High-speed rail could propel passengers across Illinois

By John T. Slania
Contributing Writer

Area civic and business leaders believe a proposed high-speed passenger rail line through the Fox Valley would be an engine for economic development, and they expect to find out in the next 90 days whether the federal government will punch the ticket for the project.

The proposed rail line, which could be running by 2014, would travel at speeds of up to 110 mph between St. Louis and Chicago, with limited stops including Springfield, Bloomington-Normal and Joliet.

Trains now travel the Amtrak line at maximum speeds of 79 mph to complete the 284-mile trip in about 5.5 hours. Track improvements to allow high-speed rail travel would reduce the trip to less than 4 hours.

Thomas A. Thanas, city manager of Joliet, believes high-speed rail would increase Joliet’s population due to quick access to Chicago, and drive more businesses to the area. (Photo by Dietrich Wolfframm)

Locally, a high-speed rail line would shrink the current 1:05 Amtrak trip from Chicago to Joliet to 35-40 minutes, making it comparable to the time it takes a Metra express train to travel from Chicago to Naperville.

Area leaders believe a faster trip to Joliet would make the city a more attractive location for business and residential development.

“We believe more people would live in Joliet because they could get to Chicago a lot quicker. The assumption is that businesses would follow,” said Joliet City Manager Thomas A. Thanas.

The presumed economic growth would be a particular boost to downtown Joliet, where empty storefronts and office buildings characterize a 20 percent commercial vacancy rate.

“Not only would people using the train shop at downtown retailers, but there would be a demand for downtown office space,” said Thomas Mahalik, vice president of Joliet City Center Partnership, a coalition of civic and government leaders working to revive the city’s downtown.

Regional planners also believe a high-speed rail line would be an economic boon to the entire Fox Valley.

“It would give Joliet and the surrounding region a significant image boost. It puts the area within the Chicago business market,” said Joseph P. Schwieterman, director of DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.

The fate of the proposed train line now rests with the Federal Rail Administration, which has $8 billion to allocate for passenger rail as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The rail administration is expected to announce funding decisions within the next three months.

The Illinois Department of Transportation submitted a request for $4 billion in funding for the St. Louis to Chicago line, which would include money for locomotives, improvements to existing tracks, new signaling, gating and other equipment. A major cost lies with using existing passenger and freight lines, with some tracks needing to be upgraded, and new tracks necessary in other locations.

Illinois is competing with 23 other states for the $8 billion in rail funds, and a total of $50 billion in funding request have been submitted to the federal government. But even if only a portion of the $4 billion cost was covered for the St. Louis to Chicago line, state transportation officials said the project could move forward.

“We don’t need the entire amount to begin the preliminary work. There is an expectation that there would be more funding opportunities in future years,” said George Weber, rail bureau chief for IDOT.

Indeed, the U.S. House recently voted to allocate an additional $4 billion for high-speed rail in next year’s federal budget, a figure rail advocates hope the Senate will match.

In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn pledged $850 million for high-speed rail, although the state’s budget deficit makes finding the money a struggle.
But even if the St. Louis to Chicago line were completed, it wouldn’t come close to the type of high-speed rail enjoyed in Europe, according to the Midwest High Speed Rail Association.

The Chicago-based advocacy group says Illinois should aspire to build a 220 mph rail line, at a cost of $12 billion, contending that a roughly two-hour trip from St. Louis to Chicago would make the train rides competitive with air travel.

“While the 110 mph line is an improvement, you really need a 220 mph line for it to be a game changer,” said Dan Johnson-Weinberger, a lobbyist for the Midwest High Speed Rail Association.

IDOT is studying the 220 mph rail proposal, but points out it would require new tracks, equipment and locomotives, and would take 20 years to build.

For now, state and local leaders seem content with channeling their energies on constructing the 110 mph rail line.

In Joliet, for example, the city has applied for $55 million in American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to build a “multi-modal” transportation center, which would link rail, bus and taxi service in one facility. The facility would handle the proposed Amtrak high-speed rail line, and regular Amtrak service between Chicago and San Antonio, New Orleans and Los Angeles.

It would also serve the existing Metra Rock Island and Heritage Corridor lines to Chicago. Pace buses, Greyhound and charter buses, private taxis and limousines, cars and bicycles also would use the facility.

“The multi-modal center would be right in the heart of downtown and would be a big economic boost,” city manager Thanas said.

Civic leaders agree, and view the multi-modal transportation center as an important component to a high-speed rail line.

“Joliet has always been a key intersection in the state,” said Mahalik, of the Joliet City Center Partnership, “and we believe that high-speed rail and the multi-modal transportation center would be huge opportunities for a downtown revival.”

Posted on Wednesday, December 09, 2009 (Archive on Wednesday, December 16, 2009)
Posted by jstoltz Contributed by jstoltz

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