The second phase of the redevelopment of the Milwaukee Intermodal Station will begin construction next month. The $18 million project, which has been in the works since as early as 2005, will be a significant, long overdue, upgrade to the more than forty-year-old train shed.

On Thursday the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released nearly $80 million of the $8 billion allocated to fund high-speed rail. This is a historic milestone for the build-out of high-speed rail across America as it’s the first time the federal government has released any of the funds to the states.

Megabus, the no-frills intercity bus company with an intriguing pricing scheme starting at $1, has revised their service schedule between Milwaukee and Chicago. Unfortunately two trips have been eliminated in each direction. One can only assume it’s because of the economy and that January through March has always been a down travel period for Megabus (something they compensate for by giving away 100,000 tickets).

Don’t forget that this Thursday is the open house for the Milwaukee Connector Downtown Streetcar plan. The open house runs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Zeidler Municipal Building on the corner of Kilbourn Ave and Broadway. There will be short presentations at 3:30 and 6, come and leave a comment on the proposed system.

Things look good for high-speed rail (110mph max speed) to be connecting Milwaukee and Madison courtesy of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. The state has actively drafted plans for the route and conducted environmental assessments to put Wisconsin as close to first in line as possible if and when capital funding were to become available. The stimulus package provides just the perfect opportunity.

Talgo, the train manufacturer that is poised to open a plant in Wisconsin, has a really simple choice to make when it comes to where to locate. Currently the company is debating between Janesville and Milwaukee.

When the budget finally made it to his desk, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle used his extensive veto powers in a lot of ways. The most significant of which was arguably the line-item veto of the Milwaukee Transit Authority and the proposed 0.65% sales tax increase for Milwaukee County. Doyle did not veto SERTA, the authority which is to run the KRM commuter rail line, and the $18 rental car tax. This veto puts back on the drawing board Doyle’s proposal for a three-county sales tax to fund the KRM and bus service in Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee Counties, while at the same time not delaying the KRM development process.

The Wisconsin state budget is now at a point where it will go to a conference committee after the Senate approved their version of the budget yesterday. The conference committee will reconcile the difference between the Assembly and Senate versions, and send the budget off to Governor Doyle. Doyle will then use his line-item veto power on certain language he doesn’t like, and Wisconsin have a budget.

The Regional Transit Authority, a solution to Milwaukee’s transit woes that we’ve advocated before, is coming down to the wire in the halls of the state capitol.  For the plan to move forward it needs to be included in the state budget, and for that to happen it needs to be approved by the Joint [...]

If accent lighting on the interstate isn’t the perfect definition of lipstick on a pig, I don’t know what is. That said I’m not opposed to it. In fact, I think dressing the Marquette Interchange for the prom was a positive step forward. There is, however, only one thing I wish would have happened differently.