No North Shore Holding Tracks In Amtrak Hiawatha Expansion: IDOT

SPRINGFIELD, IL — The Illinois Department of Transportation announced last week it has decided to drop a proposal to build five miles of holding tracks alongside railroads in a pair of affluent North Shore communities. The expansion is part of roughly $200 million project to increase service on the Amtrak Hiawatha Line between Chicago and Milwaukee from seven to 10 daily round trips.

In a May 2 letter to the state senators representing the North Shore — 9th District Sen. Laura Fine of Glenview and 29th District Sen. Julie Morrison of Deerfield — IDOT's acting secretary confirmed the agency would not back the plan.

"IDOT will not agree to the freight train holding tracks in either Glenview or Lake Forest, and you have my commitment that IDOT will not be moving forward seeking federal support for this project," said Omer Osman in the letter, which was released Friday by officials in both towns.

Last September, former Gov. Bruce Rauner and the former chief of IDOT announced that the Hiawatha expansion had been indefinitely put on hold in response to opposition from north suburban communities.

"We have heard loud and clear the concerns expressed by Lake Forest and Glenview," Rauner said. "We listened to you."

Village officials had questioned the need for the expansion, pointing out current ridership on the line is below 40 percent of capacity. Opponents of the project also argued the environmental assessment conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the lead agency on the project, IDOT and the Federal Railroad Administration is insufficient.

“The IDOT letter of May 2nd confirms the lack of operations need or funding viability for a holding track that Lake Forest, Glenview and other communities came to understand many months ago through working with IDOT and elected local and state officials," said Lake Forest Mayor Rob Lansing. "Very nice to have this confirmation”

North Shore residents along the line in Bannockburn, Deerfield, Glenview, Lake Forest, Northbrook and other communities organized against additional tracks included in proposals for the Chicago-Milwaukee interCity passenger rail corridor. They formed groups called Citizens for ACTION, which stands for "Alliance to Control Train Impacts in Our Neighborhoods."

Glenview devoted more than a half-million dollars of taxpayer money to lobby against and otherwise oppose the plan. Village officials raised concerns over the potential for a two-mile holding track installed alongside existing Union Pacific tracks on the west side of town. The village board has been on record in opposition to the project since 2016.

Glenview Village President Jim Patterson said the proposed tracks would have created "significant environmental and other impacts." In a statement, he said village officials were "grateful" for the efforts of residents to participated in the Glenview ACTION committee.

Lake Forest, which would have seen a three-mile holding track, was informed last year by Metra that a third main track would not be needed in the city. It continues to seek an additional Amtrak station on the west side of the city, which a study found could add faster trips for 90 percent of residents and add 190,000 potential passengers within 15 minutes of a stop.

Last month, the Lake Forest City Council budgeted about $280,000 toward the design of a pedestrian underpass near the Telegraph Road station. Amtrak has suggested such an underpass would be a requirement for adding a Lake County stop on the Hiawatha line, city officials have said.

Glenview Communications Manager Lynne Stiefel said in a release the village plans to host a public forum in June at Glenbrook South High School to update residents on the status of the Amtrak Hiawatha Expansion Project. Though Glenview's spending and lobbying has been focused on eliminating nearby holding projects from any rail expansion, Stiefel said the village government "continues to support passenger rail efficiencies and improvements in our region."

Related:

• Hiawatha Expansion On Hold Until Local Concerns Addressed: IDOT
• 3rd Main Track 'Not Needed' In Lake Forest: Letter From Metra CEO
• Village Board Approves Contracts For Lobbying, Freight Impact Study
• Glenview Considers $400,000 Project To Fight Amtrak Expansion
• $192,000 Spent On Amtrak Lobbying Without Council Approval
• Lake Forest Amtrak Hiawatha Line Stop Would Benefit Region: Study