Should Wisconsin move ahead with high-speed rail from Madison to Milwaukee, Chicago and Minneapolis?

Politicians can't resist 'free' money

In Sunday's editorial, "Hold that train," the State Journal nails it.
Elected officials and their appointees can't seem to shake the intoxication with "free" one-time grants that partially pay up-front capital costs and create enormous ongoing operation and maintenance expenses.

-- George Mitchell, Whitefish Bay

Put rail connection at Dane County airport

Those who oppose Madison's intercity train station being located at the Dane County Regional Airport do not understand the full plan.
There will be Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison trains initially, but soon they will go on to St. Paul. Someday Chicago-Rockford-Janesville-Madison trains will connect with Minnesota trains in Madison.
Those high-speed trains only need a brief stop in Madison before going on. Some riders would go on to planes or long-distance buses at the airport terminal or would park at the airport. To go Downtown, higher speed regional trains would need a new, expensive right-of-way below or above grade.
Instead, we would need a secondary station Downtown near the campus as a major stop for the Sun Prairie-to-Middleton commuter train. This station would also be the Van Galder and Badger Bus terminal rather than Langdon Street. Regional buses could also stop at the airport instead of the current Beltline stop. Other commuter bus lines could run through this Downtown station.
The Janesville General Motors plant could become the Midwest center for making future trains and light rail equipment as the system expands. This can be done in stages starting with the new trains from Milwaukee to Madison coming in about two years.

-- Dave Steffenson, director, Upstream Institute for Ecological Ethics, Madison

All aboard for efficient high-speed rail

High-speed and other efficient rail lines linking Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and Minneapolis are long overdue and would bolster the Midwest economy and reduce the environmental and economic impact of still more highways and vehicles.

-- Gordon Faulkner, Madison

Homemaker to state: get priorities straight

Right now a high-speed train is needed like an extra hole in the head.
Our larger problems -- such as joblessness and resulting poverty, homelessness, inflation, taxes and school maintenance, teachers and class sizes -- should be addressed first before spending more.
I resent the flagrant spending of my tax money. Perhaps government could learn to keep priorities in line if they took a lesson from any homemaker who has to budget money to cover family needs.

-- Shirley J. Perlick, Lodi

Trains will be well worth the investment

Regarding high-speed rail in Wisconsin, the Doyle administration should do what it takes to move ahead. This is the future -- get on board now and the state's economy will benefit for the long haul.
People 10 years from now could get on a train in Middleton or Green Bay and be in Chicago a couple of hours later. That's worth the significant investment it is going to require to get these trains running.

-- Joshua Sulman, Madison

Think about ways to save rather than spend

The idea of high-speed rail, in concept, is a good one. But we agree with the State Journal's editorial. The costs for implementing and maintaining the system would bankrupt our state.
The Doyle administration has already sent us on our way to this end. With the current financial climate in Wisconsin, as well as the rest of the country, it's not the time to start thinking about spending billions of dollars to implement a commuter rail system that probably would not be able to support itself.
We should be looking into how to plug the holes through which state money is being siphoned instead of considering spending the amount of money that such a plan would cost. At least put it to a binding referendum.
The state is always ready to tell other entities, such as local municipalities and school districts, how much they can increase their budgets and how much money they can spend. But the state is not so willing to put the clamps on their own spending habits. Our legislators need to think about where the state can cut spending instead of finding more ways to spend.

-- Chris and Sue Dietzen, Mazomanie

Invest in roads that people actually use

Last Sunday's editorial posed questions about high-speed rail that apply to low-speed commuter rail in Madison as well. These include cost effectiveness, whether homework is completed, long-term costs, long-term tax subsidies, sources of funding, comparing rail to other transportation costs, costs per passenger mile and who the riders will be.
These are all fair questions that need answers before we buy two trains from Spain to provide 80 jobs (some to the Spanish Talgo workers) at a cost of $47.5 million.
Nationwide and locally, the "it will relieve congestion" statement is simply not true. Rail moves fewer than 2 percent of travelers, while 96 percent travel by car. According to www.thegreattrainrobbery.org, railroad crossings over 60 streets in Madison will stop vehicular (including emergency vehicles), bicycle and pedestrian traffic over 8,000 times a day for a minute or two each time the trains pass between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. And Transport 2020 documentation admits congestion will worsen with commuter trains.
The cities in the high-speed corridor to Milwaukee will "enjoy" waiting at crossings while more than 10 trains a day scream through, rattling their dishes and their nerves. Roads are used by all, so invest accordingly.

-- Bill Richardson, Middleton, member, www. thegreattrainrobbery.org

Trains would provide prompt, needed service

There's no question that high-speed train service from the second largest city in Wisconsin -- also the state Capitol and located somewhat centrally between other major cities in neighboring states -- should have occurred years ago.
It's an embarrassment to have to take a taxi to Columbus, Wisconsin Dells or other distant places to hop on a train.
I cannot understand why dislike for train travel is so prevalent in U.S. society. Traveling in parts of Europe gives one a taste of train travel that provides prompt, efficient service whether between countries or villages within a country.
I have to admire a former supervisor of mine who promoted train travel most of her adult life, refused airline travel for work or pleasure and always traveled by train. She tirelessly contacted public officials, train officials and others about her quest to see train travel taken as a serious mode of transportation here.
Although she is no longer with us, it would be a token of justice and satisfaction to me to see high-speed train service come to Madison.

-- Gary Watchke, Madison

Make sure trains can pay their own way

Federal, state and local politicians' support for high-speed rail is an excellent example of what has gotten our state into such fiscal disorder. When we vote for people who believe in causes and who have little or no business experience, then give them "free money" (the stimulus), how can we expect them to make fiscally responsible choices?
High-speed rail should be evaluated on the basis of whether it will benefit enough customers to pay its own way. Since only a small segment of taxpayers will use high-speed rail, the investment must provide a positive cash flow and return on investment.
The belief that high-speed rail will improve our environment needs to be compared to the amount of environmental impact caused by building and operating it. Add the possibility that usage won't reach projections and the overall impact to the environment would be negative.
Prudent business managers would ask if this project should be a priority when our state is facing unprecedented budget shortages and a decaying infrastructure. For economic stimulation and jobs, maintaining existing assets seems more prudent.
If studies show anything less than high-speed rail paying its own way for the long term, then the question becomes whether it's just a full-scale toy train set paid for by taxpayers for the pleasure of our political elite.

-- Jim Sutter, Mount Horeb

Don't derail trains with still more study

Last Sunday's editorial lost sight of the larger historical picture. What would have happened if other historical imperatives had been undertaken with similar trepidation.
Imagine Spain's Ferdinand saying to Isabella in 1492, "We really must tell Christopher Columbus to be patient. We have an inquisition to fund and who knows if he will find India? I think this requires further study!"
The analogy suggests the historical futility of holding back the inevitable. Wisconsin will certainly have high-speed rail one day. The question is when.
But the analogy is misleading in another way. There was no urgency for Columbus to sail to America. There is, however, considerable urgency to develop a Wisconsin rail system.
There is an ecological imperative -- it is one way to address global warming, and there is also an economic imperative -- it's one way to jump-start Wisconsin's languishing economy.
Your editorial indicated that Wisconsin should take a more deliberate approach. This would be funny if the subject were not so serious. The state has been exploring the high-speed rail option for several decades.
I fear opinions like this will not just postpone rail but derail it for years to come. I'd like to ride this train in my lifetime.

-- George Savage, Madison

Will I have to drive, park, train and bus?

Have any studies taken place on how often high-speed rail service will be used and its users? Or what the costs will be to use the trains?
If I live on the West Side of Madison, for example, and want to take a train to Milwaukee for business, do I drive to the airport, pay to park, then pay to ride the train to in Milwaukee -- and then what? Must I rent a car, hire a taxi or take a bus to my business appointments?
I also understand it will stop in Watertown, Oconomowoc and Brookfield before arriving in downtown Milwaukee. Is there any estimate on how long this will take?
It may be great for tourists and train enthusiasts, but help me with the practicality.

-- Roger M. McDowell, Madison

High-speed rail will keep taxes going up

Wisconsin and our nation should be saving money and focusing on more important issues these days. A high-speed train system will be very costly for us at this time.
Gov. Jim Doyle and his friends, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and President Barack Obama, are placing the burden on us a lot these days with these programs. We need to keep taxes down. Instead, they're going up and up on both the state and national levels. We have too many big spenders in office right now.
I know we've been talking about a high-speed rail system for a while, but we can achieve it at another time. We should have a binding referendum on this. We the residents should choose this proposal, not the big spenders.

-- Martin N. Rogan, Sun Prairie

Too many red flags to pull out of station

I appreciate the State Journal pointing out the "red flags" around high-speed rail. It seems that every time Wisconsin accepts federal funding on a project, state taxpayers end up carrying the financial burden.
No one can tell me there'll be no long-term costs to Wisconsin taxpayers. Like the federal health bill, slow down and read the fine print.
It's becoming increasingly difficult to live in Wisconsin in our present economy with the continual rise in the cost of living and excessive property taxes. Asking our taxpayers to shoulder even more financial burdens, to support a Milwaukee-to-Madison high-speed rail system for future generations, seems beyond the pale.
Where has fiscal responsibility and common sense gone? Vote "no" on high-speed rail.

-- Gene Hurley, Verona

Too many questions and too few answers

The success of high-speed rail in Wisconsin is questionable at best. Until we know how much it will cost to construct and maintain the rail lines, no more money should be allocated.
How many people will even utilize the service? Business and industrial parks are on the perimeters of metropolitan areas. Will business travelers want to use high-speed rail to deposit them at depots possibly miles from their destinations?
Visualize families traveling to shopping malls and toting home bundles and tired children on a train. How convenient is high-speed rail for transporting patients for medical attention? How can vacationers enjoy Wisconsin's attractions and spend their tourist dollars using a railroad?
As for saving time, high-speed rail is predicted to reach Milwaukee from Madison in just over an hour. We can drive it now via Interstate 94 in less than 90 minutes and have the convenience of our own cars to take us exactly where we want to go at precisely the right time. Historically the inter-urban rail lines along Lake Michigan failed because they could not meet the needs of people as cities spread out.
We need honest answers about costs, referendums to learn how Wisconsin residents feel about high-speed rail and well-conducted surveys to see if it will be used enough to be financially feasible.

-- Lois Moffatt, Madison