Optional Pre-Title
Change the way the world sees Illinois
With rolling prairies, world-class universities, and innovative companies dotting the state, there’s so much potential.
Decades of infrastructure planning centered on cars has left people with few ways of getting to it. We need an aggressive statewide railway program to expand freedom, opportunity, and prosperity statewide.
The “Fiscal Cliff” makes it urgent to re-think trains in Illinois
Years of starvation budgets have left the State’s transit agencies unable to adjust to new travel and work patterns.
The Illinois General Assembly is debating ways to ensure that transit agencies begin to grow.
Great trains are the backbone of making transit work – for the whole state.
What Illinois should build
Critical Chicago Projects
High-Speed Rail
Take Action
Optional Pre-Title
High-Speed Rail Starts with Chicago
Chicago’s four terminal stations offer direct service to 525 stations in 36 states.
There is potential for many more. What happens in Chicago truly has a national impact.
Four Electrified Routes
There should be a master plan, with federal funding, to make Chicago hum. It starts with four electrified routes into and through the city dedicated to Metra regional rail and fast passenger trains.
Critical Chicago-Area Projects
Several big projects in Illinois will have huge benefits far beyond the state borders.
Success Story
Illinois partnered with the Union Pacific Railroad to rebuild most of the Chicago – St. Louis Lincoln Corridor for 110 mph. It offers important lessons for shared-use lines across the country.
An integrated plan with far reaching effects
It should be practical and affordable to travel to every corner of the state. Without a car.
There are many transit ideas floating around the state legislature, but they’re all separate. They don’t come together into a single, coherent vision.
We need to inspire and push the state to develop an Integrated Network Plan that uses buses and trains to get people around Illinois faster, safer and cleaner
Where did the time go?
he Illinois High Speed Railway Commission is developing options for building a new, Chcago – St. Louis high-speed line.
High-speed trains will cut the trip time in half and turbo-charge the rest of the network.
There is Proven Demand for Better Trains in Illinois
Now it is time to deliver.
There are already many proposed expansions that – if completed – would improve mobility across the state. But each project is developed in isolation. They compete for funding. And they are not guided by a shared vision.
Illinois needs a comprehensive Integrated Network Plan and the state matching funds to move it forward.
Get Involved
The Illinois General Assembly is debating the future transit and regional rail right now. The package should include a State Railway Program to invest in bridges, trainsets, and better track.
The Latest from HSRA
Our Latest Blog Posts
Check out the latest news, updates, and high speed rail insights from our blog!
