WASHINGTON — The Illinois Department of Transportation will receive $186 million to continue construction on a high-speed rail line linking Chicago with St. Louis, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Wednesday.
“The Great Lakes-Midwest economic region is the world’s fifth-largest economy by gross domestic product, and nearly 100 million people live within 500 miles of each other,” LaHood said. “The Department of Transportation’s investment of more than $1 billion in the region’s high-speed rail service will reduce trip times and save travelers money, resulting in reduced congestion for the region and making the Midwest a better place to start a business and create jobs.”
The trains will reach speeds of 110 miles per hour along nearly 70% of the route, according to the DOT . Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia are constructing, or have plans to construct, high-speed rail lines, and a St.Louis-Chicago corridor is among the projects championed by the U.S. High Speed Rail Association, a nonprofit dedicated to pushing for the construction of a nationwide high-speed rail network.
