Thursday morning rail news:
— The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority has released the draft Environmental Impact Report for a project to extend Amtrak San Joaquin service and Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail service to Sacramento, beginning a 45-day period of public comment on the plan. The project involves improvements to Union Pacific’s Sacramento Subdivision as well as construction of new stations in Lodi, south Sacramento, Sacramento City College, Midtown Sacramento, Old North Sacramento, and Natomas/Sacramento Airport. The project would lead to two additional San Joaquin roundtrips daily, as well as the extension of ACE service. The full report is available here.
— A conductor on Metra’s SouthWest Service line has tested positive for the coronavirus, the commuter railroad has reported. WBBM-TV reports the conductor has been home since experiencing symptoms on March 25, and other employees who had direct contact with the conductor have been in self-isolation. Three other Metra employees, none of whom were in positions with contact with the riding public, tested positive earlier this week.
— Springfield, Ill., will receive $33 million for grade-crossing separation projects as part of ongoing work to realign rail right-of-way through the city. WAND-TV reports the funds from the Illinois Commerce Commission provide $11 million each for underpasses at Madison and Jefferson streets and North Grand Avenue. In a statement, Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder said, “This commitment allows us to continue our progress, not only moving trains from Third Street to 10th Street by 2025, but also securing the long-awaited Quiet Zone along the Third Street corridor.”
So, the UP mainline will be abandoned from Iles to N. 10th St. in favor of a new line from the NS from E. Phillips St. to the UP at E. Black St. The Amtrak depot moves six blocks to the east out of the center of the state government district and downtown. Taxi and limo costs will no doubt increase. Longtime home owners on 10th probably won’t get anything near what it costs to buy a house today in Springfield.
There was connection between the C&IM and the GM&O at Ridgely that could have been upgraded/reinstalled to move UP freight trains out of downtown Springfield via the IC/C&IM line through east Springfield. Passenger trains could continue to serve the current Amtrak depot. I guess if Illinois, a financially troubled state, can find an expensive way to do something, they’ll go for it.
I still want to know whatever happened to the higher speed service between Chicago/St Louis.
The UP line from Ridgely Yard currently crosses the intersection of 11th Street & Ridgely Avenue southwesterly to 3rd Street. The plan is to make a slight curve to align it with 10th Street. This will have it merge with the NS line (going from NS’ one track to two tracks) and continuing south where the lines will split at the old Iles Junction. Running the UP on the new alignment will have it cut directly through a building complex which houses a state agency. The Great Western Station is now a museum. Union Station is also a museum and is affiliated with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum located across 6th Street downtown.
I understand the desire to reroute UP freight trains from downtown. With the IC/GM&O merger of 1972, the ICG built a connection between the former GM&O at Iles Tower (GM&O KC/STL junction and the GM&O/Wabash crossing) to the IC line on the east side of Springfield. This allowed the ICG to run KC and STL trains directly into former IC Markham Yard in south Chicago rather than operate transfer runs from the GM&O Glenn Yard on the southwest side of Chicago to Markham. Won’t UP traffic have to use the former C&IM to get from Stearns Ave. to Ridgley Tower to get back on to UP?
As for the separation project in Springfield, Illinois it brings a couple of things with it.
– Abandoning the GM&O Amtrak Station
– Which will require a new one on the Norfolk Southern route through town
– Ripping out of recently installed concrete ties and low impact crossings that support Amtrak HSR by FRA, IDOT and Union Pacific. (perhaps they can be recycled elsewhere) Several millions wasted.
As to the effectiveness of the whole thing….
– Moving UP freight traffic with periodic coal drags of IL high sulfur coal
– Moving Amtrak
a whole 7 blocks east will *not* do anything for bringing any kind of quiet to the downtown (other than the horns)
A good thing will be that the City of Springfield can get rid of those 1900 era overpasses with 12 feet of clearance or less.
That NS line (former Wabash) will now carry all the UP traffic from the former GM&O route (Alton) and the traffic going to Chicago via the former CNW at Nelson.
It also carries KCS traffic coming in from the west to the NS yard. Along with stops for the new Amtrak station.
There is also irregular pass through traffic on the CN (former IC) 8 blocks further east that also supports C&IM access with coal drags to the Kincaid Power Plant.
I have spent time in downtown Springfield. You can hear those C&IM diesels from 15 blocks away.
So while the new road underpasses will allow for a free flow of pass through freights and coal drags through town and take away several sets of crossings, it will *not* remove the train noise completely.
Springfield will have the honor of having 3 historic train stations now.
– Union Station
– Great Western Station
– Gulf Mobile & Ohio Station