Half-Assing High Speed Rail
Union Pacific agreed to allow 110 mph passenger trains on the tracks being rebuilt mostly with federal stimulus funds between Chicago and St. Louis only because it inherited the obligation when it bought the track along the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1996. An earlier Southern Pacific agreement allowing the Illinois Department of Transportation to run faster trains was part of a grandfather clause.
“If I had a choice, I wouldn’t be doing this investment (in high-speed rail),” Union Pacific Chief Executive Officer James Young told the Bloomberg news agency in July. “We need to focus on freight for our good and for the good of the country.”
Sandoval said Illinois “can’t sell the real benefits of investing in freight and Amtrak service on the back of the bullet train.”
“Our current state strategy falls short because it relies on the Union Pacific to deliver to the people more round-trips, more reliability at faster times without any guarantees. This investment in the UP is not the bullet train the people want,” Sandoval said. “We should be upfront with the people of Illinois.”
He is right about no guarantees. The Union Pacific has not agreed to allow for increases in passenger service once the 110 mph track upgrades are completed on the 284-mile line between Chicago and St. Louis. So a huge investment is being made to operate only a few trains a day?
It also doesn’t help to go really fast only to have to pull over for a freight train and wait.