Thanks to those who attended our annual meeting via Zoom last week. Apologies for the last-minute cancellation at Chippewa Valley Technical College on a day when the temps were well below zero.
For those who missed it, here are some of the highlights:
Rail Passengers Association CEO Jim Mathews came from Washington DC to speak to us about the new political realities in Congress since last year’s elections and how they might impact funding for passenger train expansion projects like ours.
With Republicans holding razor-thin majorities in the House and the Senate, and upcoming debates over tariffs, immigration and other “hot button” issues, Mathews said it will be difficult for rail opponents to take away recent grants for expanding rail service. He also pointed out that a recent survey shows 78% of Americans support passenger trains, including 61% of Republicans and voters who lean toward the GOP.
Rail Coalition Chair Scott Rogers (left) and Rail Passengers Association CEO Jim Mathews (right) at our annual meeting, January 21
As for return on investment, Mathews said that even people who don’t ride trains benefit from increased economic activity around stations sites, new jobs, additional payroll and sales taxes, etc. Plus, the more people ride trains, the fewer cars are on the roads, reducing the cost of highway maintenance.
Mathews pointed out that the new Transportation Secretary, former Wisconsin Republican Congressman Sean Duffy, voted consistently against rail when he was in congress, but promised during his confirmation hearing to continue work on existing grants. In fact, Duffy suggested he’s like to speed up those projects.
Vic Stone from Union Pacific Railroad asserted the value to the project of using a “Direct Access” model for negotiating a track access agreement. He also said taking competitive bids from companies who want to run the trains assures the best value. The current proposal for a new Eau Claire-Twin Cities train includes an option for Direct Access. It would operate on tracks owned by Union Pacific.
Mason Baxter from AiPro (Association for Independent Rail Operators) told the group about the private companies that operate passenger trains in places like Florida, California, Texas, Ohio and Connecticut. He expects some of those companies to submit bids for our project.
Angela Jones from HRA Consultants, the company we hired to do the initial study for our project, said they expect to submit their report to the Federal Railroad Administration by the end of this January. She expects the FRA will take 2-3 months to review it.
Other speakers included Greg Mathis from the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Rich Kedzior from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Dan Bilka from the Greater Northwest Passenger Rail Coalition, Mason Baxter from the Association of Independent Passenger Rail Operators and Mike Rogers from St. Paul Union Depot.
If you’d like to view these presentations, click this link and enter the password &8Pi!51. (use the period)
Below are links to the slide shows these speakers presented:
The State of Play in DC and the ROI of Passenger Trains - Jim Matthews
Ramsey County's St. Paul Union Depot - Mike Rogers
Bringing Trains to West Central Wisconsin - Scott Rogers, Victor Stone, Mason Baxter, Angela Jones
Long Distance Trains to the Northwest - Dan Bilka
WisDOT Update - Rich Kedzior
MnDOT Update - Greg Mathis