Preparations for improvement of Union Pacific Railroad tracks used by Amtrak south of Springfield will prompt two daily Lincoln Service trains to originate and terminate in Springfield for 10 days, starting August 7. Alternate transportation will be provided to and from points south to St. Louis for Trains 303 & 304.

As announced on July 20 by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, construction will begin in early September on the Chicago to St. Louis high-speed rail route. An agreement between the Illinois Department of Transportation and Union Pacific will allow upgrades to be made on an initial 90-mile segment of Union Pacific track to prepare it for high-speed rail. The $98-million dollar project is funded through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will support an estimated 900 jobs.

Additional temporary changes in Amtrak service to and from Springfield will be announced later this month, before the start of track improvements from south of Springfield to north of Alton. These track upgrades and others north of Springfield will include the installation of new, high-speed rail and concrete ties. This work is expected to be complete by year's end.

Illinois DOT has been a partner of Amtrak for nearly 39 years and has made significant progress on the Chicago-St. Louis Lincoln Service Corridor in cooperation with the UP, which owns the right-of-way south of Joliet and operates rail freight services on the line. Extensive rehabilitation of the track and signal systems has been performed between Springfield and Dwight, but this will be the first major improvement between Springfield and Alton.

In January, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration awarded $1.2 billion in ARRA funds for high-speed passenger rail to Illinois - one of only three states to receive an award of more than $1 billion. Illinois was among 31 states chosen to receive a total of $8 billion that President Obama and Congress made available for high-speed passenger rail. Illinois DOT estimates federal investment in high-speed rail is expected to create 6,000 jobs in the state.

Illinois' high-speed rail signature route, Chicago to St. Louis, received $1.1 billion 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.

Amtrak and Illinois DOT will announce forthcoming temporary service changes and provide reports via the state's Amtrak Illinois website. Passenger Service Notices will be posted at stations and will be displayed as part of the booking process on Amtrak.com.