Tourism-related spending, higher state, local tax revenues, job creation would yield billions over first 10 years
(Chicago) … A new Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) analysis shows the $1.2 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) investment in bringing 110-mile-per-hour train service to the Chicago-to-St. Louis rail corridor would yield billions in tourism-related benefits alone.
For complete details on this study and to download the graphics, please visit www.metroplanning.org/fastertrainstudy.
“Better rail service is expected to bring 800,000 new tourists to Chicago over the next 10 years, providing a major boost to our economy,” said MPC Vice President Peter Skosey. “We’ll also realize environmental benefits as some travelers shift to trains from airplanes, busses and cars, reducing gas consumption and emissions.”
MPC’s analysis shows how much money new tourists will spend (direct spending), how much money Chicagoans will spend as a result of tourist spending (indirect spending), and how our state and local tax revenues will grow as a result, over 10 years:
- $320 million in direct tourist spending
- $510 million total in direct and indirect spending
- $120 million in additional state and local tax revenue
The analysis also quantified job creation benefits that would be generated by tourism-related spending and construction of the Englewood Flyover at 63rd and State streets on the south side of Chicago. (The flyover accounts for $133 million of the $1.2 billion ARRA investment):
- 5,300 jobs as a result of tourist spending and building of flyover at State and 63rd streets
- $2.6 billion of additional income from job creation
The study does not factor in potential economic gains such as new hotels built to serve new tourists, or downtown investments sparked by the development of the West Loop Transportation Center, which will serve as the terminus for fast trains coming to Chicago.
However, MPC did examine environmental benefits:
- 9.3 million barrels of gas saved
- 12 million metric tons of CO2 saved – the equivalent of half a million round-trip car trips from Chicago to St. Louis
For more information, please contact MPC Vice President Peter Skosey, at 312-863-6004, 312-401-8051 or pskosey@metroplanning.org; or MPC Assistant Communications Director Mandy Burrell Booth, at 312-863-6018, 773-640-1206 or mburrell@metroplanning.org; or MPC Communications Director Kim Grimshaw Bolton, at 708-785-9430 or kbolton@metroplanning.org.
