Faster trains could slow traffic for many

Just over a dozen Chicago neighborhoods and south suburban towns could see up to 16 more Amtrak trains a day blocking traffic at grade crossings under a proposal to run higher speed trains of up to 110 mph from Chicago to Joliet.

State officials also will be weighing whether to buy property — and possibly even homes — if they decide to add a third track to the enhanced Chicago-to-Joliet segment.

Illinois Department of Transportation officials and their consultants Monday began a series of briefings on an estimated $1.5 billion plan for the 40-mile Chicago-to-Joliet leg of a 281-mile, higher-speed Amtrak rail corridor from Chicago to St. Louis. Input was invited.

Although projections are sketchy at this point, the enhancements should reduce by 5 to 30 minutes the current Amtrak trip of 50 to 75 minutes between Chicago and Joliet, depending on the train taken, IDOT officials said. Ontime Amtrak performance, which averaged 76.5 percent in the last year on that leg also should rise, they said.

And, state officials said, improvement on that segment — due by 2019 at the earliest — should shrink the total 5 1⁄2hour Chicago-St. Louis trip to even less than the 4 1⁄2 hours now envisioned.

To do so, trains would run through most segments of track at up to 110 mph — if possible — instead of the current 79 mph maximum. True high-speed rail service of 220 mph would be even more costly and is a distant goal at the moment.