high-speed rail

Chicago-St. Louis High Speed Rail Takes Environmental Step Forward

The Associated Press and St. Louis Public Radio — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:53:29 +0000

Illinois and the federal government have approved an environmental impact statement for the high-speed rail line under construction between Chicago and St. Louis.

The review is an important step because it identifies a route through Springfield that would end a dispute that had threatened to hold up the project.

It also recommends a route around some of the congested tangle of rail lines between Chicago and suburban Joliet. Upgrades to that suggested corridor would be $500 million cheaper than the existing route because fewer overpasses would be needed.

Illinois Doubling Down On High-Speed Rail

Adam Allington, Illinois Public Radio and The Associated Press — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 20:29:36 +0000

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn was on board Friday when an Amtrak train reached speeds of 111 mph for the first time along a Chicago to St. Louis route. The train hit the mark on a stretch between Dwight and Pontiac before braking back to normal speeds of 79 mph. By the end of November, paying passengers will get to experience the higher speeds on that initial section between Dwight and Pontiac.

Work on high-speed rail continues in Illinois

Bill Raack — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:38:01 +0000

State and federal officials held a meeting in Alton Thursday on plans to upgrade train tracks between St. Louis and Chicago to allow for high-speed service.

Work is already underway to improve tracks and road crossings in Illinois to allow for higher-speed trains three times per day. But Mike Garcia with the Illinois Department of Transportation says officials want to be able offer more service through their partner, Amtrak.

Mo. lawmakers deal setback to high-speed rail plan

The Associated Press — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:15:06 +0000

A Missouri House committee has dealt a setback to Gov. Jay Nixon's quest for $1 billion in federal high-speed rail money.

The House Budget Committee rejected an attempt Wednesday to insert the rail money into a state budget bill.

That comes just two weeks after Nixon held a news conference to announce Missouri was applying for $1 billion of the $2.4 billion of federal rail money that Florida decided not to use.

Missouri going after Florida's rejected high-speed rail funding

Adam Allington — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:31:50 +0000

Missouri is one of a handful of states applying for some $2.4 billion in federal funding for high-speed rail projects that Florida rejected last month.

Governor Jay Nixon was in Kirkwood today to announce Missouri's application for nearly $1 billion in new funding.

In recent months, rail projects have become politicized with many GOP lawmakers calling for states to refuse the funds.