Walker’s pledge to kill high-speed train could cost Minnesota theirs

[undeterred]

Train boosters in Wisconsin aren’t the only ones frustrated with Gov.-elect Scott Walker’s promise to kill the proposed rail link between Madison and Milwaukee: so are our neighbors to the west. “Obviously, if we don’t have a willing partner, it makes it more difficult to move forward,” says Dan Krom, director of the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s passenger rail office. “We all have our state politics to deal with, and the fact Wisconsin is in the middle (between Minnesota and Illinois) is a problem.”

If Wisconsin refuses to get on board and Walker turns away $810 million in federal stimulus money to pay for rail service between Milwaukee and Madison, it is unlikely Minnesota would see its largest metropolitan area connected to the proposed nine-state Midwest rail line anytime soon.

So despite Walker’s pledge, Minnesota is moving forward with a series of meetings in Minnesota and four in Wisconsin, including a Dec. 7 forum in Madison, to obtain information for an environmental impact study on roughly a dozen proposed rail routes between the Twin Cities and Chicago via Milwaukee. The meetings are part of a $1.2 million joint planning effort by the Minnesota and Wisconsin transportation departments, the Midwest Rail Initiative and the Federal Railroad Administration. The federal government contributed $600,000 to the study’s cost, with Minnesota and Wisconsin each pitching in $300,000.

The Madison meeting will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the state DOT southwest regional office, 2101 Wright St. While Minnesota’s transportation department is the lead agency, state DOT staff will be present at the Wisconsin meetings. Based on feedback from the forums, the route options for Minnesota will eventually be narrowed down to one.

more at http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_2848bb0e-9389-552b-8e26-fe23bae2a496.html

[dembotoz]

1. why screw the folks in 1 state when you can screw the folks in 2 states

[GillesDeleuze]

2. Mark Pocan

First, the holiday tree was selected in secret (i.e. I wasn't asked), potentially behind closed doors (or at least doors that close) and someone might have been smoking in the room (hence it could have been smoke-filled).

Finally, there is the matter of the train running around the tree," he wrote. "It must be stopped. It goes nowhere. It does not go there fast enough. Not enough people are riding on it. It is a boondoggle.