The train wouldn't hit 220 MPH on that leg...you might get up to 79 MPH "in the city", but the 220 MPH legs would be mostly/entirely new track alignments running through the countryside. Basically, it would be "conventional" speeds until you get about 10 miles out of town, and then high speeds the rest of the way. The train may run into town, but the higher speed line won't necessarily accompany it all the way (and indeed, in some cases it would be an utter waste because of the acceleration time you tend to need).
As to the issue about switching trains: Metra would have to tinker with service schedules, and you start losing your advantage if you get to the edge of town in two hours...and then have to spend another hour and a half getting into town because there isn't a Metra for another hour on Sundays. Union Station is important for another reason, namely interchangability with the national Amtrak system (and I would submit that this applies in St. Louis as well). Drop that and you're going to lose a lot of riders who would, say, take the Hiawatha or Wolverine into Chicago from a few stops out (or who would take the Metra in) and switch to the higher-speed line.
As to the issue about switching trains: Metra would have to tinker with service schedules, and you start losing your advantage if you get to the edge of town in two hours...and then have to spend another hour and a half getting into town because there isn't a Metra for another hour on Sundays. Union Station is important for another reason, namely interchangability with the national Amtrak system (and I would submit that this applies in St. Louis as well). Drop that and you're going to lose a lot of riders who would, say, take the Hiawatha or Wolverine into Chicago from a few stops out (or who would take the Metra in) and switch to the higher-speed line.
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