Editing Chicago Hub Network (section)

==2009 SNCF proposal==
In late 2009, the French national rail company [[SNCF]] released studies of several rail corridors in the United States in California, Florida, Texas, and the Midwest.<ref name="sncf-midwest">[http://www.midwesthsr.org/docs/SNCF_Midwest.pdf SNCF: Midwest]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>  France has a population distribution similar to that in the Midwest, so their experiences with [[TGV]] trains and other high-speed systems could conceivably be duplicated in the U.S.  The following routes were identified for a first phase of implementation:

*Chicago–Milwaukee–Madison–Eau Claire–Minneapolis/St. Paul
*Chicago–Bloomington/Normal–Springfield–St. Louis
*Chicago–Gary–Lafayette–Indianapolis–Cincinnati
*Chicago–Gary–Fort Wayne–Toledo–Detroit
*Chicago–Gary–Fort Wayne–Toledo–Cleveland

These routes were designed to allow them to overlay the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative plan.  Like the MHSRA plan, the SNCF core routes would operate at up to {{cvt|220|mph|km/h}}.  The total cost was projected at $68.5&nbsp;billion in 2009 dollars, with 54% of that projected to need public financing if a public-private partnership was pursued.  The public funds could be recovered from revenues in about 15 years.