$102 Million Brings Chicago-St. Louis High Speed Rail a Step Closer

A $102 million investment by Illinois along with federal funds from the Recovery Act will pay for double-tracking and a new rail bridge to enable 109 mph service on a key section of Amtrak's Chicago to St. Louis high speed rail corridor.

1 minute read

September 3, 2014, 1:00 PM PDT

By Irvin Dawid


This particular corridor was the first of many listed by Time's Michael Grunwald last month in the post, "Responding to Distorted Criticisms of the President's High Speed Rail Program," that illustrated results of the president's ambitious high speed rail stimulus program in response to false claims by critics that the program is a failure.

"A key swath of the high-speed rail line between Chicago and St. Louis is set to get $102 million in upgrades, Gov. Pat Quinn announced on Sunday (August 31)," writes Matt McKinney of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The two-year project will reduce travel times between Chicago and St. Louis from five-and-a-half hours to four-and-a-half hours, Quinn said in a written statement..

The work will be performed by the Union Pacific Railroad and overseen by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), according to IDOT news [PDF]. Amtrak's Illinois Service operates on the corridor.

"This double-tracking [between downstate Mazonia and Elwood] will then allow more daily round-trips at increased 110-mph speeds. Trains now travel at 110 mph between Dwight and Pontiac," adds McKinney.

A map [PDF] of the route and multi-media are available on IDOT's High Speed Rail project page.

"The state has committed $358.8 million to the Chicago-St. Louis route, with the remainder of the $1.7 billion project federally funded," notes McKinney.

[Hat tip to Adam Snider of Politico for including the article in Tuesday's Morning Transportation].

Sunday, August 31, 2014 in Chicago Sun-Times

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

Skyscrapers in Jersey City.

New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers

Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.

September 4, 2026 - The Cool Down

A New Jersey train approaches people waiting at the station.

Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds

A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.

September 15 - Mass Transit

A tall, gray power plant billows smoke into a blue sky.

EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants

Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.

September 15 - New York Times

A white RAPID bus. The lower half is light blue, and says RAPID in purple text. The bus is half visible, appearing from the left side of the image.

Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses

Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.

September 15 - KJZZ

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.