MITCHELL, Ill. — A $10.1 million project to reconfigure and modernize rail operations at Lenox Tower, a key rail junction northeast of St. Louis, has been completed, the Illinois Department of Transportation has announced.
The joint federal and state project, also funded by Amtrak and freight railroads, was announced more than a year ago [see “Illinois DOT announces project to unsnarl junction …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 20, 2021].
It involved the replacement of the 97-year-old tower, demolished in May 2021, and realigning a complex intersection of four rail lines, increasing train speeds through the project area, decreasing passenger train travel times, and reducing time lost to blocked grade crossings. The work was funded by a $5.1 million federal Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant, along with $2 million from Union Pacific, $1.3 millioin from IDOT, $1 million from Amtrak, $440,000 from BNSF Railway, and $300,000 from Kansas City Southern.
“Union Pacific is pleased the Lenox Tower project is complete, resulting in more efficient freight and passenger rail service,” Liisa Stark, Union Pacific’s vice president of public affairs, said in a press release. “This project is a great example of a successful partnership leveraging infrastructure investments that benefit both the public and private sectors to support the economy.”
Ray Lang, Amtrak vice president for state-supported services, said the passenger operator “happily” made its investment “because of the immediate benefit it provides to our customers on the 10 Lincoln Service and Texas Eagle trains that use this track daily. IDOT, UP and Amtrak all want to eliminate delays and reduce travel times on the popular Chicago-St. Louis corridor and this work is part of that continuous initiative.”
“IDOT, UP and Amtrak all want to eliminate delays and reduce travel times on the popular Chicago-St. Louis corridor and this work is part of that continuous initiative.””
Hey CN, no message here for you eh?