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Illinois High-Speed Rail Construction Affects Service between Chicago and St. Louis
Illinois High-Speed Rail Construction Continues through the Summer 2012
Starting June 16, 2012, the Illinois Department of Transportation (Illinois DOT) and Union Pacific Railroad will begin the final phase of 2012 upgrades to Illinois signature Chicago - St. Louis high-speed rail route for future high-speed Amtrak trains. This is the last scheduled year of large-scale construction that will result in substitute motorcoach transportation on this corridor.
During construction, chartered motorcoaches and connecting Amtrak train service will be provided for Lincoln Service (Trains 300-307) and Texas Eagle (Trains 21/321/421 and 22/322/422) passengers at stations between St. Louis and Chicago. The chartered motorcoaches will not operate on the same schedules as the Lincoln Service and Texas Eagle. Up-to-date train and motorcoach schedules are available on http://Amtrak.com/ , our free iPhone app and at 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).
The temporary changes will allow Union Pacific to improve the tracks to enable the Lincoln Service trains to travel at speeds up to 110 mph (177 kph), an increase from the current maximum of 79 mph (127 kph). In addition to allowing trains to travel at a higher rate of speed, the improvements will provide a more comfortable ride and shorter trip times.
Illinois DOT and Amtrak are planning to preview higher speed trains in September 2012 between Dwight and Pontiac. For information about other exciting improvements that will be brought to this corridor, visit the Official Illinois High-Speed Rail website, http://www.idothsr.org/ and Facebook page, http://facebook.com/IllinoisHighSpeedRail or call 1-855-IDOT-HSR (1-855-436-8477) for questions or comments about the project.
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