Major Chicago-East Rail Study Gets Funding

Planners are about to start working towards speeding train traffic on one of the country's busiest sections of railroad. 14 Amtrak trains (every Amtrak train going east from Chicago except the Cardinal and Hoosier State) plus over 90 Norfolk Southern freight trains ply the 40 miles between Chicago and Porter, IN every day.

This double-track segment (triple-tracked in some spots) is at its designed capacity, meaning that on a normal day, all trains move through on schedule. But if a train is delayed before reaching this segment so that it is outside of its assigned "slot" in the running order, or if a track is closed due to trackwork or a derailment, delays to both passengers and goods begin to cascade in both directions.

As someone who rides trains that use this section of track several times a year, I was heartened to hear yesterday's news that a $3.2 million Federal Railroad Administration grant -- with a match of $200,000 each from the states of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, plus Norfolk Southern Railway, which owns the line -- will fund a comprehensive study that will determine ways to reduce rail congestion and let passenger trains achieve higher speeds between Chicago and points in Indiana, Michigan and farther east. Among the improvements to be studied will be the construction of an entirely new double-track, passenger-only railroad between Chicago and Porter to completely separate passenger trains from freight trains on this segment.

These improvements will not only make travel on existing trains between Chicago (and points west, south and north) and Detroit, Port Huron, Grand Rapids, New York and Washington (plus intermediate points) faster and more reliable, it will also provide significant room for expanded train service, including more frequencies to Michigan, one or two day trains between Chicago and Cleveland or Buffalo, and even additional frequencies between Chicago and the East Coast.

NARP joins our partners at All Aboard Ohio and the Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association in welcoming the announcement of this study. When the study is complete in 2 to 3 years, expect NARP to be leading the charge for the states, the federal government, and Norfolk Southern to fund the full implementation of its recommendations.