| Lincoln Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A GE Genesis leads a consist of Horizon Fleet coaches into Springfield northbound from St. Louis. |
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| Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service type | Inter-city rail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Midwest United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | State House | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First service | 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current operator(s) | Amtrak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average ridership | 1,568 daily 572,424 total (FY10)[1] |
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| Route | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Start | Chicago, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. of intermediate stops | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| End | St. Louis, Missouri | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance travelled | 284 miles (457 km) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average journey time | 5 hours, 20 minutes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service frequency | Four round-trips daily | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Train number(s) | 300-307 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| On-board services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class(es) | Business class and reserved coach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Catering facilities | On-board café | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | Horizon Fleet coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track owner(s) | CN, UP, NS, KCS, TRRA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Lincoln Service is a 284-mile (457 km) passenger train service operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The train is a part of the Illinois Service rail network and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation. The train service uses the same track as the long-distance Amtrak route, the Texas Eagle.
The Lincoln Service is a rebranding of the former State House[2] route, which was named in recognition of the train's passing through Illinois' capital, Springfield. The train route was originally run by the Alton Railroad, which merged with the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad (GM&O) in 1947. By the time the GM&O merged with the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad in 1972, Amtrak had taken over passenger service.
As a result of continuing upgrades on the line between Chicago and St. Louis, two additional trains daily began running October 30, 2006, for a total of five trains daily, including the Texas Eagle and Ann Rutledge which terminated beyond St. Louis, along with the rebranding of the State House service as part of the Lincoln Service. From April 2007 the Ann Rutledge operated only between Kansas City and St. Louis where it connected to the Lincoln Service trains; Amtrak discontinued the name altogether in 2009.[3]
The Metra Heritage Corridor commuter line uses the same route from Joliet to Union Station.
During fiscal year 2010, the Lincoln Service trains carried a total of 572,424 passengers, an increase of 13.1% from FY 2009.[1] The service had a total revenue of $13,324,632, an increase of 17.6% from FY 2009's $11,327,352 revenue.[1]
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In July 2010, the state of Illinois and the Union Pacific Railroad reached an agreement under which track speeds between Dwight and Alton, Illinois are to be raised to as high as 110 miles per hour (180 km/h).[4] This speed will cut the travel time between Chicago and St. Louis by 90 minutes, bringing the trip to under four hours. Construction on this stretch, which began on 17 September in Alton, will cost $98 million and is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. Most of the funding will come from $1.1 billion in 'stimulus' money for Illinois high-speed rail from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The remainder of this grant, as well as $400 million in funding from the state of Illinois, will be used to complete a high-speed rail corridor for the remaining portions of the St. Louis–Chicago track. Senator Dick Durbin suggested the Dwight–Alton upgrades will create some 900 jobs, while the overall project could generate 24,000. From October 2009 to July 2010, more than 500,000 passengers used the route between Chicago and St. Louis, an 11 percent increase on the previous year.[5]
On 22 March 2011, an announcement was made in Chicago that an additional $685 million would be used to upgrade trackage and grade crossings between Dwight and Lincoln, with construction expected to begin on 5 April.[6]
A Lincoln Service train consists of the following:[7]