The Varsity

While Madison is currently out of the loop in the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, we did see some brief passenger service this year. Pullman Rail Journeys operated two trips between Chicago and Madison for Badger/Northwestern football games this October.

Dubbed The Varsity, the train is named for an old Milwaukee Road commuter line that served the same route decades ago, as superbly photographed by William D. Middleton.

While The Varsity is just an occasional excursion service, these trips help to promote rail as a transit option. They prove it can be a fun and relaxing journey between Chicago and Madison free from tolls and gridlock, giving us the glimpse of how a comprehensive mass commuter service can benefit both cities.

Amtrak

In the midst of all the high speed rail talk, our current service has received little attention. Amtrak has continued to operate under the radar. It has one solid advantage over any new proposal: the tracks are in place, and the trains are running. Slowly.

One problem is that Amtrak owns very little trackage, for the most part operating on freight railroad lines. Heavy freight traffic wears down the rails and makes them unsafe for high speed service. And, while it is federal law that Amtrak trains have the right of way over freight shipments, passenger trains are often delayed for long periods on side tracks. Consequently, Amtrak can only operate fast service on tracks they own, most notably on the Northeast Corridor (Boston-New York-Washington D.C.), where Acela service can reach 125mph. Outside of that line, most trains are limited to 79mph.

Is it possible to upgrade antiquated tracks and equipment to speeds that would make train travel competitive, while still sharing tracks with freight companies? New work to rebuild tracks in Michigan is under way, which will enable 110 mph service on Amtrak's Wolverine between Chicago and Detroit. Similar upgrades have been completed in Illinois between Chicago and St. Louis. The approach has been piecemeal, but the improvements to our existing lines can help Amtrak function expediently and efficiently, at a lower cost than entirely new infrastructure.

Options

Can we build public transportation that will adequately serve all our citizens? This is a question that our state and local governments need to ask themselves. 

In their recent article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jabril Faraj and Nino Amato expressed a feeling that many Wisconsonites no doubt share. Our public transit services are not meeting our needs. Across the Midwest, several groups are spearheading the effort to build new systems and upgrade old ones, but because of political gridlock Wisconsin remains in stasis.

More transit options will serve a wider base of residents whether they be in downtowns, rural areas or suburbs. Concerns about the high cost of building rail lines, bus rapid transit systems and upgrading our roads are certainly valid. But well planned development can be both effective and fiscally responsible.

Rail Travel in Wisconsin

In the United States, passenger rail has a great legacy, but has not been an efficient transportation option for many decades. Today, as fast and efficient rail travel is in development around the globe, the United States has elected not to invest in new technology.

Madison, Wisconsin, the namesake of this blog, was part of a large network of passenger rail lines in the Midwest that grew from agricultural and mining centers in the mid 1800s, and made up the bulk of inter-city transportation infrastructure for the better part of a century. After World War II, growing automobile ownership, the construction of extensive national highways, and the advent of airline travel meant privately owned passenger service was no longer profitable. Federal mandates from the Interstate Commerce Commission forced many private companies to maintain their commuter services until 1970, when the government intervened and all passenger rail service in the US was collected under the publicly funded for-profit Amtrak project. Due to limited funding and lessened demand, many lines were discontinued, including those to Madison.

Recently there has been talk of restoring some form of rail service in Madison, to much controversy. After a new federal high speed proposal for the Midwest was rejected by Gov. Scott Walker, there has been a stalemate between supporters and detractors of passenger rail. Can rail travel be relevant again in the US, particularly here in the upper Midwest? Is it worth the investment? We'll try to explore this moving forward.