. A connection to the city’s
Union Station would be built later.

Gov. Patrick Quinn said the
state would study prospects of someday increasing speeds to 220 mph.

Of Illinois’ $1.23 billion,
$1.1 billion will be used for the new ties and rails – including addition of
sidings on which trains temporarily pull off the tracks to let another one pass
by – and safety features to accommodate high-speed passenger and freight trains
along 284-mile corridor. Among additions will be better signal systems,
overhaul of train stations and state-of-the-art control technology for better
safety.

Joseph Shacter, director of
the Illinois Department of Transportation, said construction is going quickly
with a half-mile-long track-replacement train that Union Pacific is using to
put down the high-speed rail components.

"It is 18 cars long
and it is going at a tremendous pace putting down new rails," Shacter
said. "It is putting down 5,000 ties per day."

Shacter said specifications
just recently came out for the high-speed, bi-level train cars with
single-level car specifications to be ready by the end of the year. Bidding for
cars will be in 2011, he said.

Once in place, travel time
between the cities will be cut by more than an hour from the current five-hour
trip to less than four hours.

The officials said pre-planning
allowed Illinois to be the first to receive the money and begin implementing
the system, which eventually will be established throughout the Midwest.
Chicago will be the hub. It is only one of three states to receive more than $1
billion.

The Illinois General
Assembly also voted to provide its $400 million "match" for the
grant.

The overall Midwest system
is receiving $2.6 billion for high-speed rail as part of the stimulus funding.

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