Doyle: Opponents cannot derail high speed train line

WATERTOWN, Wis (WSAU) Governor Jim Doyle says it’s “bogus” to assume that Wisconsinites will be stuck with big operating costs once the Milwaukee-to-Madison high speed train is running. He said the current Milwaukee-to-Chicago Amtrak train only covers one-percent of the state’s total transportation budget – and rail would still be only a small part of the budget once the new line is up-and-running. That’s supposed to be in 2013, but Republican gubernatorial candidates Scott Walker and Mark Neumann both vow to shut down the project if they’re elected.

The state was awarded $810-million in federal stimulus funds for the new high-speed rail line. And yesterday, U-S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was in Watertown to give the state a $47-million payment toward that.

LaHood said there’s no way to stop the rail project. He called it a national program that will survive changes in political leadership. LaHood also said the federal government would consider helping with operating costs once the service is in place. Walker still called it “reckless” for Democrats to push ahead with the rail project while Wisconsin cannot afford to fix roads-and-bridges. But Doyle said that if the train is scrapped, the federal money for it would go to other states – and Wisconsin would not get an extra dime to fix its roads as a result.