Milwaukee's Brightline type proposal

Trains Magazine Transit
1

This news item broke before Christmas in Milwaukee. I think it is dreamland but thought I would share with the community here as it sounds like a copy of Brightline with some twists…

https://www.wpr.org/competing-firms-want-bring-commuter-rail-milwaukee-county

Waukesha County last saw Milwaukee to Watertown rail commuter service provided by the Milwaukee Road that lasted a full year after Amtrak was formed (April or May of 1972). Basically, the service was one train in the morning towards Milwaukee and one train out at night towards Watertown with the train over nighting in Watertown. The train was made up of an F unit and two to three coaches in the UP yellow and gray paint. Milwaukee Road suspended the train shortly after a derailment in Brookfield, WI caused by a truck striking the North Avenue overpass trestle at the time and knocking the track out of alignment. Milwaukee Road was angling for a subsidy for the train from Milwaukee County but decided after the derailment that enough was enough and cancelled the train.

Another link to another version of story with the proposed rail map:

https://www.wisn.com/article/group-wants-to-raise-money-for-commuter-rail-from-milwaukee-to-waukesha-counties/25429988

2

The picture used in the first link looks like a file picture of the CTA. Now that I’ve said that, the view from here suggests that the political climate in Wisconsin is not amenable to subsidized suburban rail service at this time.

3

Been that way since 1972. Suburbanites want the train but only if the city pays for almost all of it or the Feds pay for both the construction and operating subsidy. The city won’t pay for it as it sees it as a benefit to Suburbanites primarily. The state will not get involved as it sees the city still fighting with the suburbs. The Feds see the state standing back and the city and suburbs fighting.

That seems to happen everywhere until a critical mass pushes the issue to the formation of an RTA like structure or a funding mechanism that can also be regional instead of just city based.