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ProRail believes that the Dane County Regional Airport is the most viable site currently being considered for the location of the Madison passenger train station. Our recommendation is based on the following: In October 2000 the HNTB Corporation -- Milwaukee, engineering consultants to the Wisconsin De-part-ment of Transportation, submitted a detailed report titled An Assess-ment of Madison Passenger Rail Access Alignments and Station Location Alternatives. This study rated the Airport location the highest among the alter-na-tives. The Airport alternative was also rated highest when the ProRail board in 1999 independently developed and applied its own criteria for evaluating possible station sites in this area. For intercity passenger service to be economically viable, the station must be located where it will be easy for the traveling public to use this service. The Airport location we believe is the most accessible of the station locations under consideration. The station will be serving the needs of travelers not only from Madison and Dane County but also from surrounding counties, just as the Dane County Regional Airport does. It is important to keep in mind that Midwest Regional Rail is a 3,000-mile nine-state system of intercity express trains, NOT a commuter service to Milwaukee. When fully operational, it will provide access to a dozen points in Minnesota and Wisconsin (including Mitchell Field) as well as Chicago; and in Chicago there will be access to other Midwest Regional trains operating over the rest of the system, as well as Amtrak long distance trains. The approach to the Airport from adjacent roads is modern in design and capacity, and offers an impressive gateway into and out of the area. The Airport is easy to access from other areas around south central Wisconsin. It is close to the Interstates, and the traveling public already knows how to get to the Airport. The great majority of train passengers will be driving to/from the station; if their destination is the Airport they would not have to contend with downtown traffic (both congestion and navigation) and downtown park-ing problems. The Airport location would provide flyers who are grounded by bad weather a ready alternative for continuing their trip -- to Mitchell Field in Milwaukee, or to the Twin Cities, or to Chicago (and beyond). The Airport management is enthusiastic about a passenger train station being located at the Airport and is willing to work toward that end. The amenities that the traveling public want are already at the Airport. They include parking, car rental, taxis, and food service. The Airport has extensive areas for dropping off and picking up passengers by auto. The Airport Will be a Future Commuter Rail Station Stop The County currently is developing programs aimed at cutting traffic and air pollution in the central city. A station at any Madison location other than the Airport would work against these programs, in two ways: traffic to and from the station, and the disruptive effects of the rail movements themselves. Dedicated shuttle service to connect the Airport station with the environs of the University, downtown, and other areas of the city, as needed, would minimize urban congestion and pollution and maximize access. Most airports serving a city are more or less remote from the urban area itself. The Dane County Regional Airport is unusual in being so close to town. USA Today commented favorably on this detail in a recent article discussing Madison's desirable quality of life. The estimated cost of the infrastructure for the Airport location comes in under the $2 million that the State is willing to contribute to the construction of a train station. The Airport is the only site being considered for which this is true. ('Downtown' sites for a station check in at three to five times the cost of the Airport site, in addition to the costs of track work.) Phase 1 of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative envisions trains between Madison and Chicago via Milwaukee. In Phase 3, when some additional track work has been completed, two-thirds of Midwest Regional trains will run through Madison, and through trains would account for three-fourths of rail arrivals and departures. Amtrak's long-distance train the Empire Builder will be able to stop in Madison itself, giving ready access to area travelers bound to and from Seattle and Portland and intermediate points west of the Twin Cities. The Builder cannot call at any downtown station site, however, owing to the length of the train (currently more than 1,500 feet and likely to increase). Trains moving to and through an Airport station location would entail next to no inter-ference between passenger and freight rail operations around Madison. Finally, the Airport location is the only station site under consideration that would allow for future expansion without expensive acquisition of property or creating more traffic congestion. The Two Station Proposal The Madison common Council has proposed that Madison should have two stations, one 'downtown' for trains that originate/terminate in Madison, the other at the Airport for through trains. Those favoring a two-station proposal should consider the following points: In Phase 3, a two station system will mean that 14 trains arrive daily at the Airport and 14 trains depart from there; there will be four trains arriving and departing from the 'downtown' station. That is, a $7 million to $10 million 'downtown' station (estimates that do not including track work costs) would see less than a quarter of the arrivals and departures in Madison; three quar-ters of the arrivals and departures would call only at the $2 million Airport station. There will inevitably be confusion and incon-venience when travelers go to the wrong station to meet or (worse) to catch a train, or return to the station which isn't the one where they left a car, or are faced with a choice between doing that or taking a less convenient departure. A station where trains actually originate and ter-minate will have to provide more than a platform and waiting area -- parking, a ticket office, car rental, baggage handling. It is hard to see how a proposal for two stations in one town offering these features could stand up under a cost/benefit analysis. In any case, Amtrak has worked to eliminate multiple stations in towns, two recent examples being New York City and Galesburg, Illinois. One solution: even with two stations, ALL trains to and from Madison could call at the Airport. The four trains daily originating in Madison could start from a more central location before going to the Airport; the four trains daily that terminate in Madison would stop at the Airport before going down-town. Whether such an arrangement would justify spending nine to twelve million dollars (not counting track work) on station infrastruc-ture when two million would do everything that needs to be done is a judgment call, especi-ally since less costly alternatives are thinkable. This is an exciting time for those of us who have long been advocating a balanced transportation system in this country. In the after-math of the September atrocity in New York, Americans saw at first hand the consequences of public policies that favor only one public transportation mode. ProRail was founded in 1985 as a non-profit, non-partisan, independent body whose members finance its activities. We have over 300 dues-paying members and over 250 other supporters. Most of these 550 work or live in south central Wisconsin. ProRail is the only citizen group in this area whose single purpose is to represent the interests of the intercity train-riding public. We travel by passenger train ourselves, and have helped thousands of others to do the same. Nov. 12, 2001
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