Midwest High-Speed Rail « The Transport Politic

Does Senator Bond Have it Right?

June 23rd, 2009 |

» A minimal investment in rail between Chicago and St. Louis won’t get Americans excited about fast trains.

Since Congress approved $8 billion for high-speed rail in this year’s stimulus bill, Illinois has been pushing hard for improvements along the Chicago-St. Louis corridor, which they contend should be the first investment in a Midwest-wide network of fast railways. Now governors Pat Quinn (D) of Illinois and Jay Nixon (D) of Missouri are pledging to work together to fund the corridor connecting their two states. But for now, their efforts are focused on an anemic project that will ramp up speeds to only

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Midwest Leaders Suggest They Deserve $3.5 Billion for HSR

April 14th, 2009 |

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Governors join together to sign letter to DOT Secretary LaHood seeking funds for a Midwest network, defining priorities

The Governors of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin, as well as the Mayor of Chicago, have come together to sign a letter (PDF) suggesting their interest in working together to implement a regional rail network shooting out from a hub in the Windy City. The first phase of the network, indicated in the image above, would include routes to St. Louis, Missouri; Madison, Wisconsin; and Detroit and Pontiac, Michigan. These are lines that their respective states have discussed

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Illinois Begins Pushing Chicago to St. Louis Line

March 9th, 2009 |

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Chicago Business reports that Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois appeared at Chicago’s Union Station today to announce that he expected to receive $500 million of the $8 billion high-speed rail element of the stimulus package for upgrades to the Chicago to St. Louis line. Improvements along the corridor would allow trains to make the journey at 110 mph in four hours, down from 5h30 today. The Sun-Times reports that work would be completed by 2014 and that the project would be funded in part by private sources. This makes Illinois the second state after New York to announce a major corridor

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Intercity Rail in Texas, Ohio; Changes to Honolulu's Rail Plan

January 29th, 2009 |

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Ohio’s Governor Ted Strickland prioritizes new “3-C” rail connection between Cincinnati and Cleveland, through Columbus

In yesterday’s State of the State address, Governor Ted Strickland (D) announced that he’d be working towards the development of a new rail corridor – the 3C – between Cincinnati and Cleveland, via Dayton and Columbus, connecting the states’ four largest metropolitan areas and implementing the first phase 0f the Ohio Hub plan.

This will be the first time in forty years that Ohio’s major cities have been connected by rail – and will mark the first rail service for Columbus, the state capital, in decades. According to

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