Sunday, June 29, 2008

High Speed Rail? Not Here, Not Now

Headless, the investigative reporter (and full-time nuker) brings us a great little tidbit.

The Amtrak run through Waukesha County has been shut down for three weeks due to high water undermining rail lines through Brookfield.

No way around it for rail travel. No detours, just close up shop.

Well, not quite. Those enterprising managers at Amtrak did find a way to bypass their unusable train tracks. They are putting their customers from Madison on the bus. To Chicago. So they can ride the train to Milwaukee.

The shortest duration offered for that trip: 6 hours 44 minutes

Gee. What ECONOMY we have here!!

Of course, the KRM (and others) could be built on elevated tracks with 200' pilings-to-bedrock supporting them. That's a solution, eh?
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6 comments:

  1. Anonymous6/30/2008 2:08 AM

    Amtrack doesn't have service in Madison, if I remember right. I know there is service in the Dells, but Madison?

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  2. Jimi51506/30/2008 8:51 AM

    All ya gotta do is look.

    Anyway, ironic they would resort to buses to fix their log jam.

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  3. Amy6/30/2008 9:45 AM

    I'd love to meet someone thick enough to hop on a bus from Madison to go to Chicago and then Milwaukee.

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  4. Headless Blogger6/30/2008 11:53 AM

    Dan - You may have a point. I was trying to confirm my friend's comment that the Amtrak train that normally runs just past his backyard has been idle since the flooding. I went to Amtrak's website to see if that train was cancelled and I found the Madison-Chicago-Milwaukee run. That was too good not to post. They may normally run it through Columbus.

    All - Lots of strange blog hits on this topic. I must have hit a nerve somewhere with the 'a century too late' train hucksters. I've got even better stuff on KRM (or was it MRK? ;) ) and Barrett's trolley in the works.

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  5. Terrence Berres6/30/2008 4:03 PM

    "KRM (or was it MRK..."

    I usually see the current commuter rail proposal called KRM.

    MRK (or M-R-K) was a term for the Milwaukee to Kenosha electric interurban, abandoned before WW2. Much of its right of way is still visible, some of it now bike trail. The reconstruction of Howell Avenue a few years back included removing the last of its paved-over tracks where they joined those of the streetcar line.

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  6. Headless Blogger6/30/2008 9:39 PM

    Mr. Berres,

    You nailed it. Not much originality in that KRM name.

    Tell us about the Transport Building.

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