After years of preparation by rail advocates and months of lobbying from Illinois pols, the Illinois Department of Transportation formally submitted its application for federal high speed rail funds on Monday, as the Pantagraph reports. Officials requested $550 million from the initial $8 billion stimulus pot, money that would be used in part to upgrade railroad sidings to allow slower freights trains to pull over for faster passenger lines.

The state also wants to spend $140 million to reduce congestion around freight lines in the Chicago region and $10 million to initiate a feasibility study showing that travel times between Chicago and St. Louis could be cut to less than two hours if trains ran at speeds reaching 220 m.p.h. The Midwest High Speed Rail Association has already looked into the latter possibility on its own (PDF).

Because of the diligent work of rail advocates in the region, Illinois is in prime shape to take home the resources IDOT requested. And more money is likely to funnel down to states in the future. That's because the House already passed a $123 billion transportation and housing appropriations bill, which included $4 billion in new funding for President Obama's high speed rail initiative. "People need to understand this isn't about winners and losers," Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Joseph Szabo told the Wall Street Journal," this is simply the beginning."

Grants will be awarded beginning in late September or early October. Work could begin shortly thereafter.

Image used under a Creative Commons license by Flickr user Strychnine.