More than 20 lawmakers signed a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asking the Biden administration to allocate resources to the Chicago Hub Improvement Project.
The project, known as CHIP, will expand Amtrak’s service to numerous locations while also enabling dozens of improvement projects at Chicago’s Union Station, a major hub in Amtrak’s network of participating stations.
“We urge the Department of Transportation to invest in the success of CUS, which serves 3.3 million Amtrak riders annually along 16 Amtrak intercity lines and more than 30 million riders across all rail services. We urge you to mark this moment in history by doing so,” the letter said. read.
More than 50% of Amtrak’s long-distance service uses Chicago’s Union Station, and more than 90% of Amtrak’s total service outside the East and West Coasts uses the station at some point during their journey, officials said. It is said that it is using
A total of 29 members of Congress signed the letter, including Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, as well as Indiana Sens. Mike Braun and Todd Young.
Lawmakers are seeking funding as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which would support the $218 million the state of Illinois, Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and other agency and state partners put into the project. More than $1 billion in funding is being sought. .
The CHIP program will allow for faster service between Chicago and Indianapolis and between Chicago and multiple stations in Michigan, among other things, according to the letter.
The project would allow trains to arrive at Union Station directly from the south without having to return to Union Station, saving time on the line.
A train service called the Great River Service would eventually be established between Chicago and Minneapolis. This will be accomplished by expanding Hiawatha Line service between Chicago and Milwaukee, connecting passengers in Eau Claire and Madison, Wis., to train service to Minneapolis.
Trains bound for St. Louis and Texas will also be able to use Metra’s Rock Island Line, reducing transit time to Joliet.
Part of the project will include improving the platforms at Chicago’s Union Station and reactivating platforms formerly used by the U.S. Postal Service.
For more information It can be found on the CHIP website.