Rail projects in the Midwest have sustained hit after hit since the November elections, when GOP lawmakers took control of several governors' mansions and legislative bodies across the region. In Wisconsin, newly elected GOP Gov. Scott Walker scuttled an $810 million Madison-to-Milwaukee high-speed rail line. The new Republican governor of Ohio, John Kasich, did the same for a high-speed rail plan that would have linked Cincinnati and Cleveland. Now Republicans in Iowa are getting into the act.
A budget bill released by GOP lawmakers in the Hawkeye State yesterday does not provide necessary state dollars to support a new Amtrak line set to run daily between Iowa City and Chicago. A report in the Des Moines Register called that lack of funding a likely "death blow" for the project, and the state's Department of Transportation may ultimately have to return $81.4 million the federal government has allocated for it. The Illinois Department of Transportation received around $149 million to build out its share of the rail line.
Republicans say they are worried about the cost of the project. "The Iowa Legislature has previously committed $10 million for Iowa’s
share of the train project, and lawmakers have been asked to appropriate
an additional $10 million in start-up costs," the Register reported. A $3 million annual subsidy would also be required. But rail advocates are making the case that the economic benefits generated by high-speed rail would far outweigh Iowa's share of the capital costs and annual subsidy. The Quad-Cities Passenger
Rail Coalition estimates the $3 million annually would return $11.8 million in economic benefits for the state and create 31 new jobs each year.
All the news on this front isn't bad. GOP Gov.-elect Terry Branstad says he's keeping an "open mind" about the rail line. And Illinois' share of the project, from Moline to Chicago, is still on track. But it's increasingly looking like Illinois is alone in its determination to build its share of the Midwestern high-speed rail network. Reaping the economic (like creating 57,000 permanent jobs in the region and 15,200 temporary jobs
during the 10 years it would take to build the system) and environmental benefits of efficient, interconnected rail in the Midwest is going to require more than one state participating, however.
States are still learning of the ramifications of the "the largest annual
spending cut in history," also known as the compromise between Congressional Republicans and the White House. But one area sure to take a big hit: high-speed rail. With funding reduced, the Chicago-to-St. Louis 