WisDot Secretary Frank Busalacchi will keynote the Annual Meeting of the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition (WCWRC) on Friday, November 20 in Baldwin.

The program, which is free and open to the public, will take place at
at The Orchard banquet facility, 571 U.S. Highway 63, Baldwin, Wisconsin, from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The event is hosted by the St. Croix County Highway Department. It is free and open to the public, but requires an RSVP to Momentum West at (715) 874-4673 or info@momentumwest.org

Busalacchi has been a national leader in advocating development of passenger rail corridors. He not only heads Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation, which plays a lead role in the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, but has also served as Chair of the States for Passenger Rail Coalition, and was a member of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission.

The purpose of the meeting will be to provide updates on key policy issues impacting passenger rail on the national, state and regional level. It will also focus on planning activities related the the West Central Wisconsin corridor and the prospects for future passenger train service to Hudson, Menomonie, Eau Claire and Black River Falls… and what citizens can do to support and accelerate those efforts.

Other speakers include Daniel Krom, director of Passenger Rail for the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), State Senator Pat Kreitlow (Wisconsin District 23), Scott Rogers, co-chair of WCWRC, and Ted Schoenecker, I-94 East Corridor Commission.

Eau Claire becomes a player in rail placement

By Jeffrey Pieters
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

In what has been regarded up to now as a two-horse race to reach the Twin Cities by rail, a third competitor seems to be coming up fast on the right.

Eau Claire, Wis., has its own list of reasons why it — before Rochester or Red Wing — should be made a stop on a planned interstate rail spoke stretching from Chicago to the Twin Cities… read more

A study funded by Rochester interests raises questions about the ability of the “River Route” (La Crosse-St. Paul via Red Wing) to sustain 110 mph speeds because of freight congestion and curves, according to an article in the October 1st Rochester Post-Bulletin.

The study by TEMS asserts that a route via Rochester utilizing new right of way would be preferable to the River Route for the planned Chicago-St. Paul line of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative.

The study apparently did not include any alternatives using the West Central Wisconsin Route through Eau Claire, Menomonie and Hudson. But the Post-Bulletin notes that “both Rochester and the river cities must look over their shoulders to a third competitor for the Upper Midwestern route” — Eau Claire. As might be expected River Route proponents disagree with the conclusions of the study.

Meanwhile, Minnesota DOT is planning a series of public meetings to discuss progress and receive input on its developing plans for state rail passenger service. A technical report released this summer provided preliminary analysis showing high demand for Eau Claire-St. Paul service. The closest meetings to our area will be Thursday, October 8, in Red Wing, and Wednesday, October 14, at St. Paul Union Depot, both 5:00-7:00 p.m.

“I’m not predicting trains will replace cars,” futurist William Draves said at the September 15 meeting of the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition in Eau Claire, “I’m saying trains are replacing cars.”

Draves is co-author of the book, “Nine Shift: Work, Life and Education in the 21st Century,” and president of the Learning Resources Network (LERN), the River Falls-based national association of organizations involved in continuing adult education. In the book, he and Julie Coates highlight nine key changes they predict will dramatically change everyday life during the first two decades of this century. Among them: That trains will replace cars in much the same manner as the automobile replaced the horse and buggy in the 20th Century.

Draves points to statistics that show members of Generation Y (those  ages 29 and younger) are demonstrating radically different attitudes about transportation than preceding generations: Fewer view cars as a necessity, they are driving dramatic growth in train ridership where it’s available, and there is a significant drop in car purchases by younger adults.

Among specific causes of the cars-to-trains shift cited in the book are: Cars are too slow, they take too long, highway travel is becoming too dangerous (a death toll of 50,000/year), there are no workable answers to highway congestion, and “the crux of it all” in a knowledge-base economy with time at a premium: “You can’t work and drive at the same time.”

For Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest, Draves highlighted a potential vision for a network of high speed trains connecting major cities 100-300 miles apart, with wireless internet access and connecting with light rail and other transit within major cities.

Some of Draves’ reasons were also asserted in an Op-Ed piece he authored that appeared in the September 4 Eau Claire Leader Telegram . For more information on the “Nine Shift” book Click here and its related blog, which often covers rail-related topics.

The Rail Coalition invited Draves to help provide a perspective on the future role of rail passenger service to our area. It’s a perspective that is both sobering and exciting, and points out how critical it is to make policy decisions that ensure West Central Wisconsin is included in plans for passenger rail service linking us with nearby major cities.

Scott Rogers, Co-Chair

Special Presentation: Tuesday, September 15. 7:30-8:45 a.m. CVTC Gateway Center, Room 147, 2320 Alpine Road, Eau Claire

Join us as Author William Draves presents his provocative view that trains will replace cars during the first part of the 21st Century in much the same way as the automobile replaced the horse & buggy in the last century.  Draves is president of Learning Resources Network (LERN), the national association for continuing adult education based in River Falls,  and is co-author of the book  “Nine Shift – Work, Life and Education in the 21st Century.”  This meeting is sponsored by the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition as an opportunity to spur discussion of the changing roles of each mode of transportation in the coming years.

You can preview some of the reasons in the Op-Ed piece by Draves that appeared in the September 4 Eau Claire Leader Telegram .

For more information on the “Nine Shift” book and related blog, click here .

The Final Draft of WisDOT’s Connections 2030 long range transportation plan now includes West Central Wisconsin among the list of “the state’s most populous and fast-growing regions” that could be served by an expanded rail passenger network. The  line through Hudson, Memomonie, Eau Claire and Black River Falls is cited as a potential route for Phase Two of the state’s network, pending environmental and engineering studies for the Madison to St. Paul routing. WisDOT held public hearings on its plan in August, and is expected to formally adopt it within a few months.

Click here and see pages 8-22 – 8-24 in the 2030 Plan for more information.

In its Aug. 5 editorial asserting that the Madison-Twin Cities high-speed rail line should be built via La Crosse, The Capital Times bases its conclusion on the unsubstantiated contention…(Read More)
By Scott Rogers | Letter to the editor

Thanks to more federal funding, prospects for high speed passenger rail stops in Eau Claire, Menomonie and Hudson just got a little more feasible. The state just released its long range transportation plan and included the possibility. Statewide hearings get underway this month and one is set for August 20 in Eau Claire. Guests include Scott Rogers, co-chair of the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition. Bill Anderson is also a member of the Coalition and has been an avid proponent of rail travel since his first ride on the “400″ in 1948. William Draves is a teacher, consultant and futurist author as well as founder of the Hudson-River Falls Area Rail Group… (Listen to Broadcast)

Prospects for a high-speed rail stop in Eau Claire have brightened considerably in recent weeks, encouraging local rail advocates who have been working toward that goal since 1999… (Read More)
By Christena T. O’Brien | Leader-Telegram staff

An agreement signed today seeking to fast-track high-speed passenger rail projects in the Midwest has three powerful engines pulling in its favor: the Obama administration, the clout of congressional delegations from eight states and the support of the nation’s freight railroads… (Read More)