Statewide – High Speed Rail

High speed rail is the next generation of travel.  With increasing security concerns and rising gas prices, air travel is becoming more expensive and less efficient.  As political, business and transportation planning leaders recognize more and more that congestion on roadways is often unsolvable through highway expansion, and as gas prices rise, automobile travel becomes less convenient, enjoyable and affordable.  Meanwhile, the most underutilized transportation option in America is rail, particularly high speed rail between cities within a region.

Introduction of high speed rail has brought impressive results in economics and efficiency, most notably in the northeastern United States, France and Japan.  Now, there are plans to bring such service to the Midwest.  The Midwest Regional Rail Initiative is a nine-state partnership of Departments of Transportation working to create 3000 miles of passenger rail service, including seven high speed rail spurs extending from a hub in Chicago.

Here in Wisconsin, routes under the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative include high speed service to Milwaukee, Madison and LaCrosse along a route from Chicago to Minneapolis-St. Paul.  Another high speed spur will extend from Milwaukee through the Fox Valley to Green Bay.  Connecting into the rail lines will be feeder bus lines to Manitowoc, Sturgeon Bay, Rhinelander, Eau Claire and Duluth—Superior.  When combined with service in the eight other Midwestern states, this initiative will mean that the overwhelming majority of Wisconsin’s residents will have easy access to rail and bus lines that will allow them to travel conveniently and comfortably to communities all across Wisconsin and from Ohio to Nebraska and Missouri to northern Michigan.

While funding issues remain at the federal and state levels, this initiative moves forward.  Here in Wisconsin, an Environmental Assessment for the Madison to Milwaukee high speed rail segment 

Projected Costs for the Segments in Wisconsin are:

Milwaukee to Illinois State Line: $285 million

Milwaukee to Madison: $227 million

Madison to La Crosse: $243

Milwaukee to Green Bay: $311

A new report regarding the Midwest Regional Rail System was recently released.  To view a copy of the report on WisDOT's website, click here.

Wisconsin State Journal Editorializes for High Speed Rail

The Wisconsin State Journal called on Congress to fund high speed rail.  To read the piece, click here.

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