Update on plans to establish passenger rail service between St. Paul and the Chippewa Valley

Chippewa-St. Croix Rail Commission

The West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition has been working to build a framework for a Public-Private Partnership to establish service over the Union Pacific tracks, with a private operator and applying value capture concepts for station area development (taking advantage of the economic activity and growth in value around stations to help support the service). The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has also agreed to work with us in an advisory capacity.

As one of the important next steps, Eau Claire County is coordinating an effort with counties and municipalities along the route to create a Chippewa-St. Croix Rail Commission to represent the public interest. The commission will be organized soon, since the required eight entities have passed enabling resolutions, including Dunn, Eau Claire and St. Croix counties, and the municipalities of Altoona, Eau Claire, Menomonie, Baldwin and New Richmond. For more details on progress for the overall project, click the following link: Chippewa & St Croix Valley Rail Connections move closer to reality

Upcoming meeting: If you're interested in getting a current update on the Rail Coalition's work, and learning about the transformative impact rail can have, we've begun having monthly meetings on the third Thursday of each month. Click here to watch the latest meeting: https://youtu.be/0neweGtDuP0

Additional valuable information: Given the challenges of society coming out of the current health and economic crisis, what will happen to demand for passenger rail? Futurist and author Bill Draves says train ridership in the United States will continue to grow after the pandemic ends. Read more at this link: Why Post-Pandemic Train Ridership Will Be Strong by William Draves

Want to support the work of the Rail Coalition? If you're not already a member, consider joining: Membership information

Other dates for your calendar:

* Tuesday, March 16, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Brown Bag Webinar - Passenger Rail

Organized by the West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission

Background and current status of the rail initiative for our region, and planning implications for communities. Register at www.wcwrpc.org

* Thursday, March 18, 8:00-9:00 a.m.
Rail Coalition Monthly Meeting

Guest speaker: John Robert Smith, Chairman, Transportation for America

Mark your calendar. Registration opens soon.

Why Post-Pandemic Train Ridership Will Be Strong by William A. Draves

Train ridership in the United States will continue to grow after the pandemic ends. Here’s why.

1. The current wave of hand wringing about a post pandemic decline in train ridership simply means those people do not understand nor take into account the underlying economic and demographic factors that are driving train ridership in this century. 

2. We know that after the pandemic people will travel again, go places, and see people again.  
-We know this because it has already happened in New Zealand where COVID has essentially been eliminated, and where minor COVID flare ups are dealt with.  
-We know that airlines expect traffic to pick up.  We know no major hotel chains that have just called it quits. We know DisneyWorld is not closing permanently.

3. The continuing increase in people working from home contributes to increased train travel, it doesn’t inhibit it. People working from home know their only resource is their time, and trains save time. People who work from ‘home’ work from anywhere and travel for work and leisure.

4. The fundamental underlying economic force is that time is so valuable it cannot be wasted driving a car. With trains, one can work and travel at the same time.  

5. Trains and train ridership are not a single issue separate from the overall transformation of our economy and way of life. Instead trains and train ridership are an integral part of the new economy and way of life.

6. Just one generation can and will drive the growth of trains. Generation Y, also called Millennials (born 1980-1999) and future generations of workers understand they can work on a train, unlike with cars. The also know trains are safer than cars. 

7. In addition, Gen Y/ Millennials know trains save the environment and cost less than maintaining a car. Trains also go faster than cars. 

8. After the pandemic, yes, travel patterns will change.  “Commuter trains” might see declines as people don’t need to go to an office.  But other travel patterns will increase.  Business relies on face-to-face meetings. Tourism will resume its growth. Colleges and  K-12 schools will be restructured into systems, where students and even teachers shuttle via train to other cities and back home the same day to take advantage of resources not available at any one school location. 

9. There are nine shifts that Julie Coates and I identified in our predictive book, Nine Shift: Work, Life and education in the 21st century, released in 2000.  They are inter-related, intertwined, one ‘whole.’  The economic shifts they predicted that mesh together are:
1. People work from home.
2 .Intranets replace offices.
3. Networks replace pyramids.
4. Trains replace cars.
5. Suburbs decline, dense neighborhoods increase.  

Welcome the new age of trains. 

William A. Draves is a futurist and co-author with Julie Coates of the 2000 book, “Nine Shift: Work, Life and Education in the 21st Century.”  The book predicted the rise of trains and the decline of cars, as well as more people working from home and learning online.  The BBC sent its Global Business reporter from China to River Falls, Wisconsin to interview Coates and Draves. The program was aired worldwide.  In 2008, Draves keynoted a national train conference in Milwaukee, and in 2010 gained national media attention for proving that young people were driving less than previous generations.  Draves co-founded the St. Croix Valley Rail Group, is a member of the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition, WISARP, and the Midwest High Speed Rail Alliance.  

Eau Claire-to-Minnesota Passenger Train Closer to Reality

The dream of restoring passenger train service between Eau Claire and the Twin Cities is moving forward. This week, the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition heard from a potential private-sector partner interested in operating the trains.

Jim Coston, CEO of Corridor Rail Development, told the WCWRC board his company is finalizing its investment and financial details and will be ready shortly to move forward with the project. Coston says CRD will pay the $200,000 for a study to get the ball rolling. That’s an important milestone to resuming discussions with the Union Pacific, whose tracks would be used for the service. Corridor is based in Illinois (http://corridorrail.com/about/) .

Corridor Rail Development is also working with RailPlan International to move equipment to RailPlan’s Baltimore facility to begin refurbishing the train cars that would be used initially for an Eau Claire-St. Paul route.

Coston said, despite delays caused by the pandemic, he believes service could begin as soon as 2022, if everything goes as planned.

Coston said he hopes to use the Eau Claire-St. Paul service as a prototype to spur development of other similar routes across the United States.

The West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition is also working to establish a shuttle bus that would take passengers to/from the Amtrak station in Tomah, synchronized with the train’s arrival and departure times. Coalition chair Scott Rogers says that service could be launched within 24 months, making it more convenient for Chippewa Valley residents heading to Milwaukee, Chicago or points east: https://www.eauclairechamber.org/eau-claire-chamber-blog/potential-eau-claire-tomah-amtrak-shuttle-moves-closer-to-reality

Meanwhile, Amtrak is considering reducing service between St. Paul and Chicago (and other routes nationwide) to 3 trips per week. WCWRC board members expressed concern that such a reduction could be detrimental to efforts to grow passenger rail service.