Lincoln Service

ALincoln Service train in Chicago in 2023
Overview
Service type	Higher-speed rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Midwest United States
Predecessor	State House,Loop
First service	October 30, 2006
Current operator	Amtrak
Annual ridership	592,735 (FY 25)  1.1%[a][1]
Route
Termini	Chicago,Illinois St. Louis,Missouri
Stops	9
Distance travelled	284 miles (457 km)
Average journey time	4 hours, 59 minutes[2]
Service frequency	Four daily round trips
Train numbers	300–302, 305–307 (CHI–STL) 318–319 (CHI–KCY)[3]
On-board services
Classes	Coach Class Business Class
Catering facilities	Café
Baggage facilities	Overhead racks
Technical
Rolling stock	Amfleet Siemens Venture Siemens Charger
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge
Operating speed	57 miles per hour (92 km/h) average 110 miles per hour (180 km/h) top[4]
Track owners	CN,UP,NS,CPKC,TRRA
Route map Show interactive map Legend Borealis,Empire Builder Hiawatha 0mi Chicago otherAmtrak services 12 mi 19 km Summit 37 mi 60 km Joliet 74 mi 119 km Dwight 92 mi 148 km Pontiac 124 mi 200 km Normal 156 mi 251 km Lincoln 185 mi 298 km Springfield 224 mi 360 km Carlinville 257 mi 414 km Alton Illinois Missouri Mississippi River 284 mi 457 km St. Louis Missouri River Runner andTexas Eagle            Lincoln Service Missouri River Runner Texas Eagle toSan Antonio orLos Angeles 297 mi 478 km Kirkwood 335 mi 539 km Washington 365 mi 587 km Hermann 409 mi 658 km Jefferson City 473 mi 761 km Sedalia 502 mi 808 km Warrensburg 544 mi 875 km Lee's Summit 557 mi 896 km Independence Southwest Chief toChicago 567 mi 912 km Kansas City Southwest Chief toLos Angeles All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram map

TheLincoln Service is a 284-mile (457 km)higher-speed rail service operated byAmtrak that runs betweenChicago,Illinois andSt. Louis,Missouri. The train is a part of theIllinois Service and is partially funded by theIllinois Department of Transportation. The train uses the same route as the long-distanceTexas Eagle, which continues toSan Antonio andLos Angeles. A connection with theKansas City-boundMissouri River Runner is available in St. Louis.

As of June 2023^[update], the average trip time between Chicago and St. Louis was 4 hours 59 minutes.

Duringfiscal year 2023, theLincoln Service trains carried 523,304 passengers, an increase of 9.9% from FY2022.^[5] This is a 16.7% decrease from pre-COVID-19 pandemic ridership, with 627,599 passengers in FY2019.^[6] In FY2016, the service had a total revenue of$14,266,964, a decrease of 1.3% from FY2015.^[7]

Prior to theLincoln Service, Amtrak had operated the dailyState House train between Chicago and St. Louis since 1973. Originally intended to connect Chicago andSpringfield, Amtrak extended theState House south to St. Louis at its own expense becauseSpringfield station was not designed to turn equipment. The train used a route previously owned by theAlton Railroad, which had merged with theGulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad (GM&O) in 1947. The GM&O merged with theIllinois Central Railroad in 1972, a year after Amtrak took over passenger train service.

On October 30, 2006, Amtrak rebranded theState House as theLincoln Service upon the addition of two new round trips, made possible by upgrades to the line. This resulted in a total of five daily round trips on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor, including theTexas Eagle andAnn Rutledge, which terminated beyond St. Louis.^[8] Beginning in April 2007, theAnn Rutledge operated only between Kansas City and St. Louis, where it connected once daily to the Lincoln Service.^{[citation needed]} TheAnn Rutledge was folded into theMissouri River Runner in 2009, though oneLincoln Service round trip continued to connect with theMissouri River Runner. On May 23, 2022, Amtrak replaced trains 303 and 304 with athrough-routing one round trip of theMissouri River Runner andLincoln Service via trains 318 and 319. This created a second one-seat service between Kansas City and Chicago (additional to theSouthwest Chief, which takes a more direct route).^[3][9]

In July 2010, the state of Illinois and theUnion Pacific Railroad reached an agreement under which track speeds betweenDwight andAlton, Illinois were to be raised to as high as 110 miles per hour (177 km/h).^[10] This speed will cut the travel time between Chicago and St. Louis by 90 minutes, bringing the trip to under four hours.^[11] The first track upgrade construction was planned to be between Alton andLincoln, Illinois and was projected to cost $98 million. The construction on this stretch began on September 17, 2010, in Alton and was completed in 2011. Most of the funding came from $1.1 billion in stimulus money for Illinois high-speed rail from theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The remainder of this grant, as well as $400 million in funding from the state of Illinois, was used to complete a high-speed rail corridor for the remaining portions of the St. Louis–Chicago track. SenatorDick Durbin suggested the Dwight–Alton upgrades would create some 900 jobs, while the overall project could generate 24,000.^{[citation needed]}

On March 22, 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. Construction on the improvement project began on April 5, 2011.^[12] Upgrades included rebuilding thepassing sidings so that thetrack spacing between the main track is increased from 14 ft (4.3 m) to 20 ft (6.1 m).^[13]

Although much of track upgrade work was completed between 2010 and 2012, there are additional constructions including second trackage, bridge replacement and rehabilitation, drainage improvements, andgrade crossings and signal improvements before the full 110-mile-per-hour (177 km/h) service can be fully operated on this route. After all required improvements on the first 15-mile (24 km) segment between Dwight andPontiac, Illinois were completed, Amtrak started thehigher-speed rail service with top speeds of 110 miles per hour (177 km/h) on that segment in November 2012, with the entire section between Alton and Joliet expected to have 110-mile-per-hour (177 km/h) operation by 2017.^[11][14]

Starting on July 7, 2021,Lincoln Service andTexas Eagle trains were allowed a top speed of 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) after Federal Railroad Administration dual certification of theIncremental Train Control System and Interoperable Electronic Train Management System between south ofJoliet Union Station and Alton, Illinois.^[15] On December 13, 2021, scheduled travel times were reduced by approximately 15 minutes between St. Louis and Chicago as a result of the increased speeds.^[16] Amtrak began testing in 2022 for 110 mph (177 km/h) revenue service, which began on May 3, 2023.^[17] New schedules debuted on June 26, 2023.^[18][19] By September 2025, schedules were 34 minutes faster than pre-2021.^[20]

The slowest portion of the corridor is the segment between Chicago and Joliet, but improving this would require an additional $1.5 billion investment.^[21] Two projects proposed from theChicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) would remove twodiamond crossings and construct anoverpass to increase train speed and eliminate delays. One project is in the preliminary design phase while the proposed flyover atBrighton Park crossing is unfunded.^[22][23] As of 2022^[update], an alternative solution rerouting trains via theRock Island District, which bypasses these diamond crossings and has relatively few freight trains, is being considered. This option would reduce delays and allow higher speeds between Joliet and Chicago.^[24]

ALincoln Service train consists of the following:^[25]

• One or twoSiemens SC-44 locomotives
• Three to sevenAmfleet orVenture coaches
• One Amfleet cafe/business car

TheMetraHeritage Corridor commuter line uses the same route from Joliet to Union Station.

One dailyLincoln Service round trip (train 318/319) is coupled with theMissouri River Runner at St. Louis, providing a one-seat ride between Chicago and Kansas City. Additionally, one southboundLincoln Service (train 301) runs express to St. Louis with stops only at Joliet, Bloomington-Normal, Springfield, and Alton.^[3]

State	Town/City	Station	Connections
Illinois	Chicago	Chicago Union Station	Amtrak (long-distance):California Zephyr,Cardinal,City of New Orleans,Empire Builder,Floridian,Lake Shore Limited,Southwest Chief,Texas Eagle Amtrak (intercity):Blue Water,Borealis,Hiawatha,Illini andSaluki,Illinois Zephyr andCarl Sandburg,Pere Marquette,Wolverine Metra:■ BNSF,■ Milwaukee District North,■ Milwaukee District West,■ North Central Service,■ Heritage Corridor,■ SouthWest Service Chicago "L":Blue(atClinton),BrownOrangePinkPurple(atQuincy) CTA Bus: 1, 7, J14, 19, 28, 56, 60, 120, 121, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 151, 156, 157, 192 Pace Bus: 755 Plainfield–IMD–West Loop Express Amtrak Thruway,Megabus,Greyhound,Peoria Charter
	Summit	Summit	Metra:■ Heritage Corridor Pace Bus: 330
	Joliet	Joliet Transportation Center	Amtrak:Texas Eagle Metra:■ Heritage Corridor,■ Rock Island Pace Bus: 501, 504, 505, 507, 508, 509, 511, 832, 834
	Dwight	Dwight
	Pontiac	Pontiac	Amtrak:Texas Eagle
	Normal	Bloomington	Amtrak:Texas Eagle Connect Transit: Green, Red/Exp, Lime, Brown, Tan, Pink, Yellow, Redbird Express, Sapphire Burlington Trailways,Greyhound,Peoria Charter
	Lincoln	Lincoln	Amtrak:Texas Eagle
	Springfield	Springfield	Amtrak:Texas Eagle SMTD: 4, 7, 12, 903
	Carlinville	Carlinville	Amtrak:Texas Eagle
	Alton	Alton	Amtrak:Texas Eagle Madison County Transit: Route 11
Missouri	St. Louis	Gateway Transportation Center	Amtrak:Missouri River Runner,Texas Eagle MetroLink:RedBlue(atCivic Center) MetroBus: 4, 8, 10, 11, 32, 74, 80, 94, 99, 36X, 40X, 58X, 410X, 174X Madison County Transit: 1X, 3X, 12X, 14X, 16X, 18X Greyhound Lines,Burlington Trailways,Megabus,Amtrak Thruway

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• Illinois Services – Amtrak

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• Passenger rail transportation in Missouri

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