 The construction of the track for high-speed rail will commence
today at Godfrey and work its way north toward Logan County. If all
goes smoothly, the new track for the high-speed trains will be laid
from Godfrey to just south of Springfield, then from north of
Springfield to just south of Lincoln by the end of this year.
Even so, it will still be several years before people can actually
witness the 110 mph trains streaking across the Illinois prairie,
but in the meantime there is much to be accomplished, including
informative meetings such as this one.
Morse opened the meeting by talking about her firm's role in the
construction of the high-speed rail. The firm is responsible for
assisting IDOT, Union Pacific and Amtrak in establishing and
maintaining a dialogue with cities, counties and area residents that
will be directly affected by the construction of the new railway.
Stead, who is the administrator of the rail safety program for
the ICC, spoke about the role of that office, saying that the ICC is
responsible for oversight of all public utilities, and that rail
transit is a public utility in this case.
He said his office will offer oversight of the construction and
implementation of high-speed rail, with emphasis on public safety
and public education.
"Everybody in this room is concerned about (safety). High-speed
rail will not be successful if it is not safe," Stead said. He added
that the ICC and IDOT will work together to assure that crossings
are safe and that there is public education regarding high-speed
rail.
George Weber of IDOT then spoke, first explaining the
construction process, which is projected to reach Logan County late
this year, in November or December.
What is starting today is only the first phase of the
construction and involves taking up the current track and railroad
ties and replacing them with new track and concrete ties.
The mechanics of this operation is done by a machine referred to
as a track renewal train, or TRT. The TRT is actually a train that
is about six miles long. It houses all the equipment necessary to
pull out the old railroad ties, remove the old track and lay down
new ties and new track. It travels at approximately two miles per
day.
Prior to the TRT doing its job, some preliminary work is done
with other machinery, including loosening the old track from the
ties and laying the replacement track down so that the TRT can pick
it up and put it in place.
Due to the sheer size of the TRT, one of the main concerns for
local officials and residents was the closing of crossings during
construction. One gentleman from Williamsville explained that when
the TRT hits his town, it will basically split the town in half,
with all the crossings closed for a period of five days. He said
the greatest concern was that it was going to leave half the
town without emergency services. In addition, there would be
consequences for area businesses.
Weber said these were exactly the types of concerns the
meetings are meant to address. He commented that IDOT would work
with the village of Williamsville to come up with a reasonable
remedy.
Locally, Dan Fulscher of the Logan County Emergency Management
Agency expressed similar concerns. He asked that his office be given
plenty of notice as to what was going on with the construction and
said he would need time to look at alternative routes for
emergency services for the entire county.
Weber assured him that IDOT would be communicating with EMA on a
regular basis and would offer whatever assistance they could to
assure public safety.
In addition to the temporary closure of crossings during
construction, conversations also took place about whether or not
there would be permanent closures of some crossing when the
high-speed trains are put into operation.
Stead and Weber both commented on this and were quite blunt,
saying that in a perfect world there would be no crossings at all,
but that everyone was aware this would not be a practical solution
to safety concerns.
Weber said that as IDOT looks at permanent closures, there will
be conversations with those who will be affected by it and that
hopefully everyone will be able to work together to come up with
practical solutions.
Lincoln Alderwoman Marty Neitzel asked if there could be mandated
closures. The answer was that through the ICC rules, IDOT can
permanently close a crossing. However, Weber said the rule has
never been enforced. He reiterated that he wants public
participation, good conversations with residents and community
leaders so that the best possible solutions can be worked out. He
also anticipates that there will be some permanent closures, but at
this point he can't say where that might occur.
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Stead offered a few comments on public safety, saying that the
current scenario at a crossing will most certainly change.
"Today, when you come to a crossing and the signal has been
triggered, you can look one way or the other and see the train, or
the headlight of the train," he explained. "But with the faster
trains, when that signal is triggered, you're not going to see
anything. You are going to have to trust the signal and know that
the train is there and is coming."
He said there will be meetings and forums to address train
crossing safety, and he hopes these will educate people to the risks
and will in the end save lives.
In addition, IDOT will address safer crossing guards. Weber said
there are currently several drop gates in Illinois and they appear
to be working well, so they may be the final answer for vehicle
traffic.
Stead also said that pedestrian traffic would be an issue. He
summarized his concern by saying that in a train-versus-pedestrian
accident, pedestrians seldom survive, so safety issues there must be
addressed as well as education.
While it all sounds a bit ominous, the fact is that high-speed
rail will benefit Illinois. IDOT is anticipating that when the new
double-track system is completed, Amtrak will increase its offerings
to eight round trips per day, all high-speed, with five of those
stopping in Lincoln. In addition it is expected that freight transit
will increase, as those trains will have a separate track to run on.
Currently Amtrak statistics show that on the route from Chicago
to St. Louis, the trip takes 5.5 hours one way and averages a speed
of 50.1 miles per hour. With the new system the trip will take four
hours one way with an average speed of 72.6 miles per hour.
Weber said Amtrak is projecting that travelers will choose rail
over their own vehicles, and possibly airplanes as well, once the
faster speeds are established.
It was also commented that the 110 mph speeds will be used only
where it is safe and practical. In town, speeds will be considerably
less.
During the construction phase, there will be changes in Amtrak
services in this area. Right now Amtrak will run to Springfield
only. From there, travelers will be taken to St. Louis by bus. When
the track renewal train moves north of Springfield, there will be
some rerouting of trains to other tracks. Morse said that Amtrak
will post all route changes on their website.
Morse also commented on the website her firm has set up for the
construction phases. The website,
http://www.idothsr.org/, will have information about high-speed
rail and also offers a public comment page.
Morse said her firm wants anyone and everyone who has
comments or questions to go to this page and express them. She said
her firm's job is to gather public input and assist IDOT in
addressing all concerns.
The page is not a multiple-choice questionnaire, but rather an
embedded e-mail, so that comments may be made in the writer's own
words and not limited to a specific framework.
"We think people may be surprised to learn that we want to hear
from them, but we do. What the public has to say about this project
is very important to us," she concluded.
Morse also said that press releases and public information will
be put out by her firm on a regular basis. She has an established
contact list and will maintain good communications with the public
as work progresses.
___
Related websites:
http://www.idothsr.org/
http://www.connectthemidwest.com/
[By NILA SMITH]
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