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Badger Rails
Wisconsin Association of
Railroad Passengers (WisARP)
Volume 29, Issue 4 July - August, 2011

Empire Builder Weather Woes Continue

Amtrak announced July 11 that Empire Builder
service would be temporarily suspended between
St. Paul, Minn., and Havre, Mont. until further
notice, with no alternate transportation available
between those points.

Areas of North Dakota and Montana continue to
experience serious flooding, which caused sporadic
Amtrak service disruptions in May and June.

Amtraks travel advisory said:
For those passengers traveling from Seattle and
Portland, a combination of trains and chartered
motorcoaches will provide service to Spokane,
Wash., with the Empire Builder trains continuing
east into Idaho and serving all Montana stops for



The State Department of Transportation in late June
asked the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee to
authorize borrowing $21.4 million to cover costs
related to acquisition of two Talgo trainsets.

Those costs include $11.7 million to build and
equip a temporary maintenance base at Talgo's
factory on Milwaukee's north side; $6.9 million for
a British consulting company to oversee the
manufacturing process; and up to $2.5 million for
spare parts.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported June 26
that that total, added to money already borrowed or
appropriated, brings total cost of the two train sets
and related facilities to $69.7 million.



Glacier National Park (including Whitefish, East
and West Glacier and Essex), continuing east to
terminate at Havre each afternoon. The trains will
originate there to operate back west to
Seattle/Portland.

For those passengers traveling west from Chicago,
the Empire Builder trains will serve all their
Wisconsin stops (including Wisconsin Dells),
continuing west to terminate at St. Paul each
evening. Each morning, the trains will originate
there to operate back east to Chicago.

No other Amtrak service is available for these days
in Minnesota (except Winona, Red Wing & St.
Paul), in North Dakota and in Eastern Montana.



State May Borrow to Pay For Remaining Talgo Costs
Talgo's plant in Milwaukees Century City
complex, formerly the site of Tower Automotive, is
to serve as a temporary maintenance base for up to
three years after the trains start service, until a
permanent base can be built.

The costs of building and equipping both the
temporary and permanent maintenance bases would
have been covered by the $810 million federal grant
for Madison service, refused by Gov. Walker. That
grant also would have paid for more trainsets and
locomotives, which would have been serviced at a
$52 million permanent base in Madison.

After the original grant was withdrawn, the State
unsuccessfully sought $213.3 million in federal
Turn to Page 5

In what are normally the dog days of summer,
this summer has been anything but boring. Recall
elections are swirling about the State, and in
Washington ideological extremists have tied up
Congress on issues of debt ceilings, budget cuts and
tax increases

One of the more unusual bits of legislation that has
been floated in Washington has been a plan
promoted by House Transportation & Infrastructure
Chairman John Mica (R-FL) that would in effect
privatize Amtrak. In brief, the plan would spin off
the Northeast Corridor, State-supported services
(such as the Hiawatha), and long-distance services
to private operators, using Amtrak equipment. It
envisions higher speeds, more frequencies and
better equipment, all courtesy of a private sector
that abandoned passenger service back in the 1960s.

NARP President Ross Capon responded to this
proposal June 21 in a detailed critique presented at a
Congressional hearing. For his detailed comments,
see;
http://www.narprail.org/cms/index.php/resources/
more/mica_bill_statement/

Your WisARP Board has also reviewed this
proposal, and President John Parkyn offers the
following:

The Board of the Wisconsin Association of
Railroad Passengers has reviewed the proposal in
the House of Representatives Subcommittee which
suggests the restructuring of Amtrak into a
"competitive" entity run by a system of operators
after a bidding process. The Board has decided to
oppose this proposal to our Congressional
delegation on nearly all suggestions. They include
bidding segments out and turning equipment over to
private operators. They suggest that this could
achieve a balance of no taxpayer support on some
routes.

There have been several flaws detected early on. It
does not clearly extend liability caps to any operator
in this system which would in fact be a poison pill
to any private business. It also suggests that routes

can be profitably run on trackage which pays taxes
when in competition with air travel which uses tax
exempt airports and highways on tax exempt land.
Congress Considers Extreme Proposals for Ending Amtrak
Considering Amtrak this year is less than 1/10 of
1% of just the national budget deficit we feel
attention needs to be focused on issues with much
greater size than rail passenger.

The proposal to turn the Northeast Corridor over to
the Transportation Department and to sell its real
estate to the states is impracticable. We feel that
NEC property could be separated into a regional
authority and Amtrak could get out of the track
capital upkeep business and go back to running
trains. The regional authority would still require
on-going federal support, any suggestion it would
break even once capital expenses are considered is
not realistic. The implied idea that private industry
would step forward to fund 200 mph+ "true" high
speed service in NEC also lacks the reality as it
would have to compete with our subsidized air and
highway systems.

We again have stated our support for a national
system which in its current form achieves a rather
high farebox recovery of its O&M expense.

A six-year surface transportation funding bill that
was introduced by House Republicans the first
week of July did not include the privatization
proposal, but did include the usual cuts to Amtrak
operating assistance and limits on Amtraks
discretion to use federal funds. Its possible the
privatization proposal or worse will be trotted out
again if budget discussions continue to be
deadlocked. As this is an extremely fluid process,
WisARP members are strongly encouraged to check
several webs sites frequently for updated
information:

National Association of Railroad Passengers:
http://www.narprail.org

Midwest High Speed Rail Association:
http://www.midwesthsr.org

ProRails RailMatters Twitter site:
http://twitter.com/railmatters
Join other passenger rail advocates for our 1st Wisconsin Passenger Rail Summit!


A LIGHT IN THE NIGHT:
HlCBlB4N R4lL LL4BLRSBlP'S
STUNNING SUCCESS!

Thursday, July 28, 2011
9:30 a.m. 3:15 p.m.
The Wintergreen Resort and Conference Center
60 Gasser Road, Lake Delton, Wisconsin
registration deadline: Thursday, July 21 (space permitting)

Through the leadership of the Michigan Association of Railroad passengers and the Michigan Environmental
Council, 16 citizen forums were held throughout Michigan last year with a bi-partisan lineup of members of Congress
and locally elected officials, as well as Chamber of Commerce, realtor and union leadership serving as hosts and co-
sponsors.

The result? Unlike the rejection of high-speed rail funds by Wisconsin, Ohio, and Florida, the Michigan legislature
maintained its historic bi-partisan support for passenger rail and Gov. Snyder stood shoulder to shoulder with U.S.
Transportation Secretary LaHood when accepting nearly $200 million in Florida's rejected 100% federal funds to
improve passenger rail.

Learn how they did it at this first Wisconsin Rail Coalition conference, then help set a new direction for
passenger rail advocacy in Wisconsin. Principal speakers will be Tim Fischer of the Michigan Environmental Council
and John Langdon of the Michigan Association of Rail Passengers.


"Only the timetable has changed for
more trains to more places in Wisconsin!"


Registration $25 a person; includes a soup & sandwich lunch. Coffee & rolls beginning at 9 a.m. Afternoon beverages
Lodging: Conference rate of $79, plus tax, available thru July 12 for July 27 stay. Ask for Wisconsin Rail Coalition rate..
1-800-648-4765
Co-sponsoring organizations: Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups Empire Builder Coalition
Environmental Law & Policy Center Midwest High Speed Rail Association NEWRails ProRail
Sierra Club (Wisconsin) United Transportation Union (Wisconsin) Wisconsin Association of
Railroad Passengers West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition (Become a co-sponsor; see reverse)
-------------------------------------------------------- Please print ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
z/at the July 28 Passenger Rail Summit hosted by the Wisconsin Rail Coalition!
Name _________________________________________ Representing ____________________________________
Address _____________________________________________ City ______________________________ State_____
Phone AC ___ /____-______ Email address (for registration confirmation) ____________________@_____________.____
Make checks payable to ProRail & show WRC Summit in the memo line. Mail to ProRail, Attn: WRC Summit, 5302
Lighthouse Bay Dr., Madison WI 53704 or email above information to info@prorail.com and mail payment separately.
A LIGHT IN THE NIGHT:
0LFKLJDQ5DLO/HDGHUVKLSVStunning Success!
A Wisconsin Passenger Rail Summit

Thursday, July 28, 2011 9:30 a.m. 3:15 p.m.

Coffee and rolls available at 9 a.m.
9:30-10 a.m. Kickoff
Welcome/Summit Goals

10-11:30 a.m. Presentations/Q & A
Michigan By Rail Citizen Forums
Tim Fischer and John Langdon

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Lunch/Organizational Introductions

12:30-1:20 p.m. Discussion Groups: Session 1
Multiple discussion groups will be formed to discuss
possible applications of Michigan experience in Wisconsin.

1:20-1:30 p.m. Break

1:30-2 p.m. Discussion Groups: Session 2
Discussions continue

2-2:45 p.m. Discussion Groups Report

2:45-3 p.m. Summit Panel
Summit speakers and leadership react to conclusions
and identify consensus

3-3:15 p.m. Final Charge & Commitments

The Wisconsin Rail Coalition is an alliance of organizations throughout and beyond the state formed in 2010
and committed to making intercity passenger rail a greater part of our daily transportation choices.

If your organization would like to be listed as a co-sponsor of this Passenger Rail Summit, please contact us at info@prorail.com Co-
sponsors are requested to a) have at least one representative in attendance and b) be willing to consider making an organizational
donation to support the Summit costs and helping sponsor one or more of any citizen forums that may be scheduled.

Iowa City Train Moves a Step Closer
NARP reports that supporters of the planned
Chicago-Quad Cities-Iowa City route have scored a
victory by retaining funds for the train in Iowas
fiscal 2012 state budget. But the victory sets the
stage for a battle in the coming year if the State
wants to secure $280 million in federal high-speed
and intercity funding, and lawmakers are looking to
train advocates to help make the train a reality.

An Iowa House-Senate conference committee was
able to preserve $5 million in funding for the
project from state House Republican attacks,
although Iowas GOP was able to block $6.5
million in fiscal year 2012 funding. The train
would connect Iowa City, the Quad Cities, and
Chicago, and requires a $20 million state match to
secure the federal funds. It represents the best
current opportunity to add a new route to the
Amtrak network.

State Democrats are calling it a victory, but say the
train is hanging by a thread. In order to ensure
victory for the coming fiscal year, they say theyll
need the help of the public. [Passenger rail
advocates] need to convince the Legislature, the
governor and the public that this is a marketable
asset for the state, Sen. Matt McCoy (D-Des
Moines) told reporters. Theres a lot at stake.
Talgo Funding from Page 1

Badger Rails is published 6 times per year by the
Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers, a
not-for-profit Wisconsin membership association.
WisARP President is John Parkyn, Stoddard, WI,
(608)788-7004, email: jdp@dairynet.com

Badger Rails Editor is Jim Sponholz. Please send
comments or news items to:
badgerrails@gmail.com

Please send membership renewals ($15 per year)
and address changes to: Mark Weitenbeck, 3385 S.
119th Street, West Allis, WI 53227
email: weitenbeck@sbcglobal.net

WisARP on the Web: www.wisarp.org
money earlier this year for Hiawatha upgrades,
including additional trains, retrofitting the Talgo
plant as a permanent maintenance base and
improving the tracks between the plant and the
downtown Amtrak station.

The State now is turning away from building a
permanent base at the Talgo plant and is seeking to
cut costs by finding a site closer to the downtown
station, a DOT spokesman told the Journal-Sentinel.
Track and signal upgrades would have added $27.6
million to the $60.1 million cost of retrofitting the
Century City site, plus engineering costs.

The British consulting firm, Interfleet Technology,
Inc., was hired to oversee the manufacturing
process and to give Wisconsin DOT personnel the
sort of technical advice that did not exist in-house in
Madison.

The Journal-Sentinel also reported State officials
and Talgo are discussing a redesign of the cab cars
to meet Amtrak specifications, at a possible cost of
$500,000. Amtrak is concerned about sight lines,
and State officials believe Talgo is responsible for
building the cars to State and Amtrak requirements.
Talgo, however, said the cab car design meets
Federal Railroad Administration standards, and that
the State will have to pay more if it or Amtrak want
something else.

Other design changes have added little to the total.
The largest was $3.4 million for adding a bistro car
to each train. That was covered by the savings from
buying the trains under a joint purchasing deal with
Oregon, which was reached after the State had
borrowed the initial $47.5 million. Similarly, the
$621,648 cost of outfitting the trains for wireless
Internet service was more than canceled out by an
$800,000 saving on 2009-'10 Hiawatha fuel costs.

Finally, the DOT is pursuing authority to use a
combination of bonding, redirected Hiawatha
contingency money, and Federal dollars to renovate
the Milwaukee train shed. DOT is also considering
a redesign to the new shed design that could save
additional money. (Please see our September-
October, 2010 issue for more on the shed design).

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Wisconsin Association of
Railroad Passengers
(WisARP)

July-August, 2011