by jboullion | Nov 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Wisconsin State Journal:
Transportation officials have confirmed that Wisconsin and federal administrators have signed a deal to commit the state to spending all $810 million of its federal stimulus cash on a proposed Milwaukee-to-Madison high-speed rail line.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on its website Monday night the agreement was reached just days before today’s election.
The deal is significant because it could make it harder for opponents to stop the controversial project, which officials originally hoped would one day connect the Midwest, from Chicago to Minneapolis.
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, the Republican nominee and gubernatorial frontrunner, has said repeatedly that he wanted to stop the rail project, even if it meant repaying hundreds of millions of dollars to the federal government. On Monday, he called the deal “raw political power at its worst.”
But Cari Anne Renlund, executive assistant to state Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi, said Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration was only following its original plan for the project to create construction jobs as soon as possible.
“Essentially what this means is that we’ve satisfied the federal government that we are ready to start the construction phase,” Renlund, the No. 3 official at the state Department of Transportation, told the State Journal. “We can put people on the job and pay them.”
by jboullion | Oct 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article in BizTimes:
The federal government is allocating another $2.4 billion for high-speed rail projects across the country, on top of the $8 billion for high speed rail that was previously announced as part of the federal stimulus act, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today.
The additional high-speed rail funds will include $44 million for the Chicago-to-Twin Cities corridor, on top of the $822 million that was allocated for the corridor earlier this year, including $810 million for the controversial Milwaukee to Madison line.
The additional $44 million for the Chicago-to-Twin Cities corridor includes $3.7 million to replace two rail bridges between Chicago and Milwaukee that will allow for higher-speed trains to travel between the two cities. The Department of Transportation announcement did not say where the bridges are located, but a recent Chicago Tribune report said the bridges are in Wadsworth, Ill.
by jboullion | Oct 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article in BizTimes:
The federal government is allocating another $2.4 billion for high-speed rail projects across the country, on top of the $8 billion for high speed rail that was previously announced as part of the federal stimulus act, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today.
The additional high-speed rail funds will include $44 million for the Chicago-to-Twin Cities corridor, on top of the $822 million that was allocated for the corridor earlier this year, including $810 million for the controversial Milwaukee to Madison line.
The additional $44 million for the Chicago-to-Twin Cities corridor includes $3.7 million to replace two rail bridges between Chicago and Milwaukee that will allow for higher-speed trains to travel between the two cities. The Department of Transportation announcement did not say where the bridges are located, but a recent Chicago Tribune report said the bridges are in Wadsworth, Ill.
by jboullion | Oct 25, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a commentary by Michael Flaherty on BizOpinion.com:
PARIS – The train starts to pick up speed, almost imperceptibly, and within 20 minutes the Eurostar high-speed train has left Paris behind, quietly slicing through the French countryside at 185 miles per hour on its way to London.
Just over two hours later, the five-football-field-long train – one of 20 trains that day – deposits 500 passengers at the St. Pancras International station in central London.
The high-speed Eurostar announced last year it has now transported more than 100 million passengers. That’s 100 million business people, tourists, educators, students, 100 million generators of economic activity among nations that fought each other almost constantly for centuries.
When a Wisconsinite rides the Eurostar, it’s difficult not to reflect on Europe’s success and the debate we’re having over rail in Wisconsin. Or, more succinctly, the debate we’re not having – but ought to.
Wisconsin’s proposed rail system will be nothing like the Eurostar, of course. It will be relatively slow. The trains will be emptier and less efficient, at least at first. They won’t bring nations together or link destinations as world-famous as Paris and London.
But a trip on the Eurostar is a slap on the forehead. It’s a vivid example of what an investment in high-speed rail can do to accelerate growth and economic activity. It’s a window into the future for those willing to invest in a regional economy such as the “I-Q Corridor,” the intellectually rich route connecting Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and the Twin Cities.
For Wisconsin “conservatives” opposed to rail (note the quotes), the Eurostar is a stark reminder that this debate isn’t about a train or the growth of government. It’s about economic growth, economic efficiency and the development of urban and rural areas alike.
by jboullion | Sep 30, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a commentary by Steve Hiniker, executive director of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
With anti-rail activists whipped into a frenzy over threats that passenger rail services pose to Wisconsin and the state’s finances, it’s time to step back and take a closer look. Are rail opponents onto something, or are they on something?
Rail opponents rail against the cost of rail. They would like to have the money for rail either returned to Washington or spent on highways. Dream on. The $810 million is a part of a larger plan to restore intercity passenger rail across the United States. This is a federal project that won’t be derailed by Wisconsin politics. Restoring rail is expensive, but transportation projects are expensive. The Zoo Interchange will cost more than $2 billion to reconstruct. The Marquette Interchange was close to $1 billion. Where’s the outrage over that spending?
In any case, the money can’t be spent on highways, and even if it was sent back to Washington, it would be reallocated to another state to build their rail system – leaving Wisconsin in the dust. (We also would be sending millions of our tax dollars to another state to build rail instead of us getting the hundreds of millions from other states.)
The core of rail opponents’ argument seems to focus on the $54 question: Can we afford the annual operations costs of the added service? Those annual costs will amount to around $6 million a year. That amounts to one-fifth of one cent of our gas tax. So when a driver fills up with 20 gallons of gasoline at $2.70 per gallon, the bill will comes to $54. Just .04 (yes, 4 cents) out of that $54 will go to pay for intercity rail.
Their argument also assumes that there are absolutely no benefits associated with the 4-cent investment that comes with a $54 purchase. It assumes that no one will benefit from jobs created to build the service. That no one will benefit from the development that occurs around rail stations. And that no one will benefit from being able to relax rather than fight traffic on the interstate.
Opponents also like to say that the train fares will be unaffordable. According to the state Department of Transportation, one-way fares will be between $20 and $30 for the ride from Madison to Milwaukee. Compare that to the cost of driving. Using federal reimbursement rates for mileage, driving the 78 miles between Madison and Milwaukee costs $39. That means taking rail saves between $9 and $19 each trip. It saves a lot more for someone in Madison taking the train to Mitchell International Airport to catch a flight due to the saved costs of parking. And it will boost traffic at Mitchell.
It seems like there’s a lot of rage over just 4 cents out of every $54.
