by Larry Sobczak
MARP webmaster

The Obama Administration announced $244 million in infrastructure improvements to the railroad corridor connecting Detroit with Chicago on Jan. 28.

Improvements include the replacement of the Dearborn station with a new facility at Greenfield Village, construction of a new station in Troy and renovation of the Battle Creek station. Approximately 300 miles of track will be upgraded with a long-term goal of cutting current Amtrak train travel time almost in half by eventually increasing train speeds from 79 mph to 110 mph.

The Obama administration said that track and signal improvements along the Detroit to Chicago corridor in Illinois and Indiana will greatly increase service reliability for passengers by reducing congestion and train delay times by 24 percent and increasing average speeds by from 7 to 40 percent, depending on the train.

The long-term vision for this corridor includes doubling the number of daily round trips between Detroit and Chicago and increasing speeds to 110mph.

The Detroit-Chicago railroad corridor was one of nine corridors which split $8 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars intent on improving passenger railroad service throughout the country.

“Through the Recovery Act, we are making the largest investment in infrastructure since the Interstate Highway System was created, putting Americans to work rebuilding our roads, bridges, and waterways for the future,” said President Obama. “That investment is how we can break ground across the country, putting people to work building high-speed rail lines, because there’s no reason why Europe or China should have the fastest trains when we can build them right here in America.”

“By investing in high speed rail, we’re doing so many good things for our country at the same time,” said Vice President Biden.  We’re creating good construction and manufacturing jobs in the near-term; we’re spurring economic development in the future; we’re making our communities more livable—and we’re doing it all while decreasing America’s environmental impact and increasing America’s ability to compete in the world.”

Other corridors receiving funding include the Northeast, Florida, California, Eugene-Portland-Seattle, Madison-Milwaukee-Chicago, Kansas City-St. Louis-Chicago, Charlotte-Washington D.C. and Ohio.

Ohio will receive $400 million to establish rail service between Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati. The Obama administration noted that some of the cities along this line are the largest cities in the United States without passenger rail service.

$823 million will be spent on the Madison-Milwaukee-Chicago segment. The money will be spent to establish passenger service between Madison and Milwaukee and to make track and signal improvements to increase train speeds from 79 mph to 110 mph by 2013.  The corridor will eventually connect Chicago to the Twin Cities at 110 mph.

The largest investment in the so-called “Chicago railroad hub” will be $1.1 billion for track and signal improvements along the Kansas City-St. Louis-Chicago corridor. Improvements on the St. Louis to Kansas City service are expected to provide sizable service reliability improvements; on-time performance on the route is projected to increase from 18 percent in 2008 to 85 percent in five years. Numerous construction projects, including the expansion of existing railroad bridges and universal crossovers, as well as improved grade crossings, will be funded on this segment.

Awardees: Michigan Department of Transportation, Indiana Department of Transportation, Illinois Department of Transportation

Total Approximate Funding (entire corridor): $244,000,000

Benefiting States: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois

Miles of Track: Upgraded – 300 miles

The corridor connects Chicago, IL and Detroit, MI, two of the largest cities in the Midwest, and also provides a link between neighboring states. Altogether, the system serves communities in Indiana and Michigan, connecting them to the Chicago Hub with six round trips per day.

With grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), trip times for those traveling between Detroit and Chicago will be reduced, and railroad congestion will be relieved by addressing a series of major chokepoints.

The long-term vision for this corridor includes doubling the number of daily round trips between Detroit and Chicago and increasing speeds to 110mph.

Summary of Corridor Investments

Michigan: Existing stations will be renovated in Troy and Battle Creek, MI, and a new station will be constructed in downtown Dearborn adjacent to the Henry Ford Museum.

Illinois: A flyover, approach bridges, embankment and retaining walls will be built to complement additional investments and support the construction of three new tracks for trains operating east of Lake Michigan. This project will greatly reduce congestion and allow for increased speeds of 40 percent through this area.

Indiana: A major investment will be made on the most congested and delay-prone corridor in the entire country, between Porter,IN and Chicago. The project includes the relocation, reconfiguration, and addition of high-speed crossovers and related signal system improvements, rail line additions at two locations, and the creation of a new passing tracks. The project will greatly increase service reliability for passengers travelling from communities in Michigan and Indiana to Chicago, reducing train delay times by 24 percent and increasing average speeds by nearly 7 percent through this segment.