Contacts:
Ron Adams, Department of Transportation Bureau of
Rails and Harbors, 608-267-9284
Ethnie Groves, Governor Doyle’s Office,
608-261-2156
In an effort to preserve freight rail service and encourage
economic development, Governor Jim Doyle today announced the state’s
purchase of a 37-mile segment of railroad between Saukville and Kiel. The
state is purchasing the rail line for $1.9 million from Wisconsin Central
Ltd. (now owned by Canadian National Railway Company). The Wisconsin and
Southern Railroad Company (WSOR) will have operating authority of the line.
“Preservation of this rail corridor is important to the
continued economic growth of businesses and communities throughout the
Ozaukee, Sheboygan, and Manitowoc county regions,” Governor Doyle said. “The
purchase of this rail segment is yet another example of my ‘Grow Wisconsin’
efforts to generate economic activity through strategic investments in the
statewide transportation network.”
Funds for the purchase come from the Wisconsin Department of
Transportation’s (WisDOT’s) Freight Railroad Preservation Program that
allows the state to buy abandoned or potentially abandoned rail lines in an
effort to preserve future freight rail service. WSOR and local shippers are
providing the necessary local funding match. WisDOT currently oversees
about 650 miles of state-owned track leased to private railroads.
Canadian National filed their application to abandon the
rail line with the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) on June 30,
2004. The STB approved the application on October 18, 2005. WisDOT held
public meetings in which numerous businesses, individuals, and elected
officials from the region expressed concerns about the potential economic
consequences of losing the rail line.
WisDOT conducted an Economic Impact Analysis that showed the
seven businesses currently using rail service along the line provide 145
jobs with an estimated payroll of $5.8 million.
An executive summary of the economic analysis is available
on the WisDOT Web site at
