Public hearings to be held on high-speed rail in La Crosse and Eau Claire

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Talk about it

Wisconsinites will have a chance this week to tell state officials what they think about high-speed rail.

The state DOT will hold four public meetings to explain 14 options to run passenger trains between Milwaukee and Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Those choices were developed in a recent state-and-federally funded study in both Wisconsin and neighboring Minnesota. Eleven of the options include the Milwaukee-to-Madison line – which Governor-elect Scott Walker is trying to kill, after the state got $810-million federal stimulus dollars for the project.

But three proposals do not include Madison. One would follow the route of Amtrak’s current Empire Builder passenger train from Chicago and Milwaukee to La Crosse and beyond. Walker has said he would not object to using the stimulus money for that route. Other possibilities include stops in Fond du Lac, Stevens Point, and the La Crosse and Eau Claire areas. The Eau Claire City Council recently endorsed high-speed rail to boost the state’s economy – including the controversial Milwaukee-to-Madison line.

The informational meetings run from 5-7 p.m. each night this week. They’ll take place tonight at the Best Western Riverfront in La Crosse, tomorrow at the Best Western Trail Lodge in Eau Claire, Thursday at UW-Fond du Lac, and Dec. 7th at the DOT’s Madison regional office.

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