When it comes to trains, there's fast and then there's really, really fast. Advocates have unveiled an ambitious, $12 billion plan for "ultra-fast" train service between Chicago and St. Louis that could cut travel times from the current five hours to around two. It would run via Decatur, Champaign-Urbana and Springfield. Trains would zoom up to 220 mph. That's more than 100 mph faster than trains under a plan advocated by eight Midwestern governors. The Midwest Hight Speed Rail Association made a stop in Decatur yesterday to highlight the plan. Rail proponents welcomed the gubernatorial push for an upgraded network with Chicago as its hub. But the comparatively modest proposal hasn't generated the kind of hoopla 220-mph train service would. Tuesday's proposal is in a new study from the Midwest High Speed Rail Association.
