Governor Doyle Announces Madison High Speed Rail Station Location

Modern, Wisconsin Made, Trains Will Stop at Monona Terrace in Downtown Madison

Gov. Jim Doyle

Madison, WI  – Governor Jim Doyle announced today that Madison’s high speed rail station will be located downtown at the Monona Terrace. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and state Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Frank Busalacchi joined Governor Doyle for the announcement.

“The Monona Terrace station will maximize ridership to and from Madison, and will provide easy access to other forms of transportation, the State Capitol, the convention center, businesses and hotels,” Governor Doyle said.

“There were several other very good potential locations in Madison, but when considering all the factors, the Monona Terrace is clearly the best option. In 2013, Wisconsin will have modern high speed rail running from
downtown Chicago to downtown Milwaukee to downtown Madison – a model for the future of rail in this country.”

“Bringing high speed rail to the heart of downtown Madison creates tremendous potential for economic development, regional transportation and a successful rail line for years to come,” Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said. “I want to thank Governor Doyle for his incredible leadership in bringing high speed rail to Madison and bringing the station to the Monona Terrace.”

In order to select a final station location in Madison, the state considered all of the analyses and environmental studies done in the past decade. At Governor Doyle’s direction, the state DOT conducted a feasibility assessment of four specific site options in Madison – Monona Terrace, Dane County Airport, First Street, and the Kohl Center. The assessment included a review of rail operations, ridership, access to other forms of transportation, parking, traffic impacts, environmental issues, cost, site geometrics and opportunities for economic development.

The state will now proceed with a complete environmental assessment of the Monona Terrace station location, which will include opportunities for the public to provide further comments. Construction of the segment between Madison and Milwaukee will begin this year. By 2013, people will be able to ride in modern, Wisconsin made train cars from Madison to Chicago and beyond.

In January, Governor Doyle announced Wisconsin will receive $823 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to build high-speed rail service to connect its centers of commerce and create thousands of jobs. Wisconsin is receiving $810 million to build high-speed passenger rail service between Milwaukee and Madison, $12 million to improve service between Chicago and Milwaukee, and $1 million to make final determinations on a route between Wisconsin and the Twin Cities – the next step toward connecting Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison with the Twin Cities. The project is estimated to create thousands of jobs in Wisconsin in fields like construction, engineering, design and supply.

Posted @ 5:30 p.m.