Lincoln Service
| Lincoln Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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_Approaches_Joliet_Union_Station.jpg) A GE Genesis leads a consist of Horizon Fleet coaches into Joliet. |
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| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service type | Inter-city rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Midwest United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | State House | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First service | 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current operator(s) | Amtrak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average ridership | 1,505 daily 549,465 total (FY11)[1] |
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| Route | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Start | Chicago, Illinois | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stops | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| End | St. Louis, Missouri | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance travelled | 284 miles (457 km) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average journey time | 5 hours, 30 minutes[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service frequency | Four round-trips daily | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Train number(s) | 300-307 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| On-board services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class(es) | Business class and reserved coach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Catering facilities | On-board café | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | Horizon Fleet coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track owner(s) | CN, UP, NS, KCS, TRRA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Lincoln Service is a 284-mile (457 km) passenger train service operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The train is a part of the Illinois Service and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation. The train uses the same tracks as Amtrak's Texas Eagle.
The Lincoln Service is a re-branding of the former State House route.[3] The train route was originally run by the Alton Railroad, which merged with the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad (GM&O) in 1947. By the time the GM&O merged with the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad in 1972, Amtrak had taken over passenger service.
During fiscal year 2011, the Lincoln Service trains carried nearly 550,000 passengers, a decrease of 4% from FY2010. The service had a total revenue of $12,262,325, a decrease of 8% from FY2010.[1]
In March, 2013 the travel time from Chicago to St. Louis was 5 hours 30 minutes which was a full 35 minutes slower than the Illinois Central Railroad operated its express trains over the same route during the 1930s.[4]
Contents |
Upgrades[edit]
As a result of continuing upgrades on the line between Chicago and St. Louis, two additional trains daily began running October 30, 2006, for a total of five trains daily, including the Texas Eagle and Ann Rutledge which terminated beyond St. Louis, along with the rebranding of the State House service as part of the Lincoln Service. From April 2007 the Ann Rutledge operated only between Kansas City and St. Louis where it connected to the Lincoln Service trains; Amtrak discontinued the name altogether in 2009.[5]
In July 2010, the state of Illinois and the Union Pacific Railroad reached an agreement under which track speeds between Dwight and Alton, Illinois are to be raised to as high as 110 miles per hour (180 km/h).[6] This speed will cut the travel time between Chicago and St. Louis by 90 minutes, bringing the trip to under four hours.[citation needed] Construction on this stretch, which began on 17 September in Alton, will cost $98 million and is expected to be completed by the end of 2010.[dated info] Most of the funding will come from $1.1 billion in stimulus money for Illinois high-speed rail from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The remainder of this grant, as well as $400 million in funding from the state of Illinois, will be used to complete a high-speed rail corridor for the remaining portions of the St. Louis–Chicago track. Senator Dick Durbin suggested the Dwight–Alton upgrades will create some 900 jobs, while the overall project could generate 24,000. From October 2009 to July 2010, more than 500,000 passengers used the route between Chicago and St. Louis, an 11 percent increase on the previous year.[7]
On 22 March 2011, an announcement was made in Chicago that an additional $685 million would be used to upgrade trackage and grade crossings between Dwight and Lincoln. Construction on the improvement project began on April 5th, 2011.[8]
Consist[edit]
A Lincoln Service train consists of the following:[9]
- One or two GE Genesis P42DC locomotive
- Three to seven Amfleet or Horizon Fleet coaches
- One Amfleet or Horizon Fleet cafe/business car
Route and Station stops[edit]
The Metra Heritage Corridor commuter line uses the same route from Joliet to Union Station.
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Amtrak Ridership Rolls Up Best-Ever Records" (PDF). Amtrak. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
- ^ http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak
- ^ which was named in recognition of the train's passing through Illinois' capital, Springfield
- ^ http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track4/grndiamond193809.html, From the pages of the Official Guide, The Green Diamond, Illinois Central Railroad, June, 1938
- ^ "Governor Blagojevich Announces Amtrak Lincoln Service to Start Running October 30th" (Press release). Amtrak. 2006-10-14. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- ^ "Union Pacific, Illinois strike agreement on fast trains". Trains Magazine. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
- ^ "Construction under way on high-speed rail section". Pantagraph.com. 17 September 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
- ^ "Second phase of high-speed rail expected to begin April 5". Bloomington Pantagraph. 22 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- ^ "LINCOLN SERVICE". TrainWeb. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
See also[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lincoln Service |
