UP-Amtrak Shared Rail Corridor Advances in Illinois

What is shaping up to be the nation's first of the targeted shared-use rail corridors for higher-speed passenger and freight operations is moving into a new phase in Illinois.

The Amtrak passenger line said construction on the planned 110-mph lane between St. Louis and Chicago is moving north of Springfield starting Nov. 15.

It is one of 13 original corridors planned under the Obama administration high-speed rail program, and has already been awarded a $1.1 billion grant to help cover costs that are projected to reach about $4 billion.

That corridor is owned by Union Pacific Railroad, which has long run freight trains along the route. To tap into the federal funding, UP is still negotiating terms of a final implementing agreement with state and federal officials.

However, UP under a preliminary accord with Illinois already put a special train to work installing track, concrete crossties and track switches in a 90-mile area between Springfield and Alton, Ill., outside St. Louis.

Amtrak said this lane is part of a broader Chicago Hub Network concept of intercity passenger trains connecting a number of cities in the Midwest.

-- Contact John D. Boyd at jboyd@joc.com.