CHICAGO — New schedules for Amtrak’s Lincoln Service trains will take effect June 26, and are expected to shave approximately 15 minutes off current travel times to reflect 110-mph operation on portions of the Chicago-St. Louis route.
The new schedules — not yet available on Amtrak’s website as of 7 p.m. today (June 12), but described in a passenger service advisory — also include a revised departure time from Chicago for one of the four southbound Lincoln Service trains, slight changes for two northbound trains from St. Louis, and adjustments for Texas Eagle departures in the two cities.
“After many years of construction and testing for a nearly $2 billion investment, I couldn’t be happier to announce that our transition to 110-mph rail service for the Lincoln Service trains has been completed,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a press release.
The revised schedules are the long-awaited payoff for an infrastructure upgrade process that has cost $1.96 billion and taken more than 20 years, but struggled to reach its final goal because of challenges in developing a train control system. Trains actually began 110-mph operation in May, but schedule changes have been held back to ensure the current system was operating properly and to provide an opportunity to monitor actual travel times between stations [see “Chicago-St. Louis trains begin 110-mph running,” Trains News Wire, May 3, 2023].
Along with the development of the train control system, the project required installation of four-quandrant gates and loop detectors at grade crossings; closure of 39 crossings deemed at risk; installation of pedestrian gates and fencing; complete rehabilitation of the Union Pacific Railroad roadbed; and construction of additional passing sidings with high-speed turnouts.
Project funding has included $1.66 billion in federal money, primarily through an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant in 2010, as well as $300 million in state and non-federal funds. Speeds were first raised from 79 mph to 90 mph in 2020 and 2021; the new schedules will shave about 30 minutes off the schedules under 79-mph operation.
“The Lincoln Service line is a critical element of our state’s transportation network,” U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said in a release from the state’s two senators, “and I’m so pleased to see the results of critical federal funding to improve the lives and travel options for Illinoisans.” Sen. Dick Durbin called the new schedules “a major step in modernizing rail services” and said, “Making high-speed rail, and today’s schedule changes to Lincoln Service trains, happen has long been a priority of mine. I’m pleased to see the federal grants brought home to Illinois are making a true impact in the lives, and travel, of the people of Illinois.”
Amtrak President Roger Harris said in a statement, “The IDOT/Amtrak/UP team has delivered travel times that will make a real difference to our customers: less than 2 hours from Chicago to Bloomington-Normal and shorter than 3 hours to Springfield, with end-to-end St. Louis-Chicago schedules of under 5 hours.”
Harris said the new schedules are part of a “full makeover” of the Lincoln Service corridor that also includes new equipment. Illinois is part of a group of states that ordered 33 Siemens Charger locomotives and 88 Siemens Venture passenger cars for use on state-supported passenger routes in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The locomotives had been in operation since 2017. While introduction of the passenger cars have been delayed a series of production and acceptance issues [see “More Midwest Venture cars enter service …,” News Wire, April 14, 2023], the Illinois Department of Transportation says more than 50 are now in revenue service.
The lone Lincoln Service train from Chicago that will see a new departure time under the revised schedule is No. 319, which continues on to Kansas City as a Missouri River Runner. It will depart Chicago Union Station 20 minutes later than its current 9:30 a.m. start. In the opposite directions, trains 300 and 306 will continue to depart at 4:30 a.m. and 5:40 p.m., respectively; trains 302 and 318 will leave St. Louis 5 minutes earlier than the current 6:40 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Full schedules are expected to be available soon at the Amtrak website, where tickets can also be purchased. Amtrak’s advisory notes that departure and arrival times for all trains will change slightly between Chicago and St. Louis and customers should observe times on boarding documents printed on or after June 12.
