Midwest Rail Lives! Work Underway in Four States
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2012/01/05/midwest-rail-lives-work-underway-in-four-states/

I've fallen off the blog since the holidays. Then this article forced me back because it coincided with my trip back home. I mean, a Chicago transit hub is growing fast. Which is - by the way - awesome.

When I go home, I like to fly into Chicago; especially right before Christmas. The one thing I hate living in the south is car dependency. Don't get me wrong, other than a semester in London, I've never been completely car-less. But at least in the Chicago area (and Great Lakes in general) there are options. I had a daily Amtrak train to Chicago that, be-it, never ran on time, and took forever; but for $20 I was downtown.

Thus my flight into Chicago commenced an entire week of car-free-ness. Ironically, I read an article on the plan announcing funds for the Detroit-Chicago and Davenport-Chicago rail line. Adding to the all-ready-under-construction, St. Louis line. Thus creating a pretty substantial hub in the midwest, especially with the combination of existing low-speed lines.

Yet... they aren't high speed. Maximum speeds at 110mph are no where near fast. It's literally 20th century 'stuff'. It's not horrible. When I was on the train from Milwaukee to Chicago, I clocked our pace at a steady  80mph. Which its still faster and more convenient than a plane of car.

What's even more awesome is that a Chicago hub will actually work. Florida gave up their funding; California is struggling with their funding; and the South received no funding... but I can't say I'm sad. Other than the east coast, Chicago is the only major cities where a good portion of the population doesn't have a car. Thus people need an option to leave the city... not just getting around the city.

Heck this already shows. Megabus entered the market (and was heavily used on my trip from Chicago to Indianapolis). Greyhound Express has also taken on an extensive hub in Chicago. The amount and frequency of these services identifies the need. A train line that would travel twice as fast would create even better access.

It makes me excited. Especially since the ease of access will trickle down into smaller markets (ah-hmm) Indianapolis, which grows better and better each time I visit. But I'll blog about that later.