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8/4/2023
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker yesterday was joined by federal, local and business leaders to call for federal funding for the Chicago Hub Improvement Program, a series of projects that would invest nearly $1.1 billion in regional rail infrastructure and upgrade Union Station.
The Chicago Hub Improvement Program aims to secure a $872.8 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration's Federal-State Partnership Program, made possible by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. If secured, the federal dollars would help advance many regional improvements, resulting in better performance for travelers in the Midwest and across the country, Pritzker administration officials said in a press release.
As Amtrak's top national priority, the projects would expand capacity, eliminate bottlenecks and improve air quality, accessibility, reliability and customer experience for more than 30 million passengers annually, they added.
Grant applicants with Amtrak include the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Chicago Department of Transportation, Cook County, Metra, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and the Michigan Department of Transportation, which are contributing a combined $218.2 million toward the improvements. Grant announcements are anticipated later this year.
The effort is supported by $50 million from the governor’s Rebuild Illinois capital program, which addresses all modes of transportation.
"This proposal would not only make much-needed improvements to Union Station and existing rail lines throughout Illinois and into Michigan — it would unlock a vast system of new and expanded passenger rail services throughout the Midwest, with Chicago's Union Station serving as the hub," Pritzker said.
The Union Station projects consist of improving platforms, upgrading the concourse and reactivating tracks for passenger use that were first built for the Old Post Office, increasing capacity for both Amtrak and Metra. The station’s ventilation system will be upgraded.
In addition, the grant would help fund a new connection between Union Station and the St. Charles Air Line bridge over the south branch of the Chicago River near 18th Street. Combined with additional track east of the bridge, the connection will save up to 15 minutes on Illini/Saluki and City of New Orleans trains.
Another program element calls for restoring 16 miles of a second track Amtrak owns in southwest Michigan to eliminate a bottleneck and help reduce by 30 minutes the trip between Chicago and Detroit.
In the past 15 years, ridership in Illinois has doubled, with the introduction this summer of two 110 mph Amtrak trains between Chicago and St. Louis.
"The time is now to seize the opportunity to maximize Chicago's role as the passenger rail hub of the nation, and position both the city and the state to remain the economic engine for the Midwest, and its people, for generations to come," said Amtrak Board Chair Tony Coscia.