Madison May Be Left Out of Midwest High Speed Rail Plans

Madison had been eyed as a hub for the high speed line, but Governor-elect Scott Walker's opposition to a leg of the high speed rail line between Milwaukee and Madison may take the Madison station out of the plans.

"In theory, the longer line still could be built along the existing route of Amtrak's long-distance Empire Builder, along a new route leading through Fond du Lac and Stevens Point or even along a route that leads through northern Illinois and Iowa to bypass Wisconsin altogether. But all of those options face their own obstacles, and rail advocates don't hold out much hope for any of them.

At a minimum, Walker's position would dismantle the vision of Midwestern leaders for 110-mph trains linking Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and Minneapolis-St. Paul. The Chicago-to-Twin Cities route was planned as a backbone of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, a nine-state effort to create a network of fast, frequent trains."