Passenger Trains > What are the Chicago-Carbondale track improvements?

In the news that the Illinois General Assembly has funded $100 million for "Track improvements for Chicago - Champaign - Carbondale" I've been unable to find any information on what those improvements actually would be. Does anyone know of a document or a study that explains it?

I am also curious.  Since IC-CN tore their double track, the rail is a slow parking lot, with freight and passenger trains repeatedly delayed.  Double track is needed again from Stuenkel (south of Homewood) to Edgewood (south of Effingham).  

Obviously $100M won't pay for that amount of double track.

MEKoch Wrote:
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> I am also curious.  Since IC-CN tore their double
> track, the rail is a slow parking lot, with
> freight and passenger trains repeatedly delayed. 
> Double track is needed again from Stuenkel (south
> of Homewood) to Edgewood (south of Effingham).  

Just curious was the IC single tracking an EHH doing or was it done before he got there?

I hope that one of the improvements is getting rid of the reverse moves on the St. Charles Airline. I hope that the speeds can be increased to at least 100 mph on the trains running between Chicago and Carbondale. There is a lot of straight track.

Ed Moyers, who was appointed president of the IC on 1989, had the Homewood-Centralia segment single tracked by 8/28/91.  In a related project the automatic train stop, which enabled 90 MPH between Champaign and Centralia, was dismantled.  Can blame that one on Hunter!
Andy

An early form of "precision scheduled railroading."  Remember where Hunter Harrison got his start?
Otherwise known as selling off the parts of the business for quick profits, since amputating the parts and selling them off are worth more in short term gain benefiting( the CEO and the stockholders.
(KCS was lucky enough to end up with some of IC's "excess trackage, the Meridian Speedway)."

Only BNSF still knows how to play the "long game," and one must wonder how long that will last.

Hope by now that government has also learned from its failed experiment on "upgrading" the UP in Illinois...throwing money at a corporate entity run by quick buck artists will not necessarily benefit the public.
 

79mph Wrote:
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> An early form of "precision scheduled
> railroading."  Remember where Hunter Harrison got
> his start?
>
The Frisco?

> Only BNSF still knows how to play the "long game,"
> and one must wonder how long that will last.
>

Umm, you do know what railroad merged with the Frisco, right?
 

Passfanatic Wrote:
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> I hope that one of the improvements is getting rid
> of the reverse moves on the St. Charles Airline. I
> hope that the speeds can be increased to at least
> 100 mph on the trains running between Chicago and
> Carbondale. There is a lot of straight track.

In order to get rid fo the reverse move, they would have to build the long requsted grand crossing connection between NS and IC.  This is a really tough place to build since it is right along the Chicago Skyway.

100 Million dollars is not going to get you a 100 mph railway to cabondale.  The upgrade from Joliet to Alton has been over $2 billion, and it is still not working. 

That was EHH brain fart.

I have followed this project from a distance. Why has this been such a fiasco?

kbmiflyer Wrote:

> 100 Million dollars is not going to get you a 100
> mph railway to cabondale.  The upgrade from
> Joliet to Alton has been over $2 billion, and it
> is still not working. 

CN-IC should be double-tracked again CHI-NOL.

MEKoch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am also curious.  Since IC-CN tore their double
> track, the rail is a slow parking lot, with
> freight and passenger trains repeatedly delayed. 
> Double track is needed again from Stuenkel (south
> of Homewood) to Edgewood (south of Effingham).  
>
> Obviously $100M won't pay for that amount of
> double track.

If you mean the Joliet - Alton "fiasco," here is one recent discussion:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4805991

MSE Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have followed this project from a distance. Why
> has this been such a fiasco?
>
> kbmiflyer Wrote:
>
> > 100 Million dollars is not going to get you a
> 100
> > mph railway to cabondale.  The upgrade from
> > Joliet to Alton has been over $2 billion, and
> it
> > is still not working. 

Typhoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 79mph Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > An early form of "precision scheduled
> > railroading."  Remember where Hunter Harrison
> got
> > his start?
> >
> The Frisco?
>
> > Only BNSF still knows how to play the "long
> game,"
> > and one must wonder how long that will last.
> >
>
> Umm, you do know what railroad merged with the
> Frisco, right?
>  

...the influence of which lasted for about 15 agonizing years. Getting rid of it was like getting rid of bindweed.

TAW

The only thing I am aware of is CREATE Project P4 Grand Crossing that will allow a direct connection from the CN tracks to the NS tracks at where the Chicago Skyway passes over the CN in Chicago. The preferred alternative is summarized at: http://www.grandcrossingrail.com/project_resources.html
$100 million would be a start.

MSE Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have followed this project from a distance. Why
> has this been such a fiasco?

Simply put, lack of leadership from Illinois and Amtrak.

After the consultants, environmental studies, etc., there will not be much left of that 100 million for actual improvement.
Maybe another siding for CN to store dead trains on.  

The first step in finding what the General Assembly authorized is to contact your state representative to find out what the
bill number is.  At the beginning of each legislative session Illinois politicians introduce many "shell bills".  A shell bill
will be something with an innocuous title such as "A bill to enhance education".  As time goes on an amendment will be
introduced that strips out the entire wording of the shell bill and replaces it with wording to create a law on a totally
different subject such as a gas tax increase. No general media outlets ever print or talk about the bill numbers.  That 
would make it too east for people to find out how their "duly elected representatives" voted.

Once you have the bill number go to the "ILGA" website and you can find the entire bill as passed.

I am sure there will be some wording holding CN responsible to utilize the improvements for improved Amtrak handling.  Ha Ha Ha

FWIW the budget bill was approx. 1500 pages long and was given to the General Assembly the day before it had to be voted on.
How Illinois works.

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/19 09:15 by Englewood.

Lord, sometimes these Trainorders posts border on the ridiculous. The OP was asking about the 100m in improvements for CHI-CDL...yet no one has answered....

Well..

The 100m will be used to doubletrack/connect together sidings from Gilman to Tolono, MP 87.3-MP137.1 (Champaign is 127.8 for reference).  There has already been significant grading work completed along the abandoned second main track. 

This will allow the state trains to have more efficient meets and assist in navigating congestion in the Champaign area. There may be money in here as well for sped-up crossovers and siding switches. CN recently installed new switches at Edgewood that allow diverging trains to move through the plant at 55mph!

Adam



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/19 10:06 by AltiplanoRailtours1.

EHH gotta be rolling over in his grave after he got a $100 million bonus for taking this trackage out.
Let's hope that there is a default clause in the current negotiations, where the money will be refunded the next-time the trackage is downgraded or spun off by our Canadian friends, their successors, or future merger partner.
Gonna pay for it by taxing what or who in Illinois, maryjane?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/19 11:28 by 79mph.

kevink Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The only thing I am aware of is CREATE Project P4
> Grand Crossing that will allow a direct connection
> from the CN tracks to the NS tracks at where the
> Chicago Skyway passes over the CN in Chicago. The
> preferred alternative is summarized
> at: http://www.grandcrossingrail.com/project_reso
> urces.html
> $100 million would be a start.

I think getting this done would help more than faster speeds.

twropr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ed Moyers, who was appointed president of the IC
> on 1989, had the Homewood-Centralia segment single
> tracked by 8/28/91.  In a related project the
> automatic train stop, which enabled 90 MPH between
> Champaign and Centralia, was dismantled.  Can
> blame that one on Hunter!
> Andy

And when he went to Southern Pacific he didn't do much better, especially removing No. 1 Track over Donner Pass!