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.
