Illinois High Speed Railway Commission Gets Work Started
"IHSRC has begun initial design work for a high-speed line linking St. Louis and Chicago...The study provides a chance for the public to weigh in and say that only high-speed rail will do. This means building an electrified line, with no grade crossings, that allows speeds of 186 mph or faster, and achieves a trip time fast enough for real advantages and appeal."
https://www.hsrail.org/blog/illinois-high-speed-railway-commission-gets-work-started/
How to Improve Domestic High-Speed Rail Project Delivery
A study from NYU with five recommendations to expedite these projects:
* Long-term funding and staffing at the federal level
* Adopt technical standards set by the USDOT
* Stronger ties among universities and industry
* Invest in staff to develop and manage well-defined projects
* Separate the planning process from environmental reviews.
A very pessimistic take on all the new rail line investments announced this week.
"I expect the money to, in 10 years, be barely visible as intercity rail improvement – just enough that aggrieved defenders will point to some half-built line or to a line where the program reduced trip times by 15 minutes for billions of dollars, but not enough to make a difference to intercity rail demand."
The United States Learned Little from Obama-Era Rail Investment