The McLean County Regional Planning Commission [MCRPC] is working with the Illinois Department of Transportation to complete the state’s first high-speed rail feasibility study. You can share your input through a survey or by visiting a virtual event.
IDOT is exploring the possibility of constructing a high-speed rail system between Chicago and St. Louis, through the Illinois High-Speed Railway Commission.
The study aims to give the commission and those studying the system an idea of what it could look like in the state and in McLean County. While there have been studies across the state before from various organizations concerning the possibility of a high-speed rail system, this is the first statewide feasibility study conducted by IDOT.
Raymond Lai is MCRPC's executive director and serves on the Illinois High-Speed Railway Commission. He said the rail system could be beneficial for the area in many ways, including work, travel and cutting down on emissions.
“From the economic development perspective and also for residents, visitors they can move from one point to another point, say from Chicago to St. Louis, in a much shorter time then currently it would take and people can work in a different city, they can come home,” said Lai. “Say they can live in Bloomington-Normal; they work in Chicago. They can do their daily commute on high-speed train for example.”
The original plan for the system would have one track from Chicago to St. Louis, Lai said if it became popular enough it would then branch out to other parts of the state. He said the two other ideal locations to expand are Peoria and Rockford, according to IDOT.
Beyond what's already been done
The tracks which Amtrak runs on have been retrofitted for high speeds before, Lai said.
"Maybe a year, two years ago ... there was some upgrade to the tracks, and the traffic say from Chicago to St. Louis, or vice versa, allow a higher speed, but not necessarily the high speed we are talking about," Lai said. "So, there were some sections that were retrofit and allow a high speed up to, I think, 110 miles per hour."
He said not all sections for Amtrak were able to be retrofit. Lai said the proposed system would reach speeds of nearly double Amtrak's 100 mph. He recognized that some people think that is already considered a high-speed train, but the new system would be much faster than that.
"The entire route, from Chicago to St. Louis ... to go all the way up to like 220 [miles per hour]," he said.
Lai said because the proposed system is intended purely for passenger purposes, it would require its own track, separate from the current ones that Amtrak shares with freight trains.
According to Lai, the convenience factor is at the heart of the high-speed rail system. Not just for workers, but for anyone in Bloomington-Normal who wants to access those bigger cities with ease.
“You can go to places, instead of spending a few days in certain cities, you can hop to different cities and shorten the time it would take just on transportation,” Lai said. “Having the high speed, it turns to giving people more choices and also a good use of time and then you save time so you can do more things.”
Seeking public's input
The goal of the survey is to gauge how much interest there is in McLean County for a high-speed rail system. Lai said the results of the survey are being relied upon for IDOT’s recommendation of the path.
“Depending on the routes and the stops it would affect different cities and towns along the way, and so I think it would be good to say, ‘Hey, there is a lot of support for high-speed rail,’” he said.
The survey itself asks participants questions concerning their current means of travel, and how they think the rail system could benefit the state in ways like economic impact and more convenient traveling.
When it comes to the timeline of the build, Lai said they are looking at a yearslong construction that could be costly, even if IDOT identifies a strong desire for it.
“It takes time, but if we don’t start it will probably go nowhere,” he said. “In terms of money, it takes all kinds. It could be a public-private partnership. It doesn’t have to be all government money.”
Lai said that the feasibility study comes first, then the planning comes second. He said they could also look to other high-speed rail systems currently being built in the country, like in California, as examples.
“There are different ways of financing such. If the market, if the ridership are there and so it will be attractive enough for somebody to put that investment in,” Lai said.
Lai said while there are several factors to consider, like where the train is stopping, the path the track would take and what its limits would be, he believes it would be worth it.
“So, a lot of considerations, lot of factors, lot of parameters to be considered,” he said. “But definitely it’s not easy.”
The rail commission is holding a virtual public event with complete details of the study of the possible high-speed rail.
