Anthony wrote:Chicago-Rockford-Dubuque (the Black Hawk) and Chicago-Janesville-Madison (the Varsity) would be two rail services that are desperately needed due to high traffic congestion along parallel highways between these cities, and have great ridership potential due to the size of the towns along the routes as well as factors like tourism and more people in train-riding-demographics (college students, young adults, elderly, and low income folks) living in or traveling between those towns regularly. (like Dubuque and Madison) that would be perfect for this kind of funding arrangement. The first route would be a candidate for this because IL is broke and has a legislature and governor that both know little more than how to bicker over a budget. The second one would be a candidate because WI has no interest in subsidizing passenger trains beyond levels that the Hiawatha takes.Perhaps. But IDOT sure isn't hot after getting even one train started there. And there you have it, because the service will not happen without IDOT. Dubuque and Madison? Iowa and Wisconsin. Not exactly hot after passenger train services either, unfortunately.
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With what money?
That's a serious question. Where do you propose to find the funding for this?
That's a serious question. Where do you propose to find the funding for this?
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Rockingham Racer wrote:Perhaps. But IDOT sure isn't hot after getting even one train started there. And there you have it, because the service will not happen without IDOT. Dubuque and Madison? Iowa and Wisconsin. Not exactly hot after passenger train services either, unfortunately.Actually, it's the suspension of already-allocated state funding caused by the constant bickering over the state budget for the past 12 months that's stopping IDOT from starting Chicago-Rockford service. Service to Dubuque, which is dependent on Canadian National agreeing with the state on a construction budget, would see very little investment from Iowa, especially considering that new Dubuque Intermodal Transportation Campus has been completed, and that the service barely goes into that state. Iowa's only investment would be building the rail platform add-on to the DITC and a small amount of trackwork from the Mississippi River bridge to the terminal - less than 2 miles of track.
As for Wisconsin, even though Gov. Scott Walker rejected high-speed rail funds for the Milwaukee-Madison line, he still appears to support expanding frequencies on the existing Hiawatha line. In addition, the state has been partnering with MN in the proposal to add a second Chicago-Twin Cities frequency opposite the current Empire Builder schedule. So WI is not as anti-rail as everyone thinks.
EAS typically served markets with < 50,000 citizens.
Assuming similarly low density markets, where is the business case for this to be rail vs. subsidized motorcoach?
Assuming similarly low density markets, where is the business case for this to be rail vs. subsidized motorcoach?
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