It seems that Jim Doyle has washed his hands of the decision on high speed rail with the recent announcement that he will leave it to Scott Walker to make the call. But the future of Wisconsin is too important to let this happen without making a last stand! Now is the time to pummel our newly elected officials with your reasons why you support high speed rail in Wisconsin.
The direct costs to Wisconsin of abandoning this project are clear. The long term benefits are also fairly clear. So what part of the picture is missing? Your input! Now is the time to contact Scott Walker, The State Assembly (especially Robin Vos) , and The State Senate and fill them in on why they should reconsider!
Here is a list of the anti-rail talking points and a few suggestions for counter arguments:
1) “High Speed Rail” is a misnomer – this train will not be any faster than driving.
The initial speed at startup is 79MPH, but the plan is to bring the speed to 110MPH. Trip times at 110MPH become very competitive with the automobile, even with the number of stops that will exist. While not up to “European” standards, this is an appealing speed given item #5 below.
2) Nobody has solved the problem of how to get where you need to go after you get off the train.
Wrong! People have thought about what they will do when rail passengers get to their destination: Madison and Milwaukee have excellent public transportation systems. Madison’s is especially so, generating a much higher level of ridership compared to other cities our size. Add the convenience of being able to hop aboard a commuter train in Madison, and the deal becomes sweeter.
3) Trains work in Europe, but the culture in America is incompatible with anything but driving.
Cultural factors that favor the automobile are not as strong as you think – opponents are confusing correlation with causation here. While studies show that only 1% of Wisconsin home buyers place access to rail transportation in their top-ten must-have lists, if you look at those same numbers in Chicago, 37% of their home buyers want access to rail. The difference between Chicago and Wisconsin in general is that Chicago has a comprehensive network of rail already, while Wisconsin’s rail service is extremely limited. For this reason, I believe the proof is there that “If you build it, they will come”.
4) Very few people will ride the proposed Madison-Milwaukee train. Why does this need to be built?
The MKE-Madison line is a single link in a much larger network that will eventually connect the large cities in the Midwest including Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, and St Louis. This will put the Midwest rail system up to a potential ridership level that will be second only to the PROFITABLE Northeast corridor At that ridership, Network effects kick in that help to increase the efficiency of all rail in the midwest.
5) Highways will provide a better return on investment.
Studies show that the planned 110MPH max speed produces the greatest return on investment in the Chicago hub area (of which the MSN-MKE line is one of the first links). Ridership estimates for that speed suggest that for every dollar spent, $3.70[ from the 1997 FRA study, $1.80 from the 2006 MWRRS study ] in benefits are created for the general public. Highways generate about $3.00 per dollar spent in general, and lose 89 cents out of every dollar in terms of congestion mitigation when expanded to relieve congestion.
6) Why should taxpayers in other states be funding a project in Wisconsin?
Beyond the direct benefits to the region, exploring our opportunities in rail transportation represents an investment in reducing our energy dependence that threatens our national security. Additionally, more transportation choices gives people more flexibility to choose the most cost-effective means of transportation in times of energy shortages. That choice in turn reduces the magnitude of price spikes for everyone.
hope for the Madison Milwaukee high speed rail service should be kept alive and there are ways to make this service palatable to Governor-elect Scott Walker.
First, the actual construction and operation should be modified so the promissed $810M would cover all expenses. This could be done by palnning the entire project but only spending actual construction dollars on a shortened segment somewhere about Oconomowoc to Milwaukee. The rest of the plans could be saved for the future, when presumably the need to expand the route will take place.
Second, a shorter train line could be more efficient, there would be more demand as there already exists a strong commuter population between those areas who would enjoy a daily train ride if:
(Third)the shorter line would be more intense during commuting times only and (Fourth) some of the $810M were used to enhance riders leaving the train and taking new, small vans to their respective work sites and back.
Yes, Scott Walker could leave Wisconsin taxpayers out of the mix, provide some highway traffic relief, avoid our current liability on moneys already spent and most importantly, leave the possibility to have a futere rail service if it becomes feasable.
Fritz,
Interesting ideas!
I just heard a caller on the Mitch Henck show state that the start HSR budget that was filed on the application for federal funds already contains about $160 mil in padding for overruns.
I looked up the application, and I only see two $4mil contingency funds. Check for yourself here:
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/recovery/docs/rail-grant-13.pdf
It does appear that there is $122mil of unused bonding authority described in the “Project Overruns” section. Perhaps this is what the caller was referring to.
So I guess there isn’t any padding after all. I am skeptical that the Oconomowoc-Milwuakee segment alone would provide a lower operating subsidy. My guess is that economies of scale occur when the line is brought all the way to Madison that would evaporate if you shortended the line. But I could be persuaded otherwise with the right argument.
I have created a petition to the governor elect, as well as the legislature, on this subject. It is important we find a non-partisan solution to this issue and not one that merely satisfies anyone’s political image or that of the treasury in short term. Please sign and send the message that we need to work together on these issues
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/continue-wi-high-speed-rail-plan/
dear governer walker : It looks like you are setting yourself up to run for mayor of new york in 4 years because once you kill this in wi you wont have any friends left here….this is a terrible idea, and you are just another wannabee mavrick… see you in the uc claims line ………. jfh )-: