JOLIET – For the first time on a key Midwestern route between Chicago and St. Louis, an Amtrak passenger train topped 110 mph Friday, ripping through fog-shrouded farm fields and blowing past cars on a parallel highway.

The test run on a special train packed with journalists, politicians and transportation officials was a milestone in President Barack Obama’s vision of bringing high-speed rail to the United States and transforming the way Americans travel.

It also was a welcome morale booster for high-speed rail advocates who have watched conservatives in Congress put the brakes on spending for fast train projects they view as expensive boondoggles.