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Everyone wants a faster train, right? Unless you’re riding on a pleasure excursion. But for those speeding to work on Amtrak on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor, your ride will be significantly shortened, as the train is going to up its game. The Illinois Department of Transportation, along with Amtrak, got the federal thumbs-up to swoosh along at 110 mph. These rails are owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, which previously only permitted trains to go 90 mph, so this adds 20 mph to the possible speed.
That means the trains operating between Joliet and Alton will especially see a benefit. For now, the 10 daily trains that move along the Chicago-St. Louis corridor will keep to the same schedule (while going faster en route), just to experiment and see how fast the trains will be able to move between stations. Once that’s been figured out, the schedules will be adjusted to account for the faster travel time.
The trains affected by this exciting change are four Lincoln Service round-trip rides and the Texas Eagle train.
It’s not exactly high-speed rail, but it’s still a step in the direction of moving things along more expeditiously. However, concerns arise as always for safety around the tracks for both animals and humans. Volunteers from Illinois Operation Lifesaver can come into school classrooms to talk about how to keep people safe around tracks and railway crossings to reduce the chance of collisions, injuries and even fatalities across the state’s 7,400 miles of active rail lines. Here’s one tip from their website: if your car gets stuck on railroad tracks, get out, move away from the tracks, call the phone number on the blue and white emergency sign to alert the railroad of the obstruction on the tracks—and if the train approaches, run toward the train but away from the tracks to avoid flying debris when the train hits the car. We hope no one needs this information!
Amtrak cautions in a press release that trains run faster than they look and are “quieter than ever.” Drivers, pedestrians and bikers should only use designated public crossings. Always obey flashing crossing signals and wait at lowered gates until they rise. Drink your milk, sit up straight, and have a fast ride!