High-speed rail to connect Madison and Milwaukee, but Watertown's access may be the real story

It's no accident that whenever I speak about high-speed rail in America, I speak of President Obama's vision.

Because vision is exactly what it takes to see the potential value of American passenger rail. And vision is exactly what Governor Jim Doyle and Mayors Ron Krueger of Watertown and Dave Cieslewicz of Madison have demonstrated with their aggressive approach to high-speed rail in Wisconsin.

So today I was pleased to visit Watertown and sign an agreement providing $46.5 million in Recovery Act money to continue work on the state’s rail program. This is the latest installment from the $822 million that President Obama announced for Wisconsin high-speed rail in January.

Wisconsin's leaders understand that passenger rail is more than just a way to get from one place to another.

They understand that we're talking about connecting people with opportunities. And for Wisconsin's small towns and rural communities, that kind of access is a real priority.

They understand that we're talking about economic growth. Whether it's the 5,500 Wisconsin workers helping to make this high-speed line a reality by 2013 or the development that will certainly accompany the Watertown rail station, this rail network and its linkage to Chicago and the Twin Cities will create jobs and produce a powerful ripple effect to help countless Wisconsin businesses.

As Gov. Doyle said, "You think about a high-speed rail transportation system linking major cities in the Midwest, and Watertown is going to be on that system. They are a tremendous winner."

They understand that we're talking about congestion relief on the already crowded highways between the region's cities and at the region's airports.

And they understand that we're talking about environmental benefits that will pay dividends for generations to come. High-speed rail travel offers reduced dependence on oil. It offers reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Thanks to the Obama Administration's commitment, high-speed rail in America is no longer a dream. In less time than it took to pave the vast system of inter-connected highways that President Eisenhower imagined in the 1950s, you will see high and higher speed passenger trains moving significant numbers of Americans smoothly, affordably, and sustainably.

Comments

[Namb]

Awesome

[Roger A. Shope]

Thousands and thousands of Ohio College Students look forward to the "3C Quick Start" getting underway! Linking Ohio's Higher Education Resources with expanded Public Transportation options will build Ohio's Clean Energy Economy and retain our most Valuable assets...Our Kids!

[Ken Lewis, Psychologist]

As someone who has lived in Japan and Taiwan- both with elaborate high speed rail systems- yet who lives in Chicago with it's old-fashioned rails, I can attest to the value of the high speed rails.

They create a feeling of modernity and lightness in the people. They make for more efficient business, and more playful vacations and weekends. They make long distances feel shorter. And, they get people out of their cars. This not only makes the environment cleaner (less miles driven plus less traffic on the roads) but also gives people more peace of mind. In this stress-filled nation, we need the ease of the rails and the ability to simply tune-out for a while during our transits.

I say we increase our gasoline taxes to fund a high speed rail system. People will only kick and scream until they get from Chicago to Milwaukee in 20 minutes to enjoy a festival or attend a meeting.

[Cavele]

I love trains. I would much prefer to take a train than fly and I hate to drive (which is why I don't own a car). Apart from cutting down on pollution, congestion and traffic jams, there is something about riding a train that you just don't get with flying or driving, at least in my own personal experience. This is definitely the future of transportation.

[Michael E. Bailey]

High Speed Rail will be the transportation mode of choice for those traveling intermediate range distances by mid-century because it will cost less than most airlines would charge for the same distance travel and a high speed bullet train could get you to where you are going almost as fast. For longer distances if you are in a hurry, it will still be air travel and for short distances probably a standard train or transit. But for intermidiate distances, its high speed rail. The only airline that flys between Southern California and Sacramento with air fares that could compete with high speed rail is Southwest. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.

[William Steinbock]

Secretary Lahood,
Please help us in Louisville! The Ohio River Bridges Project does not conform to any of the guidelines you have set up for modern transit in America. OUr city leaders are not listening to the people and are instead appointing non-elected officials that meet behind closed doors to make decisions on our behalf. There is nothing about mass transit in the project, it costs a whopping 4.2 billions dollars, much of which will be paid for by the Federal government and tolls they want to set up on bridges we have already paid for. Numerous groups and bloggers around the country have taken note of the mistake being made here in Louisville, KY. Please lend us your support in helping our leaders see what a drastic mistake this project will be! Additionally, cheaper and more effective alternatives have been proposed such as 8664.org . Please help!

[Jeffry Reese]

To Governor Doyle: Thank you, thank you, thank you! This took way too long to happen but it's better late than never. I would really hope that with the BP oil spill that has killed untold numbers of fish, waterfowl and decimated species that we might not even have names for, maybe America will finally wake up! We need rail transportation improvement in this country and we need it like yesterday. You would think that we are waking up but I just know that those "Horse and buggy" Republicans are just itching to set us back once more. We can't let that happen! We mustn't!

[Peter Baldo]

I keep hearing about "high speed rail", but all I see are Amtrak trains that are scheduled to travel at 30 mph (Cincinnati to Chicago, for example), and still often run hours late.

Why not stop all the fancy talk about "high speed trains", which, like fusion power, seem to never get built. Why not just schedule the existing trains to average 60 mph, and make them run on schedule. Why not have stations that don't look like rundown garden sheds?

I've been hearing about "midwest high speed rail" since the 1970's. Lots of talk. Lots of promises. Lots of pretty pictures and grand plans. Absolutely nothing's happened. This is not France or Japan, let alone Germany or China. Nothing will ever happen. Meanwhile the existing system continues to deteriorate. I'm willing to settle for making the existing system work better.

[Carroll]

These short hauls are a good start, but I would like to see longer and longer routes. I would like to see them go from coast to coast.