Sometime during the last 60 years we lost something vital to the overall stability of the United States: passenger trains. Since Eisenhower's great highway expansion program of the 1950s, ridership has suffered and railroad lines have closed.
In 1971, faced with these major declines in the passenger rail services, Congress created the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, commonly known as Amtrak, to operate the nation's intercity passenger rail services. Amtrak was set up as a private corporation that received subsidies from the federal government. Amtrak created a national system under a single company. While the creation of Amtrak stabilized the passenger rail system, the creation of a national system also meant the final discontinuance of many routes, including several in Wisconsin.
One of the most important discontinued lines was one that connected Madison to Milwaukee, and for over 10 years, there has been ongoing talk of reopening these lines. On Oct. 30, 2007, the U.S. Senate passed the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007, which authorizes $10.1 billion to reauthorize Amtrak to take on new capital projects, amongst other things. One of the new capital projects would be reopening of a line of service connecting the Twin Cities to Madison to Milwaukee to Chicago. The bill is currently up for debate in the House of Representatives.
Never more so than now has reinvestment in our public transportation system been needed. Gas prices have soared from $1.20 a gallon in 2003 to over $4 in 2008. We have seen the collapse of one major bridge and the closing of numerous others due to structural failures. Recently, we have seen Mother Nature close major highways and debilitate a state's infrastructure due to flooding.
Anybody who has traveled through Europe or Asia has seen the benefits of a robust passenger-train and subway commuter system. Imagine jumping on a train on a beautiful Friday afternoon, heading to Milwaukee to visit friends and to take in a ball game. Imagine visiting the Museum of Modern Art, or spending hours at the Lakeside brewery. Now imagine being able to do all that without having to worry about traffic, finding a place to park downtown and, maybe most important of all, without having to have a designated driver. Imagine being worry-free, knowing that every two hours you can catch a train from downtown Milwaukee and, in an hour and a half, get back to Madison, ready to take in a beautiful evening at the Terrace. And all for $10 to $20, round trip. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?
Besides the obvious public benefits, there are also enormous economic benefits. Connecting Madison to the two major financial cities in the lower Great Lakes region can only increase the opportunities for mutually beneficial relations between and amongst the cities. Creating easily accessible lines of public transportation between cities necessarily fosters growth, cooperation and interdependence among those cities by opening more opportunities and more potentialities for the exchange of the goods and services each individual city has to offer. Commuter trains offer those living in suburbs greater opportunities to find and sustain work.
Trams and subways offer alternative access to intercity regions usually too congested by highway traffic, increasing the use of city centers. High-speed intercity trains offer affordable alternatives to air travel for business travelers. And short to medium lines (such as a line between Madison and Milwaukee) offer both the business and leisure rider the chance to work, read, socialize and relax while alleviating congestion on our highways. Not to mention the boost in all jobs related to the construction and operation of a robust train system.
The call to start reinvesting in the long term development and stability of the U.S. has started. Investing in public works projects like passenger trains is a great place to start. For too long has the U.S. ignored the realities of continuing our dependence on the automobile, and it is time we all started demanding changes. Triangulating Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago via a state-of-the-art passenger train service makes too much sense for too many reasons for it not to become a reality. While the bill has passed both the House and Senate, it has yet to become law and is but one small step in the direction we need to be going. A robust, modern public transportation system, reconnecting the major metropolitan cities of the U.S. and providing commuter options intra-city, should and must become part of our future.
Joseph Koss is a junior majoring in secondary education in social studies. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
