by jboullion | Dec 15, 2008 | Uncategorized
From an article by Mark Sommerhauser in the La Crosse Tribune:
A proposal for high-speed rail service from Chicago to St. Paul – with stops in La Crosse and Winona, Minn. – is gaining new steam, buoyed by new federal interest in passenger rail and an aggressive push from St. Paul-area officials.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Ramsey County officials are engaging leaders in Winona and other Minnesota municipalities on Amtrak’s Empire Builder line, which they say could eventually be improved to carry high-speed trains if federal lawmakers fund the project as early as 2009. Coleman and others say overhauling the Empire Builder line would fast-track Minnesota’s best bid for high-speed rail, though the proposal may face questions from state officials and Rochester leaders who hope to be included on a new route.
A high-speed rail on the Empire Builder line, which runs from Chicago to La Crosse, and up the Mississippi River through St. Paul, was first proposed in a 2004 study by transportation departments in Minnesota and 10 other Midwest states. That study estimated an upfront cost of $1.86 billion to improve the line and proposed running five, 110-mph trains per day on the route.
Now, with Amtrak ridership climbing, President-elect Obama and other newly elected Democrats are discussing an ambitious, nationwide effort to fund high-speed rail, possibly as part of a stimulus package focused on infrastructure projects. The sudden prospect of federal support has put supporters in high gear: Mayor Jerry Miller confirmed he plans to meet with Coleman and Rep. Tim Walz, DFL-Minn., next week to discuss high-speed rail.
by jboullion | Dec 11, 2008 | Uncategorized
From a story by Mark Pitsch in the Wisconsin State Journal:
The start of a commuter rail line between Madison and Milwaukee, a new UW-Madison medical research tower and expansion of Interstate 94 are among the local projects Gov. Jim Doyle says could be started within months if federal lawmakers pass a massive economic stimulus bill for states.
Doyle met with members of President-elect Barack Obama’s economic team and incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday and presented them a list of those and other projects he says the state has ready to go, his office said.
Over all, the state has nearly 1,800 projects worth $3.7 billion that could be ready to start within 120 days if it receives funding under the bill being worked on in Congress — though it’s too early to say how much Wisconsin might get.
“These are things we could do immediately to have people work all across the state,” Doyle said earlier this week in an interview.
Doyle’s office has an additional $10 billion in longer-term projects cued up, including $519 million for the rail project, $300 million to replace UW-Madison’s Charter Street plant and $50 million for a campus bioenergy research facility.
The office released the list of projects Wednesday. Doyle is slated to testify before the House Appropriations Committee today and he was scheduled to meet with its chairman, Rep. David Obey, D-Wausau, privately Wednesday.
Click here for the full wish list, including more items for Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin.
by jboullion | Dec 9, 2008 | Uncategorized
From an article on Milwaukee Rising:
The capital cost of developing Milwaukee-Madison train service has soard 25% to 50% in just two years, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
The cost was estimated at $400 million when the 2007-09 budget was developed, according to the agency’s budget request.
“As with all other infrastructure projects, the estimated cost has increased significantly in the last two years due to high fuel and materials costs,” the department said. ”While the final cost will not be known until the final design and engineering are completed, the project cost is currently estimated at $500 – $600 million, including all design, engineering, capital infrastructure costs, and equipment costs.”
WisDOT is seeking $40 million in new bonding authority for the project, on top of the $82 million in authority it already has.
The good news, WisDOT said, is that there now is a federal funding program for intercity passenger rail service that could pay as much as 80% of project costs.
“Federal appropriation of funding and rule-making for the rail programs still need to occur,” the agency said in its 2009-11 budget request. ”The work done on the Madison – Milwaukee corridor so far and the bonding already authorized will place Wisconsin in a good position to receive a grant as soon as the process is established.”
There are good reasons to proceed with the project, WisDOT said.
by jboullion | Nov 6, 2008 | Uncategorized
One of several open letters in the Sheperad Express to President-elect
The first priority for the next administration regarding transportation needs to be correcting the serious imbalance between huge federal funding and support for highway expansion and automobile use, compared to only modest support for public transportation. Just months ago, billions of dollars were shifted from the federal mass transit fund into the highway fund to cover our national highway spending binge. Greater federal support for transit infrastructure (longdistance rail, commuter rail, light rail, and bus), as well as for operating expenses, is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to improve air quality in densely populated cities and to reduce the national insecurity that results from our overwhelming dependence on foreign oil. Ending the existing tilt in the playing field in favor of highways will encourage smart growth, urban infill development and redevelopment, and higher employment in our cities. It will also provide additional environmental benefits ranging from increased energy efficiency to preservation of agricultural land.
The impending government bailout of the American automobile industry—a dinosaur that has survived for the last decade or more by trying to sell every American a truck (SUV) in which to commute to and from work—provides an opportunity to try to reshape and refocus it for the future. The industry will only survive if it can produce technologically advanced, fuel-efficient vehicles that can compete with models from Europe and Asia. Requirements for continued improvement in fuel efficiency and air emission standards are necessary to spur constant innovation, rather than giving the industry a “pass” or exemption.
Dennis Grzezinski
Attorney Specializing in Environmental Law
by jboullion | Nov 5, 2008 | Uncategorized
From a column by State Senator Dale Schultz:
As Wisconsin employers increasingly turn to our state’s rail roads to get their goods to a global market, state residents and communities enjoy the benefits of keeping jobs here, cleaner air from less truck emissions, and safer roads with less truck traffic.
Those benefits make our state owned railroad system a great investment and explain why I believe, despite a tough fiscal climate, we should increase funding to preserve the infrastructure of our public rail system in the next state budget.
Our public railroad system, which serves numerous communities, has been a great benefit by helping employers compete in the global market and keep family supporting jobs in Wisconsin.
The system also helps many villages and cities with their community development goals by generating increased tax revenues as employers invest in plant expansions and equipment.
In the past two years, in just the region I represent as a state senator, our public rail system has led to new jobs and tax base through major projects in Boscobel, Reedsburg and Rock Springs. For numerous state communities, rail service has been an essential asset to save jobs and create new jobs.
As rail shipping replaces thousands of truck trips, our roads last longer, our carbon footprint shrinks and we all breathe cleaner air.
The state helps communities and rail shippers save freight rail service through its Freight Rail Preservation Program. FRPP grants fund up to 80 percent of projects to rehabilitate tracks and bridges on public rail lines, buy essential rail lines so they aren’t abandoned, and save rail corridors for future rail service and sometimes as recreational trails in the interim.
While freight rail traffic is growing in Wisconsin, FRPP funding is falling far short of the needs. In the current state budget, FRPP funds met less than ten percent of the needs, forcing delays of badly needed projects on public owned rail lines. Since 1992, most FRPP funding went to add rail lines to our public system as a last resort to avoid loss of rail service for communities.
