As someone who spent his childhood never more than 20 minutes away from the City of Milwaukee, who has made the trip between Milwaukee and Madison hundreds of times in his life and who now holds residence in the city of Madison for the majority of the year, the idea of a possible high-speed rail line between the two cities initially caused stunned excitement.
The prospect of a faster and easier connection between the two largest municipalities in the state of Wisconsin was definitely nothing but great news. Sure, the Badger Bus service works pretty well right now. The busses are clean, usually on time and have convenient stops in both downtown Milwaukee and at the Memorial Union.
However, Milwaukee's newly renovated Intermodal Station, the most obvious candidate for the Milwaukee train stop, has even more convenient access from Interstate-794, and the potential of 110 mph trains would greatly reduce the 75 mile trip from 85 minutes on a bus to about 45 by train.
Then the project concept hit a snag. It was reported that the leading location to place a new train station in Madison was at the Dane County Regional Airport. Putting the stop so far removed from downtown and the UW campus would add at least a 10-minute, $12 cab ride—and that does not include the time you will spend waiting for that cab.
Alternatively, you could catch Madison's Route 20 Metro bus from the airport, an option that would be free for students and relatively cheap for any other passengers. However, Route 20 makes a detour to the North Transfer Point, which is incredibly inconvenient for anyone not living around that transfer point, causing you to wait until you're able to catch another route downtown or to campus.
Additionally, a ticket from Madison to Milwaukee on the Badger Bus is just $17.50. For comparison, a train ride from Milwaukee to Chicago will cost $22. For this proposal to be attractive to any traveler, the high-speed rail ticket price would have to be significantly less than the price of a bus ride.
Suddenly, this plan, initially glimmering with 21st century, Euro-style chic, becomes more of a hassle than it's worth.
Recently, however, a legitimate and promising alternative to the airport station has been proposed. It is an idea known as the Yahara Station. The site is at the corner of East Washington Avenue and North First Street and is within a block of over a dozen different bus routes, eliminating the possible extra routes that would need to run to and from an airport station. Additionally, a train stop at Yahara Station would be about three-and-a-half miles closer to both Milwaukee and downtown Madison than an airport stop.
Barry Gore, the man behind the concept of the Yahara Station stop, proposes that considering six trains daily running from Milwaukee to Madison, this mileage difference would amount to almost 15,000 fewer miles in one year. Gore has also suggested that as many as seven fewer street crossings would be necessary with the Yahara Station site in comparison to an airport stop. Additionally, the Yahara Station plan would not necessitate any ""back tracking,"" an issue with most other proposed downtown Madison sites.
The dream of high-speed rail from Milwaukee to Madison was an exciting one from the beginning. Now thanks to the nearly $800 million in stimulus funds directed toward the project, this dream is close to becoming a reality.
The benefits of the project are numerous. Most significantly, the trip between the two cities would be drastically shorter, more environmentally friendly and more reliable without a bus having to fight with freeway traffic. Additionally, it was announced last week that Spanish train manufacturer Talco plans to use the abandoned Tower Automotive Factory site in Milwaukee to build the new trains for the Milwaukee-to-Madison line as well as other projects around the country. This plan is set to add up to 80 new jobs to the state economy.
However, so close to this new reality, we cannot afford to make the blatant mistake of placing the Madison station at the Dane County Regional Airport. For this new rail line to ever reach its full potential and provide the greatest benefits possible, project planners and lawmakers must make certain the new station finds its home at a location close to downtown and the UW campus, such as the Yahara Station site.
As we look to usher in the future of transportation, let us make sure we do it correctly. Otherwise, we are bound to end up regretting the past.
Mark Bennett is a freshman intending to major in journalism. We welcome all feedback. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
