More recently, the floodwaters have started to recede. If the lake were to become a permanent feature, it could leave a portion of the high-speed rail right of way under water. The flooding prompted discussion of a rebirth of Lake Tulare, once the largest lake West of the Mississippi.
#Us highspeed rail update#
The California High Speed Rail Authority’s March 2023 Project Update set back the date for Central Valley service to late 2030 at the earliest-a stark contrast to the original projection of 2020 for service along the entire Phase I line connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim.īut shortly after the Authority released its update, several work sites near Corcoran flooded, halting construction.
#Us highspeed rail upgrade#
Department of Justice and Amtrak signed a settlement agreement in 2020 to upgrade stations throughout the country to comply with the ADA.This year’s rainy season has raised a new threat to the California high-speed rail project’s construction schedule: flooding. These include measures to increase compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, such as wider and more stable walkways between cars, wheelchair lifts and seat designs to facilitate easier wheelchair transfers. The new cars, which cost about $3 million each, are engineered to minimize noise and increase accessibility. The upgraded passenger cars will be rolled out by the end of August, with updated cafe cars slated for 2024, according to Jennifer Bastian, the Illinois Department of Transportation official who managed the passenger car project. Rail passengers will also see new railcars on the Lincoln Service route and several other routes throughout the Midwest, including the Chicago-to-Carbondale Illini/Saluki route and the Chicago-to-Quincy Carl Sandburg/Illinois Zephyr route. In addition to the higher speed service, the infrastructure project also included major upgrades at rail crossings and new stations in Dwight, Pontiac, Carlinville and Alton, as well as upgrades to the Lincoln, Normal and Springfield stations. "Our railway is just a microcosm of the monumental collaboration of the federal government, the state of Illinois and local governments to modernize our infrastructure," Pritzker said. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood were on hand for the news conference, alongside others from Illinois' congressional delegation, representatives of federal transit agencies and Union Pacific Railroad. JB Pritzker, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, U.S. Local, state and federal officials celebrated the infrastructure investment at Chicago's Union Station on Monday. RELATED: Metra proposes major fare structure, zone changes for 2024 In FY 2019, the route saw about 628,000 trips, according to Amtrak data. Despite the growth, ridership has yet to surpass pre-pandemic levels. In fiscal year 2022, the Lincoln Service route had a ridership of 476,000, up 82 percent from 261,000 the previous year, which included several months in late 20 when the COVID-19 pandemic was still disrupting daily travel. "We really think that now we'll really begin to penetrate that market in a meaningful way south of Springfield and really begin to compete with the aviation industry between St. Ray Lang, Amtrak's vice president of state-supported services, said he believes the upgrades to route speed will help the company make rail travel more appealing downstate. Around $300 million in funding for the project came from a mix of state and non-federal sources, according to the governor's office. The funds mostly came from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a 2009 stimulus package passed in response to the Great Recession. The speed upgrade is part of a broader $1.96 billion infrastructure project aimed at upgrading passenger rail service in Illinois. Less than half of Amtrak trains pass 100 mph, according to a March Amtrak report. The faster speed doesn't meet the federal definition of high-speed rail - 125 mph - but the new Lincoln Service is faster than most other Amtrak trains.
#Us highspeed rail full#
The trip is now a full 30 minutes quicker than when the service ran at 79 mph when the project began in 2010.
The Amtrak line ran its first 110 mph service on Monday, up from 90 mph previously, which would make the one-way trip less than five hours long. Louis to Chicago via Amtrak's Lincoln Service will be about 15 minutes quicker starting this week due to track upgrades that allow for increased speeds.
Louis goes into effect Monday.ĬHICAGO (WLS) - A trip from St. Amtrak's new train schedule for higher-speed service between Chicago and St.
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