The plug has been pulled on an ongoing study into the feasibility of higher speed rail service between the Twin Cities in Minnesota and Milwaukee in Wisconsin. Wisconsin wasn't supporting the project; now Minnesota isn't either.
"An environmental study exploring the viability of high-speed passenger rail service between the Twin Cities and Milwaukee has been shut down after two Minnesota Republican legislators said it was a waste of taxpayer dollars," reports Janet Moore.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation had been ready to accept federal grant funding for the study, but Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, and Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, objected to the funding because of Wisconsin's ongoing opposition to high-speed rail. The grant funding in question was worth $181,682, following $1 million in state and federal money already spent on the study.
The project has support from several sources in Minnesota, like the Minnesota High Speed Rail Commission and the leadership of the Transportation Finance and Policy Committee of the State Senate.
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