Midwest high speed rail gets another slight boost

[WICT106]

See link: Chicago's high speed rail dream is arriving.

I cona only hope that this is built all the way to the Twin Cities. I think this would serve as a significant catalyst for economic expansion and development.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

See link: Chicago's high speed rail dream is arriving.

Dreaming about merely getting the travel time to Madison down to three hours is pretty pathetic. Google Maps tells me Chicago Union Station, Chicago to Madison, WI is 147 miles, and about two and a half hours by automobile. If the US were a first world country, we'd be expecting Chicago to Madison by train to be under an hour and a half, maybe even under an hour. (If you could cover the middle 110 miles at 220 MPH, that takes a half hour, so then the question is whether the other 37 miles could be covered at an average of 74 MPH. Which really boils down to a question of how long the train will be traveling through city areas where a 220 MPH alignment can't be built.)

 

[WICT106]

See link: Chicago's high speed rail dream is arriving.

Dreaming about merely getting the travel time to Madison down to three hours is pretty pathetic. Google Maps tells me Chicago Union Station, Chicago to Madison, WI is 147 miles, and about two and a half hours by automobile. If the US were a first world country, we'd be expecting Chicago to Madison by train to be under an hour and a half, maybe even under an hour. (If you could cover the middle 110 miles at 220 MPH, that takes a half hour, so then the question is whether the other 37 miles could be covered at an average of 74 MPH. Which really boils down to a question of how long the train will be traveling through city areas where a 220 MPH alignment can't be built.)

I can speak from personal experience that the drive between Madison, WI and downtown Chicago takes four hours -- on a good day. The rail service would be an improvement.

 

[Joel N. Weber II]

I can speak from personal experience that the drive between Madison, WI and downtown Chicago takes four hours -- on a good day. The rail service would be an improvement.

Having experienced that same trip as a passenger (to get to Chicago Union Station so I could catch the Lake Shore Limited), I'm pretty skeptical it takes that long, though I wasn't carefully watching the clock.

It does help that the southbound trips I've made have been on Sundays, and the northbound trip from CUS was in the middle of the day on Friday when we avoided peak commute traffic.

 

[Mark]

Any step, however small, towards more passenger rail fast or slow is always a good thing!

 

[birdy]

Any step, however small, towards more passenger rail fast or slow is always a good thing!

Well, Chicago-Milwaukee-Minneapolis is an excellent project. Three major cities, a real benefit for moving people in inclement weather that plagues the area during the winter, and the start of making Chicago a HSR hub as it should be.

But think big. I think true HSR is actually an easier sell to those of us out of area, so long as there are several projects going on at the same time and its perceived as being part of a national project and not a one-off boondoggle. As an out of area taxpayer, I don't mind my tax dollars going to build a proper bridge over the Mississippi, but I would object very strenuously to a pontoon bridge to save a lousy buck.

 

[frj1983]

I can speak from personal experience that the drive between Madison, WI and downtown Chicago takes four hours -- on a good day. The rail service would be an improvement.

Having experienced that same trip as a passenger (to get to Chicago Union Station so I could catch the Lake Shore Limited), I'm pretty skeptical it takes that long, though I wasn't carefully watching the clock.

It does help that the southbound trips I've made have been on Sundays, and the northbound trip from CUS was in the middle of the day on Friday when we avoided peak commute traffic.

Joel,

It very much depends upon the traffic...on a good day you might very well get there in under 3 hours, but if the traffic gets heavy and it usually does or the weather turns bad and it usually does, then forget quick driving times. In the 12 years I have lived in the Chicagoland area, I have seen automobile traffic grow exponentially. I used to be able to drive back to my home state of Wisconsin from Aurora (using IL 47) in about an hour. Now I can't even get to Lake Geneva in any less than an hour and a half! Heading for Madison or coming back, the headache is even worse! :blink:

I'd be curious to know if Van Galder Bus Lines (the Amtrak connecting Bus between Chicago and Madison) can keep to it's 3 hour 20 minute schedule. Anybody know?