Why WI Needs Passenger Rail! New WISPIRG Study Provides Evidence of Economic Growth, Development and Jobs Worldwide

Media Releases

WISPIRG Foundation

Milwaukee, WI – Drawing lessons from other countries, a new study from WISPIRG shows that high-speed rail can boost our economy, save energy, curb pollution and provide a popular alternative to congested roads and airports.

The report, A Track Record of Success: High-Speed Rail Around the World and Its Promise for America, details a number of examples from around the world that make a variety of cases for high-speed rail. Some of the benefits include:

•    Jobs: about 8,000 people were involved in the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link between the tunnel and London.  

•    Development opportunities near stations: The amount of office space in the area around the rail station in city of Lyon, France has increased by 43%.  Property values near stations on Japan’s Shinkansen network have been estimated to be 67% higher than property values further away.  

•    Economic growth: in Germany, the counties surrounding the towns of Limburg and Montabauer experienced a 2.7% increase in their gross domestic product as a result of the increased access to markets provided by the Frankfurt-Cologne high-speed rail line.

•    Reduced road congestion: high-speed rail service between Madrid and Seville reduced the share of car travel between the two cities from 60% to 34%.

•    Reduced air travel: even in the relatively slow rail service in the U.S. Northeastern Corridor, the rail corridor accounts for 65% of the air-rail market between NY and Washington, DC.

•    Reduced oil dependence: a typical Monday morning business trip between London and Paris via high-speed rail uses approximately a third less energy as a car or plane trip.  Japan’s Shinkansen system is estimated to use one quarter the energy of air travel and one-sixth the energy of automobile travel per passenger.  

“This report shows why other countries are investing in high-speed rail. It’s a smart investment that will bring new jobs and economic development while connecting major travel hubs,” said Bruce Speight, Director of WISPIRG.

Wisconsin has been awarded $810 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for passenger rail from Milwaukee to Madison, $12 million to improve service between Milwaukee and Chicago and $1 million to study service from Madison to the Twin Cities.  Milwaukee to Madison is just the beginning of what could be a Midwest network of passenger rail.  As a central corridor between Chicago and Minneapolis, most major Wisconsin cities would be connected to these economic centers.

Over the last two years the federal government has distributed $10.4 billion in grants to construct or plan high-speed rail, including incremental measures that increase the speed and reliability of existing passenger rail. In these two rounds, 37 states and the District of Columbia have applied to the Federal Railroad Administration to support 341 project applications. Those requests totaled over $65 billion – about six times the amount made available by Congress.

“Now that the election is behind us, it’s time to get serious about high-speed rail. There is no such thing as a Republican or a Democratic rail track,” said Speight, “Our leaders from both parties should support long-term investment in high-speed rail for the benefits it will bring to Wisconsin.”