FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION : PASSENGER RAIL

Description:

Major Cities: Chicago, Twin Cities, St. Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis

Segment	Mileage	Top Speed (goal)	Travel Time (goal)
Minneapolis to Chicago	445	110 mph	5:52 hr
Detroit to Chicago	279	110 mph	3:49 hr
St. Louis to Chicago	282	110 mph	3:50 hr
Kansas City to St. Louis	283	90 mph	4:14 hr
Cincinnati to Chicago	319	110 mph	4:03 hr
Cleveland to Chicago	341	110 mph	4:23 hr
Cleveland, Columbus to Cincinnati	254	110 mph	3:28 hr
Indianapolis to Louisville	111	79 mph	4:00 hr

Chicago Hub Network- Midwest Regional Rail Initiative

In August 1998, nine Midwestern states, led by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, released a blueprint/business plan for preserving, improving and expanding rail passenger services (including high-speed rail) within the Midwest region. The study sponsors included the States of Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Nebraska, and Ohio, as well as Amtrak. The FRA provided $200,000 toward the initial $600,000 planning effort.

Illinois (Chicago Hub Network: Chicago-St. Louis spoke)

Accomplishments and Status:

Illinois has made major investments in the Chicago-St. Louis spoke of the Chicago Hub Network. Positive train control, track upgrades, grade crossing improvements, and route rationalization in the St. Louis area have been prominent among these investments; progress has also been made in the environmental work for the route.

Since 1995, Illinois has provided approximately $100 million in State funding to rail projects of which $70 million was targeted for the Chicago to St. Louis high-speed rail corridor. The Springfield to Joliet segment has undergone extensive track rehabilitation work by the Union Pacific, bringing the track up to FRA Class 6 standards. The track has already supported 110 mph test operations and will be suitable for revenue operating speeds of 110 mph once the positive train control project now underway (see below) enters service. The Illinois Commerce Commission sponsored installation of 69 four-quadrant crossing gates on all public crossings where train speeds are expected to exceed 90 mph with loop-type vehicle detectors to prevent gates from 'trapping' motorists on the crossings. Installation of the enhanced gate systems is nearly complete and many are already in service.

Illinois DOT, FRA, all of the major freight railroads and Amtrak represented by the Association of American Railroads, and system suppliers Lockheed Martin and WABTEC Corporation have committed almost $100 million to the North American Joint Positive Train Control initiative which is nearing completion of installation of a positive train control system on 123 miles of the Springfield - Joliet corridor segment. Full field-testing of the system will be conducted in the summer of 2004. The program is addressing major positive train control system interoperability issues among the various railroads, as well as installing the demonstration system in Illinois. The demonstration system uses differential Global Positioning Systems aboard locomotives, digital ratio and advanced computers to monitor the location of trains in the rail system and oversees operation by locomotive engineers to prevent collisions and overspeed derailments. The system on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor is controlled from Union Pacific's Harriman Dispatch Center in Omaha. Necessary safety approvals are being requested from FRA; this will be the first revenue-service application of a new performance-based FRA Microprocessor-Based Signaling System rule, which will substantially change the regulatory approach to future signal system developments.

The Federal Railroad Administration and the Federal Highway Administration jointly manage the Section 1103(c) grade crossing hazard elimination program in designated high-speed corridors. $16,429,938 has been invested in reducing grade crossing hazards in the Chicago Hub Network since the program's beginning in 1993. Details on the grade crossing inventory in this corridor can be found HERE .

Outlook:

The FHWA and FRA published a record of decision on initial high-speed rail improvements for the Chicago to St. Louis corridor in January 2004. Illinois continues to analyze three different routes to access downtown Chicago. The State's proposed operating plan would offer eight round trips per day between Chicago and St. Louis with downtown-to-downtown trip times of fewer than 4 hours, saving an hour and a half over existing schedules.

Michigan (Chicago Hub Network: Chicago-Detroit spoke)

Accomplishments and Status:

The State of Michigan and Amtrak have been making improvements in track, signals, stations, and equipment to incrementally upgrade the Chicago to Detroit designated high-speed corridor. The State has invested about $53 million through FY 2003.

Since 1995, Michigan has received grants from FRA's Next Generation High-Speed Rail Program (NGHSR) to install and demonstrate an advanced communications-based Incremental Train Control System on an 80-mile segment of the Amtrak-owned portion of the corridor between Kalamazoo, Michigan and the Indiana State line. Installation is complete on the demonstration territory; 45 miles has been in service at 90 mph since January 2002; cutover testing is underway on the remainder. Safety verification is underway, to permit speeds up to 110 mph. NGHSR funding totaling $19.07 million has been invested. Michigan DOT, Amtrak and Harmon Industries have contributed over $20 million in cost sharing.

Outlook:

The State and Amtrak provided funding to upgrade the track for Class 6 (110 mph) operation and add fencing and station improvements. The State and Amtrak have been very active in closing grade crossings as well to support the high-speed initiative

Wisconsin and Minnesota (Chicago Hub Network: Chicago-Milwaukee-Twin Cities spoke)

Accomplishments and Status:

In addition to the studies undertaken as part of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, the State of Wisconsin has pursued detailed studies of key segments of the Chicago-Milwaukee-Twin Cities spoke. Wisconsin has received a Finding of No Significant Impact from FRA covering improvements planned for the Milwaukee to Madison portion of the corridor. Minnesota and Wisconsin are continuing to work with host railroads to upgrade grade crossings along the corridor.

Outlook:

A new station has been constructed to serve the General Mitchell International Airport south of Milwaukee. A new station has been constructed one mile north of the former station at Sturtevant and the downtown Milwaukee Station has been completely renovated into a multimodal transportation center.

Indiana and Ohio (Chicago Hub Network: spokes between Chicago-Indianapolis- Cincinnati/Louisville; Chicago-Toledo-Cleveland; Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati)

Outlook:

In 2001, Ohio announced a $200 million statewide grade crossing initiative to treat its major grade crossing issues. Ohio also has a major study underway to expand the planning efforts of the Midwestern states to include additional routes.

Indiana is seeking funding for a programmatic environmental impact study for its high-speed corridors as it seeks to prioritize rail projects.

Chicago Hub Network Contacts
*Organization*	*Personal Contact*	*Topics*
Wisconsin DOT 4802 Sheboygan Avenue, Room 155-B Madison, WI 53707	Randy Wade Passenger Rail Implementation Manager Tel: 608-266-9498 Fax: 608-267-3567 randall.wade@dot.state.wi.us	Amtrak passenger, freight and grade crossings.
Illinois DOT 300 W. Adams Street Chicago, IL 60606-5195	George Weber Chief, Rail Passenger Section Tel: 312-793-4222 Fax: 312-793-5674 George.Weber@illinois.gov	Amtrak passenger, freight, and grade crossings.
Michigan DOT Bureau of Transportation Planning Michigan Dept. of Transportation P.O. Box 30050 Lansing, MI 48909	Tim Hoeffner Administrator, Intermodal Policy Division Tel: 517-373-6672 Fax: 517-373-6457 Cell: 517-719-4062 hoeffnert@michigan.gov	Amtrak passenger, freight, and grade crossings.
Ohio Rail Development Commission 50 West Broad Street, Suite 1510 Columbus, OH 43215	Don Damron Rail Planner Tel: 614-466-2509 Fax: 614-728-4520 ddamron@dot.state.oh.us	Amtrak passenger, freight, and grade crossings.
Indiana DOT Indiana Govt. Center North Local Programs Division 100 N. Senate Avenue, Suite N955 Indianapolis, IN 46204-2228	Michael D. Riley Manager, Office of Railroads Tel: 317-232-1491 Fax: 317-232-1499 Cell: 317-503-0528 mdriley@indot.in.gov	Amtrak passenger, freight, and grade crossings.

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) contacts for the Chicago Hub Network