Durbin, Quinn Pledge to Make Chicago to St. Louis High-Speed Rail Travel a Reality

Interview

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Governor Pat Quinn said today state leaders are committed to fighting for and winning the federal dollars needed to make high-speed rail in Illinois a reality, pointing to the Chicago to St. Louis line as the state's premier route and top priority.

The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act included the largest investment in high-speed passenger rail in history: $8 billion. This investment is 17 times more funding than the federal government has invested into passenger rail over the last decade -- an almost 6,000% increase in funding for passenger rail.

"Over the last 8 years, I led an annual uphill battle on Capitol Hill to fund passenger rail. As a result, we were able to keep Amtrak on life support. Today is a new day. The $8 billion in the stimulus bill gives us the opportunity to make real progress toward our goals of expanded routes, improved reliability and high-speed service. Governor Quinn and I agree: Illinois is poised to be a central part of our nation's next round of rail innovation and, by working as a team, we will be well positioned to win the funding needed to create a true high-speed rail corridor from Chicago to St. Louis in the next 5 years," said Senator Durbin.

"I am committed to ensuring Illinois takes full advantage of the stimulus package, including competing for and winning stimulus dollars to bring high-speed rail to Illinois," said Governor Quinn. "The approximately $8 billion dollars in competitive funds for intercity rail would allow us to reduce the travel time from Chicago to St. Louis, the fastest growing train route in the state, from more than 5 hours to less than 4."

During the meeting this morning, Illinois leaders outlined their plans to achieve some ambitious, yet realistic goals:

* Increase train speeds along the corridor to 110 mph
* Reduce the overall trip time from Chicago-STL to less than 4 hours, making a train trip faster than car and competitive with air travel
* Achieve an average on-time-performance of 85% along the line
* Procure modern rolling stock that will provide a reliable and comfortable travel experience
* Secure at least $500 million in federal investments to leverage state and private funding to achieve these goals
* And complete the work along the line by the end of 2014.

The federal Department of Transportation is currently drafting its guidance to states on how to apply for the $8 billion made available for high-speed rail. Grant applications may be accepted as early as this spring to get people to work this construction season.

The three state Amtrak routes in Illinois' system have seen the fastest growing ridership of all the state-subsidized routes in the nation. The Chicago-St. Louis route, also known as "The Lincoln," stands out as the premier passenger rail corridor in Illinois - achieving a record breaking 57% increase in ridership in 2007-2008, the year the state doubled its investment and increased the frequency of trains along the line. While the route holds the dubious distinction of being the "most delayed train" in Illinois, service quality has improved in recent months. The route has achieved a 60% on-time status since October of last year. This past January, the route was on-time 67% of the time.

"Creating a true high-speed Chicago-St. Louis rail corridor will link up two major Midwestern metropolitan areas, allowing the efficient movement of goods, people and ideas," Senator Durbin said. "The long-term benefit of this project will keep people working and make Illinois more competitive in the 21st century global economy."

The American Association of Railroads estimate that every dollar spent on investments in our nation's railroads—tracks, equipment, locomotives, bridges—yields $3 in economic output. In addition, each $1 billion of rail investment creates 20,000 jobs.

Durbin and Quinn noted the job creation benefits of the stimulus bill as they pointed to the significant amount of work along the corridor ready-to-go this construction season.

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