Action Alert Feed
The Network:
Midwest Regional Rail Initiative
The Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI) is a cooperative effort between Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, and nine states -- Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin -- to develop a network of 100-mph trains operating on upgraded freight tracks.
Increased speeds and service efficiencies would reduce travel times dramatically. The Chicago-Detroit trip, for example, would drop from the current six hours to less than four, Chicago-Twin Cities from the current eight plus to less than six, and St. Louis-Kansas City from five hours 30 minutes to less than four hours. The nearly nine hour Chicago-Cincinnati and Chicago-Cleveland trips would be cut in half.
These efficiencies would be achieved through state-of-the-art train communication and control systems, highway/railroad grade crossing safety enhancements, rehabilitation of existing and construction of new track and sidings. In addition to a travel time reductions, the system would feature additional frequencies -- as many as 17 daily roundtrips between Chicago and Milwaukee (including Amtrak's current long-distance trains).
Ridership on the entire system is projected to skyrocket from the current 1.5 million passengers per year to 9.6 million passengers per year.
Benefits would include $9 billion in new economic activity and 4,000 construction jobs.
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin are expected to apply for construction funds made available in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. (as of 6/30/09)Click here for a copy of the MWRRI Executive Report (1488 KB, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).