Train Manufacturer Sues Wisconsin Over Default on Train Contract

Monday, November 05, 2012

From a news release issued by Talgo:

On November 1, 2012, the Walker administration forced Talgo, Inc., to terminate its contract with the State of Wisconsin to build passenger trains to be used by the State for Amtrak’s Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago. Talgo has substantially completed the trains under its contract, but the State has arbitrarily decided not to put the trains in service and has refused to pay Talgo the millions of dollars that it still owes for them. Talgo has filed a lawsuit in Dane County against Governor Scott Walker and Secretary of Transportation Mark Gottlieb, asking the court to review the State’s course of conduct, determine that the State defaulted on the contract, and rule that Talgo properly terminated it.

As a result of the Walker administration’s actions, once the court rules in favor of Talgo, the State of Wisconsin will have no further rights under the contract and will lose the almost $50 million it has already spent on the project. This amount includes only part of the contracted price for the trains, the State’s payments to consultants and its investment in a Milwaukee facility for temporary maintenance work.

Other Midwestern states get federal funds for trains

Friday, August 05, 2011

From an article by Candace Lombardi on Cnet News:

Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Wednesday announced his office is dispersing an additional $336.2 million in funds toward the massive U.S. high-speed rail public works project underway.

This time, the money is going for the trains themselves.

Including this latest release, $782 million has been dispersed for purchasing 33 locomotives and 120 bi-level train cars for California, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington.

The federal government has now allocated a total of $10.1 billion, set aside via the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, for the introduction of high-speed rail as well as updates and extensions for urban and commuter rail systems throughout the U.S.

To ensure that the money stays in the U.S. and directly produces jobs, LaHood has made contracts open to foreign as well as domestic companies, but only on the condition that they employ U.S. workers and locate or expand their manufacture facilities within the U.S. to carry out the contracts, according to the Department of Transportation.

The massive public works project has been met with enthusiasm from the majority of U.S. states, happy to get federal funding that could have an immediate impact on jobs during a very dismal economic downturn. More than 39 states and the District of Columbia have submitted requests for funding for various legs of the high-speed railway.

The real reasons the GOP shuns trains

Friday, July 29, 2011

From a commentary by Dave Zweifel in The Capital Times:

Thanks to my now-retired colleague Ron McCrea, I’ve come across another attempt to explain this strange Republican anti-train phenomenon. An associate editor of the blog “AlterNet,” Sarah Jaffe, has five theories.

First, improved passenger rail requires big infrastructure and, hence, leaves a legacy. This legacy of a viable high-speed American rail system, of course, would belong to President Obama. And, heaven knows, Obama can’t be credited with anything.

Second, it would provide union jobs, which doesn’t fit at all with the Republican war against labor unions that is being waged so effectively by the party’s elected state governors, including our infamous Scott Walker.

Third, trains are viewed as promoting “socialism” because people riding together — as conservative columnist George Will put it —diminishes American individualism. People riding alone in their cars makes people resistant to government by experts who know what choices people should make, Will has written.

Fourth is the urban vs. rural issue, which is essentially Rowen’s theory. Jaffe quotes CNN’s Steven Harrod, who says that many critics of passenger rail emotionally identify it as an enabler of cultural values they fear.

“Urban vs. rural. People of color vs. white people. Public investment of any kind has been branded by the conservative movement as a way for the government to take away money from hardworking, independent (white) people and give handouts to freeloaders, usually seen as nonwhite people,” she writes.

And fifth, according to Jaffe, is the fear that high-speed rail will change our lifestyles — and, by golly, we like our lifestyles!

“Conservatives who fear changes brought about by high-speed rail aren’t wrong, of course, that transportation will change us,” Jaffe adds. “The shape of our cities and suburbs for the past 50 years or more has been largely because of transportation. Without cars, we’d never have had suburbs, let alone exurbs.”

If Obama succeeded in making decent passenger rail accessible to 80 percent of the U.S. in the next 25 years, it would become time to encourage urban density rather than suburban sprawl, which, in turn, would bring about a shift from cars regardless of economic class.

Right-wingers don’t like that notion at all because, in their view, that promotes environmental awareness, energy savings and other concerns normally associated with liberalism.

Milwaukee aldermen approve downtown streetcar line

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

From an article by Larry Sanders in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Milwaukee aldermen voted 10-5 Tuesday to approve a modern streetcar line downtown.

In response to concerns raised by Comptroller W. Martin "Wally" Morics, aldermen agreed to limit spending to engineering for now, and to seek a review by the comptroller's office before releasing money for construction.

The measure now heads to Mayor Tom Barrett, the plan's chief advocate, for his signature.

Plans call for a 2.1-mile line, from the lower east side to the downtown Amtrak-Greyhound station, starting in 2014. Streetcars would run every 10 minutes on weekdays and every 15 minutes on weekends, late-night and early-morning hours.

The $64.6 million project would be funded by $54.9 million in long-idle federal transit aid and $9.7 million from a tax-incremental financing district, with fares, parking fees and advertising revenue covering the $2.65 million annual operating cost. The city is seeking additional federal aid for extensions that would add 1.5 miles to the line and boost the construction cost past $100 million.

Trains unnecessarily cost Wisconsin taxpayers millions due to Walker's fund rejection

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

From an article by Larry Sandler and Jason Stein:

Wisconsin taxpayers could wind up paying more to keep existing passenger train service from Milwaukee to Chicago than they would have paid to run new high-speed rail service from Milwaukee to Madison, according to a Journal Sentinel analysis of state figures.

The Legislature's budget committee voted 12-2 Tuesday to spend $31.6 million in mostly borrowed state money on Amtrak's Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha line, costs that could have been paid largely by an $810 million federal grant that would have extended the Hiawatha to Madison.

But Tuesday's vote doesn't cover all the spending that will be needed to keep running the Hiawatha, a growing service that carried nearly 800,000 passengers last year.

State transportation officials have estimated they would need millions more for locomotives, signals and a new maintenance base, even without expanding service beyond the current seven daily round trips.

And, like the spending approved Tuesday, all or most of those new costs would have been covered by the federal grant spurned by Gov. Scott Walker last year. That's because the Milwaukee-to-Madison service would have operated as an extension of the Hiawatha, as part of a larger plan to connect Chicago to the Twin Cities and other Midwestern destinations with fast, frequent trains.

Taken together, state taxpayers' share of the Hiawatha capital costs that would have been covered by the federal grant could total as much as $99 million, significantly more than the $30 million they would have paid for 20 years of operating costs on the Milwaukee-to-Madison segment, as estimated by former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle's administration.

Walker had cited those operating costs as his main reason for opposing the 110-mph extension. Federal money would have paid all of its capital costs. And that doesn't count the other potential benefits that high-speed rail supporters have cited from the Milwaukee-to-Madison line, such as jobs, economic development, expanded tax base and improved freight rail tracks.

Budget committee votes to spend $31.6 million on rail service

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

From an article by Jason Stein and Patrick Marley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Madison - The Legislature's budget committee voted 12-2 Tuesday to spend $31.6 million on the Milwaukee-to-Chicago passenger rail service, costs that could have largely been paid by a federal grant that would have extended passenger rail from Milwaukee to Madison.

The Joint Finance Committee voted unanimously to shift $33 million within the transportation fund to cover higher than expected winter maintenance costs.

Democrats backed the passenger rail measure. But they pointed to an estimate from the Legislature's nonpartisan budget office that found that at least $22.4 million of the additional costs stem from Republican Gov. Scott Walker's move to cancel an $810 million high-speed rail line connecting Madison to Milwaukee and Chicago.

All Republicans except Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) and Sen. Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan) also backed the measure but countered that the federal government could have still paid for part of the costs and that part of the bills also stem from a questionable contract entered into by Walker's predecessor, Democratic former Gov. Jim Doyle.

Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) called the canceled contract an example of "Walker math" that is costly for the state.

"We had an opportunity to take advantage of federal funding in one of the tightest budgets in years," Taylor said.

Let's get new RTA bill done

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

From an editorial in the Wisconsin State Journal:

The same Republicans who just killed the Dane County Regional Transit Authority say they're willing to allow RTAs in Wisconsin if they're more consistent and accountable.

OK, then let's get moving on just such a bill.

Dane County needs an RTA to encourage regional cooperation on transportation planning to avoid gridlock.

Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, and Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, played key roles during the recent state budget process in nixing the legal status of several RTAs including Dane County's.

Yet they told the State Journal editorial board recently that they'll encourage more study and a compromise bill that can be approved as early as next year or by 2013.

We intend to hold them to that pledge.

Southeastern Wisconsin leaders ask state to restore mass transit funding

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

From an article in BizTimes Daily:

A coalition of southeastern Wisconsin civic, educational and business leaders is asking the state Legislature to restore state funding for mass transit in the region.

The coalition sent a letter to state senators and Assembly members Monday, calling on legislators to refrain from making the cuts outlined in Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill. The letter said mass transit is vital to the economic future of southeastern Wisconsin economy.

The letter was co-signed by Kenosha Mayor Keith Bosman; Cudahy Mayor Anthony Day; St. Francis Mayor Al Richards; South Milwaukee Mayor Tom Zepecki; Racine Mayor John Dickert; Oak Creek Mayor Richard Bolander; Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele; Greater Milwaukee Committee President Julia Taylor; Racine Area Chamber of Commerce President Michael Kobylka; South Suburban Chamber of Commerce President Barbara Wesener; KenoshaArea Business Alliance President Todd Battle; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Michael Lovell; University of Wisconsin-Parkside Chancellor Deborah Ford; Milwaukee Downtown Executive Director Beth Nicols; Devin Sutherland of Downtown Racine Corp. BID #1; Mike Fabishak of Associated General Contractors Greater Milwaukee; and Tom Rave of The Gateway to Milwaukee.

The letter stated:
“In the current economy, creating, maintaining, and connecting people to private sector jobs is a top priority. The state budget proposal to drastically reduce state funding for already severely strained transit systems in SE Wisconsin would threaten economic growth by making it harder or impossible for workers to get to jobs and discourage employers from locating or expanding in Wisconsin. . . .

Beyond the Bus-vs.-Rail Debate

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Beyond the Bus-vs.-Rail Debate: Cultivating Transit Discussions that Take Us Where We Need to Go

A talk by Jarrett Walker, international transit consultant and author of the weblog HumanTransit.org

Tuesday, May 31, 2011, 7:00 p.m.
UW Pyle Center, Room 313
702 Langdon St., Madison, WI

Like many cities, Madison has spent years debating rail and other ideas for improving area transit. Yet few of these proposals have moved forward, and new threats to transit funding could undo what progress has been made.

Why are debates over transit often so frustrating and contentious? Can we frame them differently to foster more productive conversations and stronger consensus, both about the kinds of transit systems we want and about the value and benefits of transit to our communities?

Jarrett Walker, international transit consultant and author of the popular transit policy weblog HumanTransit.org, thinks we can, and will discuss how in a talk on Tuesday evening, May 31, at 7:00 p.m. in Room 313 of the UW Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St. in Madison.

A fundamental problem, he maintains, is that heated quarrels over transit technologies have made it harder to think and talk clearly about what we really want for our communities and which choices best achieve those goals. The relationship between transit technology and transit outcomes is not always as clear as it seems, and categorical opinions about any technology, rail or bus, can blind us to many other ways to improve our transit systems and thereby enrich our communities and our lives. Approaching transit issues from a different point of view may make them easier to resolve.

Jarrett Walker, PhD, has been a consulting transit planner for 20 years, and has worked on a wide range of projects, from small-city bus re-structurings to major transit corridor studies. He has written HumanTransit.org since 2009 and his book Human Transit, expanding on themes from that writing, is forthcoming this fall from Island Press.

The talk is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the UW Center on Wisconsin Strategy’s State Smart Transportation Initiative, the Dane Alliance for Rational Transportation, the DaneTransit coalition, and the Madison Peak Oil Group. For further information contact Fred Bartol at (608) 251-6126.

Electrified Steel Interstate - Planning meeting, June 2, Madison

Friday, May 27, 2011

What: Electrified Steel Interstate meeting (Alan Drake’s concept)
When: Thursday, June 2nd from 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Where: Sequoya Public Library, Meeting Room A, 4340 Tokay Blvd, Madison

The room has been reserved under the auspices of the Madison Peak Oil Group.

Overall goals of the meeting include:

(1) Develop and refine the Steel Interstate concept for Wisconsin (or perhaps the upper Midwest, given the central role of Chicago in the nation’s rail network)
(2) Identify key stakeholders
(3) Identify key advocacy partners
(4) Identify possibilities for collaboration (with the CFIRE group at UW Madison, for example – i.e. the National Center for Freight Infrastructure Research and Education.)
(5) Tally how much time/energy each of us is willing to contribute to this effort
(6) Come up with a reasonable action plan

I will send out a more detailed agenda by Sunday the 29th; if there are matters you want covered please let me know before then.

To prepare for the meeting, I would ask that you carefully read and make notes on Drake’s posting “Multiple Birds”.

What we need is something like a “peer review”: we want to make sure our logic is sound, our data is accurate, our goals are realistic, and our arguments are persuasive.

Sorry for the delay in scheduling this but I’m volunteering at CNU 19 this year and I needed to find out what my time slots were before I finalized this meeting.

Without aid, Hiawatha is in a pinch

Monday, May 16, 2011

From an article by Larry Sandler in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Wisconsin scrambles to replace federal money

After being turned down for federal high-speed rail funds, state officials are now pondering how to pay for millions of dollars of work needed to keep the existing Amtrak service running between Milwaukee and Chicago.

Last week, the federal government rejected the state's request for more than $150 million for new locomotives, passenger cars and a maintenance base to upgrade the Hiawatha line. Also rejected was a bid for nearly $60 million in related track, signal and engineering work.

That decision followed Gov. Scott Walker's refusal to build a 110-mph extension of the Hiawatha to Madison, as part of a larger plan to connect Chicago to the Twin Cities and other Midwestern destinations. After Walker's election, the federal government pulled nearly all of the $810 million stimulus grant that would have paid for the long-planned Milwaukee-to-Madison stretch.

But Walker supported keeping and upgrading the existing Milwaukee-to-Chicago service, with backing from the Milwaukee-area business community. And since some of the $810 million would have been used to improve existing service, the state asked for $213.3 million for that purpose.

Now, after the federal rejection, the state is faced with at least $209.1 million in potential costs for the existing service. But only $69.5 million in state and federal funds has been committed to those expenses, leaving a gap of $139.6 million.

Some of that gap could be filled by borrowing. From 1993 to 2009, lawmakers approved $122 million in borrowing power for passenger rail projects. To date, state officials have used $49.5 million of that authority, leaving $72.5 million available.

Transportation officials have asked the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee for permission to use some of that bonding power. But even if they could use all of it, they would still come up more than $67 million short.

Rail money went to states with "farsighted leadership"

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

From an editorial in The New York Times:

None of the money in Monday’s announcement will be going to Wisconsin, for example, where Gov. Scott Walker has also decided that his strapped state could do without rail improvements and the construction jobs that go with them. Nor will it go to Ohio, where Gov. John Kasich preferred rejectionism to the improvement of rail service among the state’s largest cities, which could have produced 16,000 jobs.

Instead, it will go to 15 states that have more farsighted leadership, who understand the important role federal dollars can play in stimulating the economy, moving people quickly from place to place and reducing tailpipe emissions. Some of those states are led by Republicans: Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan happily stood beside Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Monday to accept nearly $200 million to upgrade the rail line between Dearborn and Kalamazoo, the bulk of the Chicago-Detroit corridor.

Boneheaded move on transit

Monday, May 09, 2011

From an editorial in The Journal Times, Racine:

In a lamentable vote last week, state Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, led the state’s Joint Finance Committee to vote 12-4 along party lines to do away with recently authorized regional transit authorities in southeastern Wisconsin and four other areas of the state.

It is a boneheaded and short-sighted maneuver that could well ring the death knell for commuter rail linking Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee and Chicago.

Unlike the high-speed rail proposed for Milwaukee to Madison by former Democratic Gov. James Doyle, KRM would connect a corridor of highly populated areas in the southeastern corner of the state. It would give businesses access to willing workers through the region, provide those workers with the means to get to jobs, give residents a car-free alternative to taking in the sights, recreational and entertainment offerings of Chicago and Milwaukee — and it would lessen the reliance on the Interstate highway system.

It was perhaps prophetic that the Vos-led vote last week came as gasoline pump prices roared well past $4 per gallon.

For good measure, the Joint Finance Committee also threw state funding for bike and pedestrian paths under the bus as well, eliminating $5 million in spending over the next two years.

Vos said the transit authorities were unpopular, unelected “abomominations” as he guided the vote for disbandonment.

Unlike during the Gov. Tommy Thompson era, in recent years Republicans have taken a Goldilocks and the Three Bears approach toward mass transit, complaining that plans — whatever plans — were too hot, too cold, too this, too that. The unelected “abomination” criticism from Vos that transit authorities would spend tax money, even though their boards were not elected, feeds into the recent rise in anti-taxing frenzy — including an advisory referendum in Racine County on “new taxes” for transit or rail that was defeated by a large margin.

In fact, Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget would have preserved transit authorities, but required a binding referendum before an authority could levy a tax.

That’s a more reasoned approach . . .

New report drives home the benefits of high-speed rail

Monday, May 02, 2011

From a column by Dave Zweifel in The Capital Times:

With a guy like Scott Walker as governor, it’s probably tilting at windmills, but once again a comprehensive report has called attention to the importance of modernizing the Midwest’s rail system.

Late last week a group of transportation advocates and legislators released a report titled “The Economic Impacts of High-Speed Rail: Transforming the Midwest,” which showed that expanding passenger rail service in Wisconsin and the Midwest could create more than 100,000 jobs and $13.8 billion of economic activity.

During a press conference in the Capitol, the group noted that after the governor turned down $810 million in federal stimulus funds to improve passenger rail between Chicago and Milwaukee and extend it to Madison, he now is seeking federal help to upgrade the rail beds and add a train set on the Chicago-Milwaukee route. . . .

Despite the size of the Midwest’s economy, the report noted, it doesn’t have the transportation infrastructure to compete in today’s global marketplace.

Walker could have made sure Wisconsin was part of a new network that one day will transform the nation’s reliance on automobiles and the uncertainty of air travel.

His shortsightedness will cost us dearly for a long time to come.

The solution isn’t to INCREASE subsidies for rush-hour drivers and freight trucking!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Fellow Rail & Transit Advocates:

The following is a transcript of my comments before the Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee budget hearing in West Allis on 11 April 2011. Feel free to share, plagiarize, etc.!

Hans Noeldner
Oregon, Wisconsin
608-444-6190


We don’t have worsening congestion on Wisconsin’s roads because of people who van-pool and ride transit to work.

And our interstate highways are not crumbling because of freight that is being moved on railroads.

No, our highway funding system is broke because rush-hour motorists aren’t paying the real costs for all the capacity they demand. And freight truckers don’t begin to pay for all the damages they cause.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s counties and municipalities are digging deeper and deeper into property owners’ pockets because motorists aren’t paying the real costs of local roads and streets…and all the plowing, patching, policing, and EMS services motorists demand.

We have very serious budget problems in this state. The solution isn’t to INCREASE subsidies for rush-hour drivers and freight trucking!

No, we need to do everything possible to REDUCE the costs of moving freight and people. Wisconsin should work closely with rail companies to shift interstate freight from highways to rail. And we need to EXPAND transit, not cripple it.

But budgets aren’t just about money – they are about people.

If you are a person who is accustomed to driving whenever, wherever, and as much as you want, you have no idea what life is like for people who cannot drive…people who SHOULD not drive…families which can’t afford a car…people who would rather not depend on a car for everything.

These people deserve your representation no less than people who are like you.

I will close by challenging you to experience life on the other side of the windshield.

Walk to your grocery store a few times a month.

Pedal your bicycle to your place of worship.

Ride the bus when you go out for drinks on Friday night.

There is no better way for you to learn what you need to know – as servants of the people – than to walk in the other guy’s shoes.

High-speed rail money vanishes in budget deal

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

From an article by John Gramlisch on Stateline.org:

Congress on Tuesday (April 12) revealed the details of the federal budget deal reached by Democrats and Republicans late last week, and a clear loser is high-speed rail.

Funding for the program, a priority for President Obama, was slashed dramatically in the agreement announced by the administration and GOP House Speaker John Boehner. Not only does the deal eliminate all financing for high-speed rail this year, it takes back $400 million of the $2.5 billion that Congress authorized for it last year, The New York Times reports.

"The cuts will not bring the rail program to a halt, as there is still unspent rail money that can be used on new projects. But they leave the future of high-speed rail in the United States unclear, to say the least," The Times says. "Roughly $10 billion has been approved for high-speed rail so far, but that money has been spread to dozens of projects around the country. If Congress does not approve more money, it is possible that the net result of all that spending will be better regular train service in many areas, and a small down payment on one bullet train, in California."

High-speed rail has been a favorite target for congressional and state-level Republicans who see it as a waste of money.

Legislators ask Walker to apply for rail funds

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

March 29, 2011
Governor Scott Walker
115 East, State Capitol
Madison, WI 53703

Dear Governor Walker:
We all want to create jobs and reduce the tax burden on Wisconsin citizens. We are writing to urge you to consider applying for $2.4 billion in high speed train money that is now available to restore train service to our Capital and Wisconsin. There are many reasons to do this.

This federal money will save Wisconsin state taxpayers from having to upgrade our freight lines and stretch the $60 million for rail upgrades in your capital budget.

As you know, this measure will help create at least 5,500 jobs as well as save the jobs at the Talgo Train Assembly Plant in Milwaukee.

Other states around us are competing for these federal funds. Our state Capital is also one of the only Capitals in the Midwest that does not have train service. In order to compete for high wage jobs, we need a high tech transportation system.

Also, you know that Wisconsin taxpayers pay more into the federal coffers than we receive back and applying for this money could help get our fair share of federal resources.

I hope you will support making Wisconsin “Open for Business” by expanding transportation choices and train infrastructure.

For more information, go to http://www.fra.dot.gov/roa/press_releases/fp_DOT%2029-11.shtml.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Rep. Brett Hulsey
Rep. Amy Sue Vruwink
Rep. Kelda Roys
Rep. Chris Sinicki
Rep. Jon Richards
Rep. Fred Kessler
Rep. Terese Berceau
Rep. Sandy Pasch
Rep. Mark Pocan
Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa
Rep. Fred Clark

Sen. Mark Miller
Sen. Chris Larson
Sen. Dave Hansen

Engineering an Electrified Steel Interstate; Free presentation, March 24

Friday, March 18, 2011

Don’t miss this free public lecture on the UW Madison campus next Thursday:

Oil-Free Transportation Options for the 21st Century
by Alan S. Drake, transportation researcher and independent consultant

Thursday, March 24 at 6:00 PM
1800 Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI
http://tinyurl.com/4nm2ete

Sponsored by: UW Energy Hub, WISPIRG, UW Energy Institute, Madison Peak Oil Group, ProRail, Western Dane Coalition for Smart Growth and Environment, and others.

Why is this important?
Construction of an Electrified Steel Interstate in the United States is an essential step towards building an affordable, reliable, sustainable transportation system an oil-constrained future. The national security, economic, and engineering reasons to do so are compelling:

1) If/when the United States is confronted by oil shortages again, such a system would play a vital role in moving food and other essential goods and services.

2) Costs of constructing, maintaining, and repairing highways for interstate trucking are approximately four times greater than the same kinds of costs for railways.

3) Fuel taxes and fees from freight trucking cover less than one-half the costs of highway wear and tear caused by these vehicles.

4) Railways can accommodate much heavier loads and operate at higher speeds than highways.

5) Semi-trucks on highways use more than four times as much energy per ton-mile of cargo as diesel-powered freight trains; and with double-stacked containers on rail, the energy use differential increases to nine times as much energy per ton-mile of cargo using trucks.

6) Electrification of freight railway service can provide a 60-67% reduction in energy use from diesel power pulling the same load, and use domestic electricity instead of imported oil.

The vision Drake and his colleagues offer leverages the synergies between electrified rail service with creation of the Smart Grid, distributed generation, greater usage of renewable electricity, and proven energy storage strategies. A comprehensive, modernized freight rail system – in conjunction with electrification and followed by expansion of higher-speed passenger rail service where appropriate – would employ currently-available technologies and be justified by quick pay-backs on investment.

In order for the Electrified Steel Interstate to become a reality, the electric utility industry will need to work closely with government and the rail industry to achieve a progressive electrification of the railways, synergistic use of common rights of way, provision of advanced signaling and control mechanisms, and mobilization of currently stranded renewable wind power.

For more information contact:
Arnold Harris (608) 798-4833 arnoldharris@tds.net
David Knuti (608) 234-7430 knutifam@yahoo.com
Hans Noeldner, facilitator, Madison Peak Oil Group
608-444-6190 hans_noeldner@charter.net

Mad Fast Trains

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Official: Wisconsin can sit out rail plan; Twin Cities-Chicago line still in works

Monday, March 14, 2011

From an article by Frederick Melo in the Pioneer Press, Minneapolis/St. Paul:

Despite hot competition from other states, Minnesota is well-positioned to nab a chunk of federal funding for passenger rail projects recently rejected by Florida and Wisconsin, according to Dan Krom, a rail guru for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The recent Madison-toMilwaukee rail debacle "doesn't deter any of the work we're doing in terms of getting to Chicago," Krom told an advisory board to the Metropolitan Council on Thursday. About $810 million in federal funds would have gone to build a 70-mile rail line between Milwaukee and Madison, but Gov. Scott Walker rejected it.

Some members appeared incredulous. And once high-speed passenger rail lines are built to Chicago, or Rochester, or Duluth, how will annual operating costs be covered? Fare-box revenues are likely to capture only part of the price tag to keep the trains rolling, and state general funds are unlikely to make up the remainder.

"We have six or seven lines prepared for the state, but we don't have a funding source," said Krom, MnDOT's co-project manager for passenger rail.

Krom gave the group a general overview of the state's rail plans in light of recent developments since the November elections.

For Minnesota, Wisconsin's turn-back presents complications and opportunities. State officials had hoped to build a high-speed rail line from the Twin Cities to Chicago, which would likely have gone through both Madison and Milwaukee, and those passengers would have provided coveted revenue.

But state planners have other visions mapped out for the high-speed Chicago route, Krom said — 14 plans in total. By the summer, MnDOT will likely have those 14 potential corridors narrowed down to one preferred strategy. Amtrak — or another provider, if one were to materialize — could still proceed through Wisconsin. Planning on a Twin Cities-to-Milwaukee route is far enough along to move forward, he said.

"The original plan was to go down to Madison on its way to Milwaukee, but the corridor isn't dependent on that," he said. "It's not a project death knell by any means."