Wis. lawmakers approve money for high-speed rail

By SCOTT BAUER

MADISON, Wis.

Wisconsin lawmakers gave approval Tuesday to spending $810 million in federal stimulus funding on a high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee, despite the objections of Republicans who said it would cost too much and be underused.

Building the 85-mile line between the two cities has been discussed for decades but never moved beyond planning stages until the money was awarded to Wisconsin by President Barack Obama's administration last month.

The Legislature's budget-writing Joint Finance Committee voted 12-4 along partisan lines to approve accepting the money to build the rail line.

"It's going to be a positive for this region and the entire economy," said Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, committee co-chair.

The vote clears the way for the state Department of Transportation to begin creating proposals and soliciting bids for environmental studies on where to place the train stations and other work.

Construction could actually begin later this year, said Chris Klein, executive assistant at the state Department of Transportation. The train could be up and running in three years.

Republicans opposed to the new line questioned whether it could be built without additional money from taxpayers and balked at its estimated $7.5 million annual operational cost.

Democrats rejected attempts by Republicans on the committee to limit how much money the state pays in construction and operational costs, and to require a cost-benefit analysis be done.

"I'm not sure that our economy or our state can really handle this at this time," said Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon.

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, a Republican running for governor, said the state should turn down the $810 million unless it came with millions more to pay for operating the new line.

He and other Republican critics said hidden costs of the rail line could put other state transportation road and bridge projects in jeopardy.

If the next governor decides to kill the project, the state would be out any money it's already spent and would have to give back the federal stimulus money, which would then be reallocated to other states, Klein said.

The state likely will spend millions of dollars this year on work related to building the new line, he said.

Dane County Board Supervisor Chairman Scott McDonell, a high-speed rail supporter, said he was worried that Walker could kill the project if elected governor.

"That would be a tremendous waste of this opportunity," McDonell said.

The election is in November and the next governor takes office in January.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a Democrat who is also running for governor, supports the project, as does Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.

The line would run from downtown Milwaukee to Madison with stops in Brookfield, Watertown and Oconomowoc. Tickets for the trip, which is expected to take about 75 minutes, are estimated to cost as much as $33 one way. Amtrak estimated that more than 361,000 people will use the line in its first year.

Initially, the trains could go no faster than 79 miles per hour, which is the current limit for most Amtrak trains. Once safety upgrades are made along the lines and new locomotives are acquired in 2015, the trains could go as fast as 110 miles per hour.

Doyle has said building the new line could bring thousands of jobs to the state through 2015, but only 55 of them would be permanent.

About 80 additional jobs are expected to be created when Spanish train maker Patentes Talgo builds a new plant to construct two sets of 14-car passenger trains the state agreed to purchase. Those trains will be used to replace aging cars on the existing Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago. The deal gives the state the option to purchase two more trains, which could be paid for with $48 million in stimulus money.

The budget committee on Tuesday also voted unanimously to accept another $12 million in federal stimulus money to make improvements to the Hiawatha line.

Another $1 million in federal stimulus money awarded to Minnesota will be used to study a possible new line between Madison and the Twin Cities.

All of the money was part of $8 billion in rail projects nationwide Obama's administration announced last month.