Gov. Doyle: Statement on high speed rail

Contact: Laura Smith, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle today issued the following statement:

“Secretary LaHood today advised me that because of Governor-elect Walker’s adamant opposition to the rail project, the $810 million awarded to Wisconsin will now be allocated to other states.

“This is a tragic moment for the State of Wisconsin. Our team worked hard to win a national competition to make us a leader in high speed passenger rail. We were positioned to be not only a center of the line, but to be a manufacturing center as well. Now we are moving from being the leader, to the back of the line.

“Eight hundred and ten million dollars that would have gone to create thousands of jobs in Wisconsin will now create jobs in other states. Bogus arguments that this money can be used for roads have been proven false. As Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota continue to work on the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, the connection of Chicago to Minneapolis will avoid Wisconsin. Milwaukee, Madison, La Crosse, Eau Claire and other Wisconsin communities will lose the benefit of those connections. Together with many others I have worked hard to move Wisconsin into the future. I obviously am deeply saddened to see us take a major step backward.”