Improvements supporting future high-speed rail on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor north of Springfield, Ill., will cause the daily Amtrak Lincoln Service trains to originate and terminate in Bloomington/Normal from Nov. 15 through Nov. 23 and from Nov. 30 through Dec. 10. This work on the Chicago-St. Louis route will also cause the Chicago-San Antonio Amtrak Texas Eagle to detour without other scheduled stops between Chicago and St. Louis. Alternate transportation will be provided in most cases.

Passengers should note the track work will not be performed and normal schedules will be operated from Thanksgiving Eve (Nov. 24) through that weekend and into the next week (Nov. 29).

The northbound departures of the chartered motor coaches and vans from St. Louis, Alton, Springfield and Lincoln are scheduled one hour ahead of the regular Lincoln Service train schedules in order for the northbound trains to leave on-time from Bloomington/Normal.

The Chicago to St. Louis high-speed rail corridor is the first high-speed rail project in the country to begin construction. Under an initial agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation, Union Pacific is installing new concrete ties and track switches along the corridor. The first phase of the project is being carried out south of Springfield, concluding Nov. 9. The second phase, between north of Springfield and Lincoln, will begin Nov. 15.

Amtrak ridership on this corridor has grown significantly with the creation of the Lincoln Service and the addition of two round-trips in 2006, when ridership surged 42 percent from the previous year. Without adding frequencies, Lincoln Service ridership grew another 14 percent in 2008, six percent in 2009 and 11 percent in 2010. From October 2009 through September 2010, 642,413 passengers have ridden Amtrak trains on the corridor, an increase 64,612.

The Midwest has received more than $3 billion in competitive federal awards in 2010 toward the development of the Chicago Hub Network. When completed, the network will connect more than 40 of the largest cities in the Midwest with passenger rail, including 60 daily roundtrips from Chicago.

In a recent report, Illinois PIRG projected a completed network will create 57,000 permanent jobs and support 15,200 jobs during the ten years that it would take to construct the system.

Illinois' high-speed rail signature route, Chicago to St. Louis, received $1.1 billion in federal funds for corridor improvements. These improvements will allow Amtrak Lincoln Service trains to operate at speeds up to 110 mph and include new locomotives and passenger cars, rebuilding of track, additional highway-rail grade crossing active warning devices, and implementation of state-of-the-art safety technology. Two new modern transportation centers in Joliet and Normal, IL are planned and fully funded through federal, state, local and railroad partnerships.

Construction at Chicago's Union Station is currently under way to expand passenger capacity, and the St. Louis Gateway Station recently received federal funding for track improvements.