Updates
March 23, 2011: Another example of high-speed rail in the US. $461 million cut travel time from Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, by 13 minutes.
Original Post
These are the data points for the administration's "Sputnik moment," a high-speed train between the two Wisconsin cities: Madison and Milwaukee.
- Currently there is no passenger service between these two cities
- Bus fare costs $20/ticket
- High speed train fare: $30 (with $70/ticket subsidy paid with state taxes) = $100/ticket
- In 2013, if built, the train would average 57 mph
- By 2020, if built, the train would average 60 mph
- By 2022, if built, the train would average the same, 60 mph
- Cost of project (Madison to Milwaukee): $785 million; with inflation, $800 million
- Studies: 32 percent ridership on new trains (2013) -- not exactly overwhelming support; most prefer to stick with bus; easier access points, and gets them closer to their homes
- Likely operator: Amtrak -- noted for its on-time service
- Biggest reason promoters advocate the "high-speed" train: if the state doesn't take the federal money, it (the money, not the train) will go to Florida.
- "High-speed rail is slower than flying, is less convenient than driving and five times more expensive than either one."
- "But if it's not really high-speed, it's just a name they're putting to it."
