According to a newly-posted federal document, the Evers Administration is trying to help a private company keep alive the idea of commuter rail between Kenosha and Milwaukee.
Last week, The Federal Transit Administration updated its website, to include a profile of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) rail project, as provided this month by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
In the profile, WisDOT talks of up to 33 miles of track being upgraded to allow the commuter trains to go as fast as 79 miles per hour. The Department says it wants to have a locally-approved proposal go into the region's "fiscally constrained" long-range regional transportation plan by January.
WisDOT, in the document, even talks of the rail service operating within four years.
WisDOT also sent this statement to WUWM:
"Per Federal Transit Agency rules, private entities must have a public sponsor when intending to apply for federal funds. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is sponsoring the project on behalf of Wisconsin Transit and Realty Group (WTRG). WTRG is a private corporation that will own and operate the commuter rail service if the FTA agrees to the plan."
WisDOT continues: "There are no state funds associated with the project, as all costs will be paid by WTRG. The application was a request for entry into the Project Development Phase of FTA’s Capital Investment Grant Program. During the Project Development Phase, WisDOT will lead an environmental study of a commuter rail project."
As much as he'd like to see KRM become a reality, which politicians have shot down over the last 15 years, Terry Brown of the Wisconsin Association of Rail Passengers (WisARP) says his optimism is very limited.
Brown says even if the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law eventually provides most of the hundreds of millions of dollars in financing, political divisions in Wisconsin could prevent the public sector paying for the track upgrade.
"I'm not sure WisDOT could come up with the 20% needed for the local match. Which means, the local counties-- Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha would need to come up with that money on their own. Just to improve the railroad," Brown tells WUWM.
Brown says the state proposal also calls for six new rail stations, plus boarding platforms that can meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He says there's also the issue of whether there would need to be an operating subsidy.
As for WisDOT mentioning Wisconsin Transit and Realty owning and operating the commuter rail service, the firm's website is not fully set up, and listed phone numbers don't appear to be working. Company officials did not respond to WUWM's emails.
WisARP's Brown is more optimistic about other rail developments in the state. He's glad that it appears a second daily Amtrak train between Milwaukee and Minneapolis-Saint Paul could be operating within 15 months. He says the passengers' group is also holding out hope that the current Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee could add an extension to Green Bay.
"People will ride the train. It doesn't have to be high speed. I bet the Green Bay train in particular, would do very well," Brown says.
Brown even hopes for a train to Madison. Republican Scott Walker shot down one Milwaukee to Madison plan when he was elected Governor 12 years ago.
But with the threat of climate change pressuring the need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector, some aging Baby Boomers not wanting to drive anymore, and some younger people not driving, advocates say passenger rail remains an option.
