Janesville Gazette
Our Views: Keep open minds to
possibilities of travel by train
May 11, 2015
All Aboard Wisconsin will hold a meeting in Janesville on Wednesday, May 13, to discuss the
potential for expanding passenger rail service in the state.
IF YOU GO
What: Public meeting to inform and hear comments about passenger rail service in Wisconsin.
When: 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, May 13.
Where: Program Room, Hedberg Public Library, 316 S. Main St., Janesville.
Train travel is a nostalgic notion, stirring sentimental thoughts of that era between horse and
buggy and today's Interstate system.
Yes, Amtrak moves people by rail, but most Americans seldom if ever hop aboard passenger
trains.
Many Janesville and Rock County residents have ridden the Metra line from Harvard, Illinois,
into downtown Chicago. Frequent riders wish the line stretched to Janesville, as has been
proposed.
Yet that idea never became reality.
Likewise, we wonder whether All Aboard Wisconsin will ever restore widespread passenger
service to the Badger State. If the group fails, however, it won't be for lack of trying. It has been
holding community meetings since 2013 and will bring its message to Janesville on Wednesday.
Dave Mumma, retired head of Janesville's bus system, is helping the coalition build support in
hopes it can spur legislators to action. He understands the tough task.
I'm not kidding myself or somebody else, he told reporter Frank Schultz in last Wednesdays
Gazette. This is not something that's going to happen overnight.
Perhaps never. Michigan skeptics probably thought the same thing, however. An association
there started holding meetings six or seven years ago, built grassroots support and now has
lawmakers investing in a system that Mumma says makes Michigan the Midwest leader in
passenger rail.
Not that Michigan is alone. As Schultz reported, Rockford, Illinois, wants Amtrak service
extended from Chicago. Minnesota is developing a statewide plan that might include funneling
passengers between the Twin Cities and Eau Claire and also roll from the Twin Cities through
Superior on its way to Duluth.
(more)
Last fall, Iowa Pacific Holdings ran full passenger trains through Janesville on its way from
Madison to Chicago for University of Wisconsin football games against Illinois and
Northwestern. Iowa Pacific, by the way, has its national dispatch center in downtown Janesville.
And Minnesota and Wisconsin are studying whether to add a second daily Amtrak run from
Chicago through Milwaukee to the Twin Cities.
Which brings us to politics. Former Gov. Jim Doyle supported using a half-billion federal dollars
to build a high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee. He even signed a deal with
Talgo to build passenger trains in Milwaukee.
Then Scott Walker moved into the Governor's Mansion and his fellow Republicans took over the
Legislature. Walker scrapped the Madison-Milwaukee plan amid arguments that ridership likely
was overestimated and the line would need heavy subsidies. The conservative Heartland
Institute even called high-speed rail an unprofitable train wreck.
Talgo pulled out of Wisconsin while suing the state. The federal government, perhaps in political
payback, pulled a $150 million upgrade of the Hiawatha line between Chicago and Milwaukee
that Walker wanted.
Yes, passenger rail needs subsidies. And, no, trains don't drop off people at their destinations,
creating need for more transportation to and from stations to businesses or doorsteps.
Yet highways and airports also get subsidies. We call expanded highways investing in
infrastructure. Train ridership will rise when gas prices rise. Passenger trains reduce highway
congestion and pollution.
In Wisconsin's political climate, All Aboard Wisconsin faces a long, uphill chug. However, rather
than dismiss the group's plans outright and leave Wisconsin a Midwest island with little
passenger rail service, lawmakers should keep open minds and consider the possibilities.
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