WisDOT Retains High-Speed Rail Stops In Waukesha County
Milwaukee County Clerk Joe Czarnezki had suggested a month ago that state officials take Waukesha anti-rail sentiment at face value and eliminate one or more of the proposed Waukesha County high-speed rail stations in favor of another stop at the Milwaukee County Grounds, but Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi told Czarnezki by letter to forget it.
The WisDOT plan to which the state seems wedded, despite so much antipathy in Waukesha to anything on rails, has two Milwaukee County stops - - Mitchell Airport and the Intermodal station downtown, two in Waukesha County - - Brookfield and Oconomowoc and ine in Jefferson County, in Watertown.
I'll put up a link when I find a URL to the exchange.
4 comments:
How'd both counties have an extra station? Your previous blog indicated one in Milwaukee, two in Waukesha.
Isn't part of having a high-speed train a reduced number of stops? Five stops in the metro area seems excessive.
I was a little confused by that, too, Brian. I think...I think...that WisDOT is identifying station locations, but who knows if all will be built, or at the same time.
Watertown is in Jefferson County. The old Morning Hiawatha stopped at Watertown and Oconomowoc. Brookfield, combined with faster running times through Milwaukee, would provide commuters headed toward Chicago with a shorter drive to the train (in preference to going downtown or to the Airport station).
Some residents of Chicago's northern suburbs are getting interested in additional or different stops in preference to Glenview. Glenview is relatively close to O'Hare for intermodal transfers, but the Lake Forest station (currently Metra only) and a new station at Gurnee (with a shuttle bus to Gurnee Mills and Six Flags) have possibilities.
Yes, additional stops add running time, but the point of a train is to move people. Faster commutes to Chicago plus recreational traffic to Six Flags or the Lake District plus collegiate traffic from Southeastern Wisconsin and the northern suburbs of Chicago adds up, and peppier diesels can compensate for the additional stops. (You have to spend a lot of money to run in excess of 125 mph, and it shaves relatively few minutes off the running time. Top speeds around 110-125 and reliable timekeeping will work wonders.)
Stephen: Thanks for correcting me about Watertown.
I appreciated all the information int he comment.
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