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MIDWEST CORRIDORS - PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE

MIDWEST CORRIDORS - PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE

Chicago emerged as the railroad center of the nation during the glory days of passenger trains. And Chicago is the hub for the present Amtrak system, outside the Northeast Corridor. And if a high speed rail system is developed in the Midwest, Chicago will likely be the hub of that.

In the past, many trains connected major cities in the Midwest, corridor services which in the long term are the most promising type of intercity rail passenger services. At present, service is appallingly inadequate over many of these corridors. But there is interest in developing high speed rail service over several Midwest corridors, if only government spending priorities can be changed.

This Web page looks at the corridors in the Midwest, past present and future, connecting the largest cities, generally cities with major league sports teams. Not covered are additional corridors, present and future, connecting several additional cities. The present day additional corridors, all operated by Amtrak, are mostly subsidized by the states served.

The following Amtrak corridors presently connect major cities in the Midwest:

  • Chicago-St. Louis
  • St. Louis-Kansas City
  • Chicago-Milwaukee
  • Chicago-Detroit
The following potential corridors are presently served by Amtrak, but only by long distance trains, generally not conveniently scheduled for corridor service:

  • Chicago-Milwaukee-Minneapolis
  • Chicago-Cleveland-Buffalo
  • Cleveland-Pittsburgh
  • Chicago-Indianapolis-Cincinnati
Midwest High Speed Rail Association

Web site of an organization which is promoting the development of a high speed rail system.

A Strong Midwest Network

Link to map at above Web site, showing proposed high speed routes.

The following are the more significant proposals for rail passenger service, over corridors which presently have no service:

  • Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati
  • Pittsburgh-Columbus
  • Detroit-Toledo
There are no proposals for rail passenger service over the following corridors, but their inclusion could enable direct service between more major city pairs:

  • Dayton-Indianapolis-St. Louis (part of route from Pittsburgh)
  • Dayton-Toledo (part of Cincinnati-Detroit route)

CORRIDOR SERVICES BY CITY PAIRS

MIDWEST CORRIDOR ROUTES

A look at the best passenger rail routes between every pair of major cities, past present and future.