[OKC] FW: [PassRailOK, TX, & KS] WS Loss Could be Regional Gain::: Governor Doyle Statement on High Speed Rail

[Shauna Struby]

From: sfrr at aol.com [mailto:sfrr at aol.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2010 5:29 PM
To: northflyer at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [PassRailOK, TX, & KS] WS Loss Could be Regional Gain::: Governor
Doyle Statement on High Speed Rail

 

All,

This is an interesting development out of Wisconsin.  If the Governor-Elect
Scott Walker makes good on his intent to decline federal funding granted in
October through the High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) program,
funding could eventually wind up elsewhere in the nation, including
eventually Oklahoma, Texas, or Kansas.  Wisconsin was a big winner in the
recent FY2011 round, receiving approval for $810 million to link Milwaukee
and Madison.

Evan Stair
Executive Director
Passenger Rail Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas
 <http://www.PassengerRailOK.org> www.PassengerRailOK.org
 <http://www.PassengerRailKS.org> www.PassengerRailKS.org

 <http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12100864>
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12100864


Wis. Governor-Elect Pushes for Roads, Not Rail


Gov.-elect Walker says he won't change his opposition to rail line between
Milwaukee, Madison


 

 

Wisconsin Gov.-elect Scott Walker urged the federal government on Tuesday to
give up on high-speed rail and instead use the money to repair roads and
bridges he said were "literally crumbling."

 

Walker made the plea in a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood, an Obama administration official who had previously pledged that a
high-speed rail line would be built between Madison and Milwaukee with $810
million in stimulus money whether the new governor wanted it or not.

LaHood told Walker in a letter on Monday that the money would not be
diverted for road projects and if Walker didn't change his mind, Wisconsin's
project would "wind down."

 

In a letter to LaHood on Tuesday, Walker said it would be a "grave mistake
for the federal government to insist on building an unwanted passenger rail
system at a time when our roads and bridges are literally crumbling."

 

He said investing road and bridge repair work instead would spur job
creation and expand the economy.

 

"All across the country, in states like Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida, the
voters chose new governors who are opposed to diverting transportation
funding to passenger rail," Walker said in the letter. "I believe it would
be unwise for the Obama administration to ignore the will of the voters."

After making a campaign-style stop at a manufacturing company, Walker said
his rejection of the money would send a strong message to the Obama
administration and Congress.

 

Outgoing Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle asked Walker during a private meeting
Monday to speak with LaHood about the project, Walker said. He did not say
when the meeting would be.

 

Doyle, a staunch supporter of the rail line, said on Monday that he would
leave it to Walker to decide whether to go ahead with it. But canceling the
project would cost the state more than $14 million in money already spent
and force it to come up with about $83 million to make improvements to the
existing train line connecting Milwaukee and Chicago, Doyle said. 

 

Doyle also said stopping the project would result in the immediate loss of
more than 400 jobs. Building the roughly 80-mile train line was estimated to
create about 5,500 jobs.

 

Walker, who ran on his promise to be a job creator, said Tuesday those
weren't the type of jobs he was interested in.

 

"Because long-term the jobs we need are sustainable private sector jobs
outside of government," Walker said. "This is a short-term fix that will
cost the taxpayers of our state millions into the future."

 

Walker objected to the estimated $7.5 million it would cost the state to
operate the rail line, even though Doyle has said the federal government
would likely pick up about 80 percent of that cost.

 

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said he hoped Walker would change his mind if
that cost could be taken away from the state.

But Walker remained firm that he doesn't see any way he will back off his
campaign promise to stop the train.

 

Other states are lining up to take Wisconsin's money should it be rejected.
Both New York Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo and Illinois Transportation Secretary
Gary Hannig said their states would happily take the money for train
projects in their states.

 

Extending the Chicago-to-Milwaukee line to Madison was seen as the next
phase in a regional train network that was envisioned to continue on to the
Twin Cities.


Outgoing Governor Jim Doyle released this statement yesterday:::

 <http://dailyreporter.com/files/2010/11/1108govhighspeed.pdf>
http://dailyreporter.com/files/2010/11/1108govhighspeed.pdf 

Monday, November 8, 2010

Contact: Laura Smith, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162

Governor Doyle Statement on High Speed Rail

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle today issued the following statement regarding
high speed rail in

Wisconsin:

“The high speed rail project is one that is very important to this state and
one that I have worked on

for many years. Over the past several years we have made Wisconsin a
regional rail leader. We

have spent years working closely with our neighboring states, our federal
partners and Amtrak. We

collaborated to plan the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, a nine-state
intercity passenger rail system

with a hub in Chicago, to connect Wisconsin’s centers of commerce and
businesses to others in the

Midwest.

“When President Obama announced his initial investment in modern high speed
rail for this country,

Wisconsin was the biggest winner. States across the country, with rail
projects totaling $55 billion,

were competing for the $8 billion that was available. The $823 million
Wisconsin received is more

than 10 percent of all the funds awarded nationally for high speed rail
projects. And Wisconsin was

the only state to receive all of the funds it applied for.

“We have gotten this project to the point where construction work is ready
to begin immediately. Right

now, people could be at work constructing land bridges and more. I could
push forward full steam

ahead on this project, play brinksmanship. In fact, we could spend or
obligate hundreds of millions of

dollars.

“While I could force the issue, I believe that this project will only be
successful in the long run if the

State of Wisconsin and the U.S. Department of Transportation are strong
partners. For that reason, I

have put the project on pause, so that the U.S. DOT and the Governor-elect
can confer about the

future of the high speed rail project. If Governor-elect Walker opposes the
project, U.S. DOT has

made it clear that the money will go to one of the many other states that
intend to move forward with

high speed passenger rail.

“To me, it doesn’t make sense to not move ahead, but we have had an
election. There has been a lot

of politics played with this issue, but I have to deal in the real world and
think about how this affects

real jobs and the real lives of people in Wisconsin.

“There are real consequences for not going forward. Over 400 Wisconsin
workers were scheduled to

work on the project over the next several months and now face the real
possibility of being laid off.

Over $14 million in expenses incurred over the last six months will need to
be paid for by Wisconsin

taxpayers. Necessary upgrades to the existing Hiawatha line between
Milwaukee and Chicago

totaling $82 million will no longer be eligible for federal assistance,
shifting costs from the federal

government to the state. These include $18 million in platform renovations
at the Milwaukee

Intermodal Station necessary to bring the platform into compliance with
federal safety regulations; $12

million for platform renovations at the Milwaukee Airport Station and other
important improvements to

the existing Hiawatha line; and $52 million for a facility to maintain new
Hiawatha train sets.

“It is my understanding that in the coming days, the U.S. Department of
Transportation will reach out

to Governor-elect Walker about the project so that he fully understands
these consequences. There

has been talk that this money could be used for roads. That is pure fiction.
There are already states

lined up with rail projects waiting for us to turn back this money. If the
Governor-elect decides that

Wisconsin should not build new rail infrastructure, the U.S. DOT has made it
very clear this money will

go to another state.”

To view the fact sheet on the project, visit:
<http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=20612>
http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=20612 .

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