Progress Illinois

Back in August, we wrote about the problems on Amtrak's Lincoln Corridor line, as highlighted by an excellent Wall Street Journal report on the precarious situation of rail transit nationwide. After years of Republican funding cuts, the Southern Illinois line -- which runs from St. Louis up to Chicago -- is hampered by deteriorating train cars, rundown ticket agencies, and long train delays. With ridership at record levels, Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Milt Sees is seeking some improvements:

Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Milt Sees (SEEZ) says he's looking for ways to pay for train cars that would increase capacity on southern Illinois Amtrak lines.

Authorities say southern Illinois ridership has increased 15 percent from fiscal 2007. In the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 1.1 million tickets were sold on local routes. That's a 30-year record high.

This is a great first step. Sees is likely banking on more help from the incoming Democratic administration. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are big Amtrak supporters, meaning they will likely honor the spending targets set by Congress last month when it passed a five-year, $13 billion Amtrak reauthorization, the first in a decade. If the earmarks are supported, Amtrak funding would jump at least 48 percent a year, which could lead to the development of a Midwest regional plan that would include high-speed lines from Chicago to St. Louis, Quincy, and Carbondale. Aside from reductions in travel time, the Tribune's Jon Hilkevitch thinks such improvements would include "modern, comfortable, double-deck trains with wide seats and large windows."