Illinois Department of Transportation

James E. Wolfe. (Photograph courtesy of Wolfe)
Commentary

A Wolfe at STB’s Door. Will He Make Entry?

If you think federal regulatory agencies—even federally owned Amtrak—have strayed from what former Southern Railway and Conrail CEO L. Stanley Crane termed, “stick to your knitting,” you’re not ridin’ the rails solo.

Starting May 21, a second daily Amtrak train will be offered between St. Paul and Chicago, via Milwaukee, the state-sponsored Borealis, whose name “was determined in a collaborative process,” Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told Railway Age. “It is a reference to the north direction, in Latin.” (Amtrak Map)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, NYMTA, SMART, WMATA

A second daily Amtrak train is launching between St. Paul, Minn., and Chicago, via Milwaukee, Wis., the state-supported Borealis. Also, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) unveil the Fair Fares pilot program; Northern California’s Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) logs record commuter rail ridership; and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) announce a transit planning initiative for the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

On July 6, Metra Board Chair Romayne C. Brown and CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski joined Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Rockford, Ill., elected officials to announce that the commuter railroad will operate state-supported passenger rail service to Rockford starting in late 2027. (Photograph and Caption Details Courtesy of Metra, via Twitter)

Chicago-Rockford Passenger Rail Service Returns

Partners Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Metra and Union Pacific (UP) will restore Chicago-Rockford, Ill., passenger rail service in late 2027. The Rebuild Illinois* capital plan includes $275 million for the project,

The city of Decatur will receive a $10 million grant through the Illinois Competitive Freight Program for a grade separation project that will build a Brush College Road overpass at Faries Parkway and Norfolk Southern. (NS Photograph)

Illinois Awards $200MM in Freight Mobility Grants

In Illinois, 22 port, rail and highway projects will share $200 million in grant funding to address bottlenecks, increase mobility, and improve the supply chain up and down the state, Gov. JB Pritzker, state and local leaders, and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) reported March 30.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called awarding $1.5 billion in INFRA grants “transformative investments in our nation’s roads, bridges, ports, and rail to improve the way Americans get around and help lower the costs of shipping goods.”

USDOT Awarding $1.5B in INFRA Grants

The U.S. Department of Transportation has selected 26 projects—nine rail/intermodal-related—to share $1.5 billion in INFRA (Infrastructure for Rebuilding America) grants.

Bright Pink 2 and Bright Green 2 arrived on July 21 at Brightline’s Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Orlando. Photo by Jim Pearson via Brightline.

Passenger Rail Briefs: IDOT, Brightline, LA Metro

Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) releases results of a feasibility study and public survey for the proposed Peoria-to-Chicago passenger rail route. Also, Brightline welcomes two more trains to Orlando and a new