State Approves Stimulus Money for High Speed Rail

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

With the new new Ingeteam plant going up at about the same time, could the economy finally be looking up in SE Wisconsin?

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin Legislature's budget committee has approved using $810 million in federal stimulus money to build a high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee.

The Joint Finance Committee on Tuesday also voted to approve $12 million for improvements on the existing Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago.

Republicans objected, saying the project won't create the thousands of jobs promised and the new line will cost taxpayers too much to operate.

The committee voted 12-4 along partisan lines to approve spending for the new line.

The new 85-mile line between Madison and Milwaukee is envisioned to have stops in Brookfield, Oconomowoc and Watertown and begin operating in 2013. Backers say it will create up to 13,000 jobs over the next five years.

[boomerbust]

1. Green Bay to Milwaukee and Chicago

Lakeshore high speed rail would also be a big hit.

[TheMightyFavog]

4. I would have loved something like that when I went to London...

No getting up at oh dark thirty for a four hour long drive to O'Hare, no dealing with asshole drivers, traffic, construction, and other assorted bullshit in Milwaukee and Chicago...

30-40 min. drive to Green Bay vs. 4-5 hr drive to Chicago... Which would I have preferred?

[midnight]

2. This is so welcomed.... I can't imagine the amount of time saved. I'm looking

forward to this much needed change... Any idea where the stop will be in Brookfield....

[Ysabel]

3. finally...

now i can take a train all the way to visit my grandkids without having to try and connect with multiple horrid bus lines who end up leaving me stranded on some seedy street corner in the middle of the night in a snowstorm in some town that shuts down at 10 pm...