The two track Bluford cutoff rejoins the mainline, trailing in from the south (i.e. on the east side) at Edgewood Junction (MP 214.6), where a former B&O line once made a flat crossing. The single track, ABS, speed limit 79-60, line continues northeast past a grade crossing, a dirt road grade crossing, a road alongside to the west, a grade crossing, Mason (MP 211.5), and a grade crossing, and turns north-northeast past Intermediate Signals, a bridge over a river, a bridge over a stream, a detector at MP 206.1, rail-served silos on the west side, Watson (MP 205.7), a grade crossing, a dirt road grade crossing, and a grade crossing just south of the 18,734 ft. siding on the east side just south of Effingham, where there are four miles of ABS (MP 203 to 199.8), speed limit 60-40, at which the line from Indianapolis trails in from the east and a spur heads away on the west side, there are crossovers, a road bridge overhead, an extra track beyond the siding to the east, and a four track yard beyond that.
At Effingham (MP 199.2), there is a grade crossing and a nice brick depot in the northeast corner of the flat crossing (speed limit 40-30 on the crossing) of IC’s single line and the former Conrail (ex-PRR) double track line between Terre Haute and St. Louis.
The line continues north-northeast, with speed limit 79-60 again, past a bridge over a street, five grade crossings in town, a road bridge overhead, three grade crossings, a dirt track grade crossing, a dirt road grade crossing, Sigel (MP 191.2), two grade crossings, a dirt road grade crossing, a road alongside to the east, a dirt road grade crossing, a grade crossing, MP 187, a grade crossing south of the 12,207 ft. siding on the west side at Neoga (MP 184.3), where the Eastern Illinois Railroad's former Nickel Plate line departs to the northeast (and the NKP once continued to the west), three dirt road grade crossings, a road alongside to the east, two grade crossings in town, a dirt road grade crossing, a dirt road alongside to the east, a bridge over a stream, Aetna (MP 179.3), a dirt track grade crossing, a grade crossing, a bridge over a road, Magnet, MP 174.7, where a short stretch of ABS starts, with speed limit 60-40, a grade crossing, two road bridges overhead, a grade crossing, extra track to the east, a spur heading away northeast, a grade crossing, and the 26,212 ft. "siding" on the east side at Mattoon (MP 172.4), where there is a road bridge overhead, a road bridge overhead just south of the two-storey brick depot on the east side at the passenger station, IC’s Decatur branch trails in from the northwest, two road bridges overhead, and extra track to the east. (Decatur is the site of large grain mills owned by Archer-Daniels-Midland and AC Staley that provide much traffic for the Illinois Central.)
The former Big Four line between Terre Haute and St. Louis once crossed at grade just north of the north end of the siding at Mattoon, north of which the 79-60 speed limit resumes, past a road bridge overhead. CTC resumes at MP 169.6, and the line continues north-northeast past extra track to the east serving an industry, a grade crossing, a spur serving silos to the east, Dorans (MP 167.5), a grade crossing, a detector at MP 165.3, a dirt road grade crossing just north of the detector, and the 12,080 ft. "siding" on the east side at Humboldt (MP 163.6), where it turns just east of due north, past two grade crossings in Humboldt, a road alongside to the west, two grade crossings, a dirt road grade crossing, Arcola (MP 157.9), where a former PRR line once crossed at grade, extra track on the west side, three grade crossings in Arcola, two dirt road grade crossings, a road alongside to the east, Galton (MP 154.1), a grade crossing, a bridge over drainage, and a dirt track grade crossing.
There is a dirt road grade crossing just south of the 22,816 ft. "siding" (actually, Two Main Tracks in 2008) on the east side at Tuscola (MP 149.8), within which there is a road alongside to the west, extra track on the east side, the UP (ex-C&EI) southwest to northeast line and B&O (east-west Decatur Branch) cross the IC at grade (50-30 on the crossing) using a single alignment, with formerly rail-served silos in the northeast quadrant of the flat crossing, and a grade crossing before reaching the north end of the 2MT at North Tuscola. The line continues past a bridge over drainage, Hayes (MP 145.6), a grade crossing, two dirt track grade crossings, dual road bridges overhead, two extra tracks to the east, three grade crossings in town, Pesotum (MP 141.9), a dirt road grade crossing, and a grade crossing at the south end of the 11,155 ft. siding on the east side at Tolono (MP 137.1), north of which a former Wabash double-track line crosses the IC at grade (50-30 on the crossing).
There is a grade crossing, extra track to the east, two grade crossings, a detector at MP 135.02, Intermediate Signals at MP 134.5, a dirt track grade crossing, a road alongside to the west, a grade crossing, formerly rail-served silos to the east, Intermediate Signals, Savoy (MP 132.2), a grade crossing with Curtis Road (MP 131.2), a bridge over a divided road, Intermediate Signals at Hillcrest, four through girder bridges over streets, and the passenger station at Champaign (MP 127.8), with brick depot and platform to the west, which is also a large source of traffic for Amtrak’s Illinois service due to the presence of the University of Illinois. Just north of the station is a former flat crossing with a former Wabash line, with a current connector in the southwest quadrant leading to an IC line the the west-southwest, a bridge over a street, a bridge over an angled street, and a flat crossing (30 mph on the crossing, 60-40 surrounding it from MP 127.3 to 125.9) with another former Conrail double track east-west line, with a connector in the northeast quadrant.
There is a grade crossing south of a large (twelve track) yard on the east side at Champaign Yard, with a road bridge overhead in the yard, and a 15,928 ft. siding on the west side ending at Leverett Junction (MP 124.1), where the speed limit is 79-60, with three extra tracks alongside the siding to the east. The line continues, between north and north-northeast, past Leverett, at the north end of the siding, a dirt road grade crossing, formerly rail-served silos to the east, a grade crossing, a bridge over a stream, a dirt road to the east, a dirt road grade crossing, two bridges over streams, a dirt track grade crossing,, two grade crossings, a spur to grain silos on the east side, Thomasboro, a dirt road grade crossing, a divided road to the east, a bridge over a stream, two grade crossings, the 14,208 ft. siding on the east side at Rantoul (MP 113.8), with a road to the east, two tracks on the east side, a bridge over a street, an old brick depot to the east, and a grade crossing, all within the siding, where the speed limit is briefly 60 mph and branches head west to Dewy and east to a Cargill grain elevator at Dillsboro, a dirt road grade crossing, a grade crossing, a dirt road grade crossing, Ludlow, a spur to a grain elevator to the west, a dirt road grade crossing, a grade crossing, and a detector at MP 106.2.
There is a bridge over a stream, a grade crossing, the 14,518 ft. siding on the east side at Paxton (MP 102.8), where a former Nickel Plate east-west line once bridged overhead, with two road bridges overhead, a spur trailing in from silos to the east, a grade crossing, extra track to the east, and a grade crossing, all within the siding, a dirt road grade crossing, a bridge over a stream, a grade crossing in Loda, a dirt track grade crossing, a dirt road grade crossing, a dirt track grade crossing, a bridge over a stream, two dirt road grade crossings, a grade crossing in Buckley, a grade crossing, a bridge over a stream, a grade crossing, a dirt road grade crossing, a detector at MP 89.6, a dirt road grade crossing, a dirt track grade crossing, Delrey (MP 87.6), where a stretch of two main tracks starts (40 mph on the turnout, 60 mph on track 2), a bridge over a stream, a grade crossing, a road alongside to the east, two grade crossings, two dirt road grade crossings, a grade crossing, and Gilman (MP 81.1), where there is a connector to the St. Louis line departing to the west, a passenger station with platform and depot to the west, IC’s line from St. Louis trails in from the southwest, there are four extra tracks to grain silos to the west, the line reverts to single track, and the TP&W line to Peoria crosses the IC at grade (50-30 on the crossing).