Badger Rails
Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers (WisARP)
September-October, 2011
Volume 29, Issue 5
State Approves Additional Funds for Passenger Service
Shortly after we printed our last issue of Badger Rails, the State of Wisconsin approved a request from the State DOT to issue $29 million in route development bonds to pay costs related to the Talgo equipment purchase, Talgo maintenance facility, and replacement of the Milwaukee train shed and platforms. The Joint Finance Committee approved the request July 19. In addition to the bonding, $2.2 million in supplemental appropriations were also authorized. In detail, the new funding, along with existing funds, will be used for the following elements: (a) $10,056,700 for costs related to the manufacture and delivery of the Talgo passenger rail cars that were purchased by the state in 2009; (b) $12,158,500 for the preparation of a maintenance facility for the passenger rail cars and the purchase of spare parts and maintenance equipment; and (c) $20,370,000 for the reconstruction of the boarding area at the Milwaukee Amtrak station. A majority of these expenses would have been paid through the Federal high speed rail grant for Madison service which Gov. Scott Walker refused last January. With regard to the Talgo equipment, part of the funds will go to pay a $6.8 million contract with Interfleet Technology to serve as the states agent throughout the manufacturing, assembly and testing process in both Europe and Wisconsin. In addition, the DOT request included up to $2.5 million for potential change order costs to the equipment to meet certain FRA (Federal Railroad Administra 1
tion) safety and performance standards. Change orders approved to date total $657,400. Regarding the maintenance facility, the DOT made several improvements to Talgos Century City assembly site in Milwaukee at a cost of $3,158,500 to permit maintenance in the same building as assembly. The funding will also pay for $8.5 million in maintenance equipment and $500,000 for spare wheels for the Talgo equipment. That maintenance facility will likely only be available for three years, because the railroad that owns the tracks leading to the facility would only allow the use of the tracks for that time. If that time cannot be extended, alternative maintenance arrangements will have to be made. In late August, the DOT put out a bid for design work for a permanent facility, including a train car wash, to be located closer to the Milwaukee Intermodal Station. Turn to Page 2
WisDOT Halts Rail Planning
The Wisconsin DOT has halted planning, apparently for years, for Milwaukee-Twin Cities high speed rail passenger trains. The rationale for the decision was reported in a letter from State Rep. Warren Petryk (R-Eleva) to Jim Dunning, Eau Claire County Board Member and a co-chair of the Legislative subcommittee of the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition. The letter was released by ProRail on their Rail Matters Twitter site Sept. 22. The letter cites a decision to shelve further work Turn to Page 2
State Funds from Page 1
Finally, the train shed at the Milwaukee Station would be replaced, but with a revised design and at reduced costs to designs previously approved. DOT asked for $10,239,300 in its request for a portion of the cost of the station improvements, based on bids received for the project. An engineering firm was contracted with to redesign the project, with the goal of lowering costs. As before, the new design will meet American for Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. The new train shed will be 400 feet long, and measure 56 feet from ground level to top of roof. It will include a partial mezzanine spanning 5 tracks and 3 boarding platforms, stairways, escalators, elevators, ventilation systems, lighting, and signage. The construction will be staged to accommodate passenger and freight traffic through the site. The
existing tunnel will be rehabilitated by removal and reconstruction of its roof. The train shed roof system
Rail Planning Halted from Page 1
"due to economic issues and costs" and "until Wisconsin's economic climate is better." The information, studies and routes have been shelved for the time being and in the future, when Wiscosins economic climate is better, they (WisDOT) will revisit the issue of high speed rail, Petryk wrote. For now, Wisconsin DOT does not feel it necessary to hold public hearings when the state is not ready or able to move forward with the project, but hearings may be held in the future. Given current economic projections for the U.S. and the state, it could be years before even planning resumes. The impact on the state's planning for high-speed passenger rail expansion from Chicago to Green Bay was not mentioned but likely also will not advance. The DOT's web site currently announces: "The completion of the Wisconsin Rail Plan 2030 has been postponed until further notice." A notice on a related page adds: "The completion of the Wisconsin Rail Plan 2030 has been postponed until further notice. Future rail planning efforts will include a comprehensive public involvement component." Neither site mentions economic conditions as the basis for the postponement. One Wisconsin transportation advocate contacted by Rail Matters reacted to the letter with this comment: "Not getting ready for future passenger rail projects until the times are good inevitably means that when we get to the good times we will have no projects ready. "You rarely see this with highway planning, however, the advocate stated. "We should make it clear that moving forward on a long-range passenger rail plan is a must, so that when the time is right we are ready to leverage opportunity when it arises. Otherwise, we will continue to lose out to other states and our competitiveness will suffer. For more, see: [Link]
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will be a fabricated tubular truss span spaced with sky lights between trusses. On August 31, WisDOT let bids on a construction management contract for the station project. Anticipated start date of that contract is December 1, 2011, with project completion by May 31, 2013. An interesting component in the overall funding package was that bonding for the Milwaukee Station work was limited by statute. Wisconsin law limits the amount of total passenger rail development bonds that may be issued for passenger rail stations to $10 million. $2 million in bonding authority had already been used for the Milwaukee station renovation, so only $8 million in bonds were available for the train shed and platform work. The Joint Finance Committee approved use of $2.2 million in State segregated dollars to fill in the gap, mostly available from leftover savings when Amtraks 2010-2011 negotiated operating contract costs came in lower than the State anticipated. The funding package was approved by the Legislatures budget committee on a 12-2 vote. All Republicans on the committee backed the measure except for Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) and Sen. Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan).
From the Editor
Weather woes this summer have caused numerous delays and cancellations for Amtrak trains throughout the country, including the Empire Builder. Full service on the California Zephyr was just restored the week of Sept. 12. Coupled to this are railroads that cancel passenger service over portions of their rails so that they can perform weeks (or months) of trackwork (CSX comes to mind!). Problems are expected to continue on certain routes well into fall. If you are planning on traveling, it is always a good idea to keep up with the Service Alerts and Notices page on [Link] as your trip approaches. Also, if a connecting bus is part of your trip, confirm with the bus company that schedules havent changed since you ticketed to make sure your connection is still possible. We also ask that you keep informed on the status of Amtrak appropriations in Congress. One of the best ways is through the National Association of Railroad Passengers ([Link]), which publishes the latest budget news on its website and has a weekly Hotline of rail passenger news. On the subject of websites, WisARPs site has been freshened a bit and can be immediately accessed at [Link]. The site contains information on rail stations and services in Wisconsin, as well as timely news on WisARP activities. -- Jim Sponholz, Editor
Badger Rails is published 6 times per year by the Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers, a not-for-profit Wisconsin membership association. WisARP President is John Parkyn, Stoddard, WI, (608)788-7004, email: jdp@[Link] Badger Rails Editor is Jim Sponholz. Please send comments or news items to: badgerrails@[Link] Please send membership renewals ($15 per year) and address changes to: Mark Weitenbeck, 3385 S. 119th Street, West Allis, WI 53227 email: weitenbeck@[Link] WisARP on the Web: [Link]
WisARP Fall Membership Meeting
WisARP members will gather at the Wintergreen Resort in Wisconsin Dells October 22, 2011 to discuss the latest developments in passenger rail issues affecting Wisconsin and the nation. Ron Adams of the Wisconsin DOT and Rick Harnish of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association will address the membership. Lunch is included in the registration, and there will be time to network with fellow members. Look for more information in your mailbox or email soon. WisARP will also hold its annual election of officers at the fall meeting. Elections will be held for the following positions. President, VicePresident, Vice-President of Membership, Secretary, Treasurer and four positions on the board of directors. Two of the director positions are for a one year term expiring in 2012, and two are for a two year term expiring in 2013. The officer positions have a one year term. If you are a member in good standing and are interested in running for any of these positions, and want more information on their duties and responsibilities, contact Mark Weitenbeck at 414541-1112 or at weitenbeck@[Link].
Federal Grant Award for Duluth Plan
NARP reports that U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced Sept. 9 that the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) will receive $5 million to complete initial engineering and environmental reviews for the Northern Lights high-speed rail project between Minneapolis and Duluth. The 155 mile corridor will accommodate top speeds of 110 mph, with stops in Coon Rapids, Isanti, Cambridge, Hinckley, Boylston and Duluth, MN, along with a station in Superior, WI. The $5 million grant comes from the High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Program, which has previously awarded $2.2 million and $500,000 for preliminary work on the line. MNDOT has committed to providing $3 million in state funds for the project.
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Congress Debates Funding for Amtrak and High Speed Rail
NARP reports that the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation & Housing on Sept. 8 approved a Fiscal Year 2012 funding bill that zeroes-out high-speed rail, slashes Amtrak funding by $357 millionwith a 60 percent reduction for operationsand prohibits Amtrak from using federal dollars to fund operating expenses for state-supported routes, endangering short-corridor service in 15 states. The bill provides $1.1 billion for Amtrak, or just half of the $2.2 billion requested by Amtrak to keep their system in good running order and prepare for increasing ridership. There is $899 million for Amtrak capital and debt servicing, just a little over half of Amtraks $1.6 billion request. Absolutely crushing is the cut to Amtraks operating grant slashed 60% to $227 million, compared with $563 million this year and last year. The bill prohibits use of federal funds to support short-distance corridors. Thus, the bill overrides ongoing negotiations among states and Amtrak aimed at complying with Amtraks 2008 reauthorization lawand overrides that laws October 2013 target date for equal treatment of all states as to what they must pay for short corridors. If short-haul corridors such as the Hiawatha were to disappear, it would have a disastrous effect on the entire Amtrak system, eliminating connections and pushing more costs onto the remaining national network. The bill also would kill high speed rail grant funding. On the Senate side, the Appropriations subcommitte that sets the US DOTs budget approved legislation on Sept. 20 that stripped out all high speed rail funding, brought on by the need to cut spending contained in the debt-limit deal previously approved by President Obama and Congressional Republicans. However, on Sept. 21, $100 million was added by the full Senate Appropriations Committee to the package for high speed rail funding, with dollars redirected from highway and transit projects. While this is a good sign, rail funding is still tenuous as proposals to cut the
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deficit by hacking spending programs across-theboard are still very real dangers. Meanwhile, President Obama on Sept. 8 proposed transportation improvements as part of his new job package. The President is calling for Congress to pass a National Infrastructure Bank capitalized with $10 billion to leverage private and public capital and to invest in infrastructure projects of national and regional significance without earmarks or political influence. After an initial round of funding (Obama called for $10 billion) the bank would offer loans to construct road, rail, transit, aviation, marine and other projects. Eventually, interest paid on the loans would make the bank self sufficient and able to continue loaning funds. The bank has been proposed several times, but the White House has not provided a detailed legislative proposal. As all of these funding issues are extremely fluid, WisARP members should keep tabs on the status of these and other bills at [Link]. Meanwhile, WisARP has been active in critiqueing a proposal to privatize Amtrak services (see our last issue for details). The WisARP Board contacted each member of the Wisconsin Congressional delegation this summer to communicate our view on the proposal. In addition, WisARP is currently sending a copy of our State Rail Plan to Wisconsin legislators as a way to get them refocused in a non-partisan manner toward moving incrementally ahead on rail passenger service expansion and improvement. And finally, WisDOT co-sponsored a forum July 28 featuring members of the Michigan ARP to brainstorm ways that we can be more effective in getting our message to the public in advocating for better rail service. We will have more on the forum in our next issue of Badger Rails.
New Intercity Bus Service Begins
In July four new bus routes were started in Wisconsin. These include: Madison to Dubuque, IA, Madison to Wausau, and Madison to Green Bay. Each route provides one round trip per day, seven days a week. The service is provided by Lamers Bus Lines of Green Bay. The Madison stop is the University of Wisconsin Union. In addition, Indian Trails of Owosso, MI began service from Duluth, MN to Escanaba, MI providing service between Superior to Hurley in northern Wisconsin. The service is subsidized for two years under a grant from the Federal Transit Administration. Additional information is available at:
[Link]/travel/transit/docs/[Link]
LaHood Praises St. Paul Projects
US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood visited Minnesota Sept. 19 to inspect the Central Corridor Light Rail Projects station at Union Depot. He was accompanied by Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff and Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton. The Federal Transit Administration approved a $474 million agreement in April for the construction of the 11-mile light rail line. The Central Corridor will connect downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul, and includes 18 stations and a new light rail maintenance shop. It is scheduled to open in 2014. "Whether it's at Union Station or this transit line, these are American jobs for America's infrastructure," LaHood said. "This is a model for America right here!" The light rail station at the lines east end sits immediately in front of the St. Paul Union Depot, which is undergoing renovation. More than $124 million in federal funding will go into the restoration of the depot. Amtraks Empire Builder will serve the depot when it reopens in 2012. The projected price tag for the Central Corridor line is $957 million dollars, and the Union Depot is estimated at $243 million, including $35 million in a Tiger grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the federal stimulus. LaHood said one of the reasons the US DOT has looked so favorably on the Minnesota projects is the high level of cooperation and coordination between different levels of local government. He said when Florida turned down federal transit money many other metro areas stepped up to ask for those funds. "We are not going to be dissuaded by our critics," he said. "There are more people that support the idea of high speed rail, of transit, of street cars, of opportunities for people to get out of their cars."
Sources: Trains Newswire, KARE-11 5
Metra Fares May Increase
It may be getting more expensive to ride Metra trains. The Chicago area commuter agency said Sept. 16 that fare hikes could average 28 percent in 2012, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune. The cost of monthly passes would go up an average of 29.8 percent; 10-ride tickets would increase an average of 32.2 percent; and the cost of one-way tickets would jump about 17.3 percent, according to the proposal. The higher ticket costs were the first specific numbers Metra has offered to the public since officials started cautioning about the fare hikes in June. Metra said the hikes are needed to offset a 2012 deficit now estimated at $64.7 million, but originally projected as high as $100 million.
The proposals have raised the ire of riders, and on Sept. 21, Illinois two U.S. Senators called on Metra to give a more detailed accounting of costs underlying the hike.
The last time Metra raised regular weekday fares, by 10 percent, was in 2008. Last year, the agency hiked weekend fares to $7 from $5. Meanwhile, the Chicago Transit Authority said Sept. 21 that it will renovate 100 of its stations over the next year, including painting, new lighting, power washing and landscaping.
Courtesy of Trains Newswire: [Link]
September-October, 2011
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