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Amtrak promises high-speed trains in Midwest after successful test run
Passenger train traveled 111 mph on part of a route between Chicago and St. Louis.
Mon, Oct 22 2012 at 10:51 AM
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Photo: WBEZ/Chicago Public Media/Flickr
High-speed train travel has come to the Midwest and it promises to transform transportation options in that part of the country. An Amtrak passenger train hit a regional record of 111 miles per hour on Oct. 19 in a test run that proves the viability of super-fast trains in the area.
The five-car, two-engine Amtrak passenger train hit 111 mph — a notch above the target of 110 mph — during its route between Chicago and St. Louis. The train normally travels 79 mph or slower. Although the high-speed portion of the journey only lasted about five minutes, it proved the speeds were possible.
Amtrak said the train will regularly travel at the newly proven speed on a 15-mile stretch between the cities of Dwight and Pontiac by this Thanksgiving and that the remainder of the route will be sped up by the year 2015, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
The test run was attended by a number of political dignitaries, including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who said, "Four years ago we were nowhere. Illinois and the country was a wasteland when it came to high-speed rail. This is a dream come true today." The federal government contributed $1.2 billion in stimulus money to make this possible.
Chicago Tribune reporter Jon Hilkevitch said the super-fast train traveled "like a jetliner slicing through calm air." Joseph Szabo, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, told Hilkevitch that the high speeds are made possible by a combination of new rails and smart engines that allow it to anticipate the speeds it will need to travel more than a mile in advance. "That locomotive can sense whether there is any mass that is violating the safe zone inside the gates," Szabo said. "If it senses a car, a human or anything, it shuts the train down or at least gets it below 20 mph depending on top-end speed."
Environmentalists praised the test run, saying high-speed rails create jobs and reduce reliance on auto and air travel, reducing carbon emissions in the process. Once the full route between Chicago and St. Louis is ready by 2015, the high-speed train will complete its journey in four and a half hours, an hour less than it takes today. It currently takes the same amount of time to drive between the two cities as it does to take the train, so the high-speed route could eventually be an attractive option for travelers.
Others expressed doubt that this particular route will generate enough income to make the high-speed rails worth the investment. "We're yoking ourselves to trains that will obligate taxpayers to provide billions of dollars in future subsidies," Kristina Rasmussen, vice president of the Illinois Policy Institute, a free enterprise-focused think tank, told Bloomberg.
Interestingly, the route between Chicago and St. Louis was once much faster. Coal-powered trains traveled as fast as 124 mph 70 years ago, according to the Chicago Tribune.
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What a joke,, high speed rail is over 200 kph. Thailand is building 3 high speed lines . China to Bangkok will have a 200kph line for freight & passengers & then the line will be extended to K.L. & Singapore.
New York still has storm rubbish hanging around the streets. Power still up poles, 100 year old tech. Time to stop talking & do some work!!
Only in America would we define a 'clean train' as one that travels at only 124 miles an hour and is still powed by fossil fuels. I suppose it's a step...but it's the step of a toddler.
I travel via train. Sounds good to me... Now expand the locations... I need to travel to Maryland and Los Angeles...
That 124 mph steam train is a reference to The Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha, in Wisconsin or possibly in northeastern Illinois, not to a steam train on the St. Louis line. All the same, there used to be some pretty fast trains radiating out of Chicago, including four different routes to St. Louis, three different routes to St. Paul, and two different routes to Green Bay and to Detroit.
Interesting. I live in Indianapolis and Amtrak has stated that it is cutting its service from Indianapolis to Chicago unless it can get more tax-payer funding. How in the hell are they going to pay for this?
After traveling from MI to Chicago again this summer, the train has cinched itself as my favorite form of travel. It's as fast as the Detroit to Chicago flight, and drop you off downtown - and it's a hundred times more pleasant. I'd rather take the train than drive, and it's cheaper (and no parking fees).
If you want to know what is behind the high speed rails, look at Agenda 21. This is to connect the population centers when the US is resettled in the name of resource sustainability.
why in hell would anyone go from chicago to where is that.... ah, st. louis? surely there are other more attractive, and important places to go to and from. maybe not in the mid=west, but
perhaps if a person lived among the 2.5 million of St. Louis Metro area, and wanted to visit family in the 10 million-metro area of Chicago, I could see a reason to travel via train. But hell, no one lives near family anymore, right?
Frankly, Chicago beats the pants off NYC and LA, and heck, most of the major cities out there. I guess we've got a know-nothing coast snob.
They should install more of them
Who exacly are these people in such a hurry to get to St. Louis?
The people that actually run the country and feed it.
I come from a long line of railroaders and fondly remember the stories of my Grandfathers, both of whom had careers with the PRR. Exceeding 100mph was an almost daily occurance, especialy on the "Southwind" from Chicago to Miami and with two "K-4s" pulling twelve to fourteen passenger cars! My Grandpa's Kline and Hudson were two of those engineers.
The American rail system is light years behind the japanese or germans where trains travel at 250-300 MPH. I just can't wait to see our train go 110 MPH. It will only take 1 cow to wreck the whole system. The japanese have it figured out. maybe we should let them create our rail system.
Too bad none of this is happening in Wisconsin where we still travel by cow.
In short, yes, there is as good of transportation in Chicago as there is in NYC. St. Louis is smaller, but yes - obviously. Are you seriously that goofy?
If we want 'high-speed' train service again...maybe we should go back to coal-fired trains. Then the coal industry would switch 180 degrees and politically push for faster trains.
Perhaps the Repugs need to stop putting the constant axe to commuter rail.