Wisconsin Mayors, WISPIRG, Coalition Partners Tout Benefits of High Speed Rail in Wisconsin

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New Report Shows Benefits of Long Term Commitment to Hgh Speed Rail in the State

WISPIRG

Madison, Feb. 16 – The Obama administration’s recent decision to award $823 million in high speed rail funds to Wisconsin is the first step towards a stronger, faster rail system that will reduce congestion, oil use, and carbon emissions, but there is much still to be done.

That was the message that Oconomowoc Mayor Maury Sullivan, Watertown Mayor Ron Krueger, High Speed Rail Association of Wisconsin Legislative Liaison Gary Goyke, and WISPIRG Director Bruce Speight made clear today when they gathered at the State Capitol to release The Right Track, a new research report from WISPIRG.

“A national network of fast, frequent and dependable trains is a critical tool for reinventing the nation’s economy.  Our state has recognized the need to greatly improve our rail system and Oconomowoc is committed to building off that momentum,” said Maury Sullivan, Mayor of Oconomowoc.

“High Speed Rail is an economic development opportunity that rarely occurs,” stated Watertown Mayor Ron Krueger. “The City of Watertown in partnership with our surrounding communities, counties and the State of Wisconsin intends to use this opportunity to promote housing, retail/commercial, industrial and tourism development in a logical and sustainable manner.”

The new report analyzes the potential of high speed rail in nine different regions, including the Midwest, and presents eleven public-interest recommendations for how to spend high speed rail investments in the future.  According to data cited in the report, the completion of a national high-speed rail network would reduce car travel by 29 million trips and air travel by nearly 500,000 flights annually.  

“High speed passenger rail is an idea whose time has come in Wisconsin; and our citizens have shown that they will ride frequent, fast, reliable passenger rail service in record numbers if it is available,” said Dave Mumma, Chair of the High Speed Rail Association of Wisconsin.  “We don’t have to look any further than the highly successful Milwaukee-Chicago Hiawatha service, which set ridership records while maintaining the best service reliability performance in the Amtrak system, for proof of that fact.  We fully expect that the Milwaukee-Madison service, with higher speeds and the most modern equipment, which will extend Hiawatha into a new territory, will once again demonstrate that convenient, fast, well-run service will bring the riders aboard.”

Last month, the Obama administration announced that 31 states will receive a portion of $8 billion in funding to build and plan for high speed rail under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Wisconsin will receive $810 million for rail from Milwaukee to Madison.  According to the WISPIRG report, approximately 76 percent of Wisconsin’s total population lives within 30 miles of the rail stations on this corridor.

“This project might one day be part of a national network of high speed rail on par with the bullet trains of Europe and Asia, but it is going to take a long-term commitment from all levels of government to plan and fund the system,” said Bruce Speight, WISPIRG Director.  “Without such a commitment, this recent momentum could be lost. We simply cannot afford a false start on high speed rail.”