The Wisconsin State Journal is reporting that Wisconsin Governor Doyle is/was in Spain to discuss transportation manufacturing. It seems that he has seen the writing on the wall that passenger rail is coming and Wisconsin could benefit from the manufacturing of rail vehicles.
I believe this is a good step by Gov. Doyle and shows that he is able to think to the future.
The article appeared in the WSJ on Monday Feb 23rd and is written by Mark Pitsch.
24 February 2009
22 February 2009
New York Times mentions High Speed Rail in Madison, WI
On February 19th, the New York Times published an article by Micheal Cooper discussing the effect of the stimulus package on high speed rail.
In the article, Mr. Cooper discussed how the biggest and farthest along high speed rail project is the one in California and how part of the stimulus bill would go to the project.
Then further down in the article, Mr. Cooper mentions other prominent high speed rail projects across the U.S.:
"Many other states also have big plans. North Carolina, which is part of the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor, will seek some of the stimulus money to speed rail service between Charlotte and Washington. Wisconsin wants to use some of it on a line linking Madison and Chicago, hoping to have trains running up to 110 m.p.h."
(Bold my own)
It is exciting to know that other people are discussing a rail project in the great state of Wisconsin. It is also exciting to think about taking the train down to Chicago from Madison for a weekend vacation or to O'Hare International Airport (ORD). Also, with an estimated rail speed of 110 mph, that would mean that using a train would be FASTER than using a car.
Another interesting point that Mr. Cooper made was that the U.S. defines high speed rail as above 90 mph. Compare that to trains in Germany and Japan which have trains that run at over 180 mph (more that double!), that's slightly (really) pathetic.
In the article, Mr. Cooper discussed how the biggest and farthest along high speed rail project is the one in California and how part of the stimulus bill would go to the project.
Then further down in the article, Mr. Cooper mentions other prominent high speed rail projects across the U.S.:
"Many other states also have big plans. North Carolina, which is part of the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor, will seek some of the stimulus money to speed rail service between Charlotte and Washington. Wisconsin wants to use some of it on a line linking Madison and Chicago, hoping to have trains running up to 110 m.p.h."
(Bold my own)
It is exciting to know that other people are discussing a rail project in the great state of Wisconsin. It is also exciting to think about taking the train down to Chicago from Madison for a weekend vacation or to O'Hare International Airport (ORD). Also, with an estimated rail speed of 110 mph, that would mean that using a train would be FASTER than using a car.
Another interesting point that Mr. Cooper made was that the U.S. defines high speed rail as above 90 mph. Compare that to trains in Germany and Japan which have trains that run at over 180 mph (more that double!), that's slightly (really) pathetic.
15 February 2009
PBS-NOW Video
This is a video from the PBS program "NOW".
I think it is really well done and what they talk about can be applied to Madison.
I think it is really well done and what they talk about can be applied to Madison.
14 February 2009
The Good, the bad, and the ugly.
The good: Congress passed the stimulus bill, which contained around $8 billion for high speed rail projects in the US. Also, Amtrak is set to receive around $1.3 billion.
The bad: Public Transportation was not so lucky, falling short of what is necessary, but still received $8.4 Billion.
The ugly: Our representatives and senators who believe funding for rail is pork. Namely John Boehner (R-OH).
I wonder if Rep. Boehner knows about the Midwest High Speed Rail Association? Does he realize that the funding in the stimulus bill could go to his district? Probably not, for both questions.
(As a side note, the article about Republicans upset about rail spending notes that David Obey (D-WI)supports funding for the arts.)
UPDATE: I'm not the only one ripping on Rep. John Boehner:
-California High Speed Rail Blog
-Transport Politic
The bad: Public Transportation was not so lucky, falling short of what is necessary, but still received $8.4 Billion.
The ugly: Our representatives and senators who believe funding for rail is pork. Namely John Boehner (R-OH).
I wonder if Rep. Boehner knows about the Midwest High Speed Rail Association? Does he realize that the funding in the stimulus bill could go to his district? Probably not, for both questions.
(As a side note, the article about Republicans upset about rail spending notes that David Obey (D-WI)supports funding for the arts.)
UPDATE: I'm not the only one ripping on Rep. John Boehner:
-California High Speed Rail Blog
-Transport Politic
08 February 2009
Deutsche Bahn expresses intrest in high speed rail in the US
A couple of months ago, Rep. John Mica (R-Fl) and a few others put our a request for notices of interest in developing high speed rail in the US. Among those who responded was Deutsche Bahn (DB) International (on behalf of DB AG Berlin).
Working outside of Germany wouldn't be new for DB International, who have worked on projects all over the world, including Qatar and England.
Other companies who expressed interest include Bombardier (produces regional and long distance train sets for DB), Siemens (produces the Velaro train platform which has been used by Germany as the ICE 3, by Spain, and now by China), Renfe (the national rail in Spain), and Alstorm (produces high speed trains for France). A full list, with their letters of interest can be found here.
Also a good blog post on this can be found here, at the transportpolitic.
Working outside of Germany wouldn't be new for DB International, who have worked on projects all over the world, including Qatar and England.
Other companies who expressed interest include Bombardier (produces regional and long distance train sets for DB), Siemens (produces the Velaro train platform which has been used by Germany as the ICE 3, by Spain, and now by China), Renfe (the national rail in Spain), and Alstorm (produces high speed trains for France). A full list, with their letters of interest can be found here.
Also a good blog post on this can be found here, at the transportpolitic.
07 February 2009
Feingold Supports Rail (and a story from Germany)
It's good to know that our Senator Russ Feingold supports investing in rail to help improve our infrastructure.
From his website:
"Feingold similarly supported investment in transit and passenger rail infrastructure in the letter, which also would help reduce transportation barriers."
I know he has bigger fish to fry like the whole saving our constitution thing. But it's nice to know where he stands.
The note about transportation barriers is interesting. To me this means rail is a good way for people to get our and see more places. When I was in Germany, travel by train was extremely easy. You just buy your ticket and go. No security, not many delays, and loads of comfort on board. This allowed for very easy travel, very encouraging for people to get up and get out.
One of my favorite stories from Germany was where one Saturday two of my friends and I decided to buy a German weekend pass. This allowed us to travel anywhere in Germany as long as it was by regional rail, and was good for up to five people. When we arrived at the train station that day we did not know where we wanted to go. When we entered the main hall, we looked to the train departure board. From this we decided to go to Görlitz, Germany. From there we could walk over to Poland. Since we had about a half hour to kill before the train left, we called another friend and asked him if he wanted to go to Poland, and he did.
Being in Germany allowed us to travel to Poland and we only had to decide to go a half hour before. Now that's breaking down transportation barriers.
From his website:
"Feingold similarly supported investment in transit and passenger rail infrastructure in the letter, which also would help reduce transportation barriers."
I know he has bigger fish to fry like the whole saving our constitution thing. But it's nice to know where he stands.
The note about transportation barriers is interesting. To me this means rail is a good way for people to get our and see more places. When I was in Germany, travel by train was extremely easy. You just buy your ticket and go. No security, not many delays, and loads of comfort on board. This allowed for very easy travel, very encouraging for people to get up and get out.
One of my favorite stories from Germany was where one Saturday two of my friends and I decided to buy a German weekend pass. This allowed us to travel anywhere in Germany as long as it was by regional rail, and was good for up to five people. When we arrived at the train station that day we did not know where we wanted to go. When we entered the main hall, we looked to the train departure board. From this we decided to go to Görlitz, Germany. From there we could walk over to Poland. Since we had about a half hour to kill before the train left, we called another friend and asked him if he wanted to go to Poland, and he did.
Being in Germany allowed us to travel to Poland and we only had to decide to go a half hour before. Now that's breaking down transportation barriers.
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