Has anybody here yet discussed the Chicago rail bypass being proposed to go from Jansville, Wi 265 miles to Michigan City, Indiana?
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Nothing yet. Will be interesting to see what shakes out on this. I read yesterday that U.P. has pulled any support. Seems like an odd place to start up near Milton, WI. though. What I find interesting is the size of the pricetag. Wow $6-9 billion dollars. wonder where all that money will come from.
Green Bay & Western posted:Has anybody here yet discussed the Chicago rail bypass being proposed to go from Jansville, Wi 265 miles to Michigan City, Indiana?
No. From a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, the outfit proposing this is some sort of Consulting Firm, and the whole thing sounded ridiculous, to me anyway. No mention of where all the billions of public support money would come from.
Hot Water posted:Green Bay & Western posted:Has anybody here yet discussed the Chicago rail bypass being proposed to go from Jansville, Wi 265 miles to Michigan City, Indiana?
No. From a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, the outfit proposing this is some sort of Consulting Firm, and the whole thing sounded ridiculous, to me anyway. No mention of where all the billions of public support money would come from.
With all due respect, there has been no mention of any public monies involved in this proposal. At least in every article I have read about it. There have been some NIMBYS objecting to it however. One even said that the railroads were a dinosaur. Which is patently ridiculous. check out this article about it:
The NYT had an article ....
Pretty ambitious project. 240 miles of a 200 ft ROW
Great Lakes states that all the private financing is in place .... but says nothing else. Interesting.
The environmental impact study will be started in a few months, and will another two years or so to complete.
Why didn't the major Class Ones go after the J, not just the CN, as a third "Belt" for the Chicagoland area?
Dominic Mazoch posted:Why didn't the major Class Ones go after the J, not just the CN, as a third "Belt" for the Chicagoland area?
Another rhetorical question. Apparently they didn't want it?
"Five tracks wide" ? This sounds improbable and unlikely. Aren't there already a zillion railroads in and around Chicago?
http://www.wifr.com/home/headl...oject-283427011.html
Great Lakes Basin headed by Frank Patton wants to build a railroad bypass to get cargo around Chicago’s congestion. The new set of tracks would begin in Northwest Indiana, extending through Illinois and up through Winnebago County, ending in Orfordville, Wisconsin. The five track wide project would free space in the nation’s rail hub and have a big impact on the Stateline.
http://www.greatlakesbasin.net/#!about/u2w2t
Formed in 2011 by Managing Partner Frank Patton, Great Lakes Basin Transporation, Inc. (“Great Lakes Basin” or “GLB”) has spent the past several years becoming familiar with the freight rail marketplace, Chicago’s unique physical plant constraints, and future rail traffic projections. For GLB, understanding each of these factors revealed a unique opportunity to improve the operation of the Chicago railroad terminal by adding new capacity for through freight traffic.
Frank Patton, founded Great Lakes Basin in 2011 and is the Managing Partner. His initial goal is to develop a new railroad connecting the six Class 1 railroads around Chicago.
Frank founded, owned and managed Portfolio Dynamics, a portfolio development software company during the years 1970 - 2002.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-patton-3323524a
Frank Patton - Managing Partner at Great lakes Basin LLC
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We'll likely see high speed rail across the US before this happens but you have to appreciate the ambition.
GREENRAIL posted:, , , There have been some NIMBYS objecting to it however. . .
There is never a shortage of them, when the railroad wants to do something.
Until we start charging the trucking industry the true cost of building highways for them, RR will be on the short end. I wonder if the dinosaur term is appropriate under the current model.
Dominic Mazoch posted:Why didn't the major Class Ones go after the J, not just the CN, as a third "Belt" for the Chicagoland area?
Or maybe the question should be asked why the CN under Hunter Harrison was able to think outside the box on this situation, and the other Class One's did not.
The situation will improve in Chicago and nationwide when the railroads begin to ask, "What is best for the customer?" If a company has no customers, then it is of no value to the stockholders!
It's because EHH subscribes to Winston Churchill's theory that, “The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”
There are several issues with this. The first version was to end at Orfordville, WI. going from 5 tracks to ONE. The latest version ends at Milton, WI (my hometown) and still goes from 5 tracks to ONE. THERE will be your next bottleneck!!!
I think that if the "Land grab" for this is made, it will become the next new X94 by-pass loop around Chicago instead. 30 years ago a bypass was proposed to make IL 47 (north -south hwy) a 4 lane to connect I-90 to I-80 and be the next "ring". Can't do that now as Hwy 47 is to heavily developed. An interesting item the consulting consortium offers is that besides rails, the R.O.W. will have electric towers and the landowners who sell land to them will get "free juice" along with a $20K per acre buying offer.
I offer a counter to this proposal.... a double track by-pass using 90% existing or former (abandoned) rail grades...Price tag....$ 2 Billion....completed in 2 years. Tracks start at same location in Indiana, but end at Janesville, WI.
