Illinois will acquire new rail cars for all of the in-state Amtrak routes. Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider said the new cars will address the increase in ridership experienced by the service for the past five or six years.
“They're going to be bi-level cars,” Schneider said. “It allows us to transport more passengers on the same footprint. So it makes it more efficient and it gives us opportunity to expand service without having to add train sets.”
All of the seating on current cars is on the same level.
Work will begin Thursday, July 5 to build a bridge that will carry Route 136 traffic over the future Route 336. The project is the beginning of the Macomb Bypass.
Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider came to the area for the groundbreaking ceremony, which took place on a hot and humid afternoon in a grassy field just west of Macomb. Schneider was joined by politicians, labor leaders, city and county workers, and others.
