Transportation

GOP votes against train repair base, wastes $71.8 million

I’m beginning to wonder if Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature have forgotten that they promised to create jobs, not send them fleeing the state… “Over the objections of Gov. Scott Walker’s administration, a key legislative committee voted Wednesday against building a new train maintenance base – a decision that officials warned could mean mothballing two brand-new trains and walking away from the $71.8 million already invested in them.

The Volt, running on empty

A circular firing squad seems to be forming around the Chevrolet Volt, Chevy’s mostly coal-powered car, according to Bloomberg through Autoweek: “Ever since it became known that the plug-in hybrid car’s batteries had burst into flames after government crash tests, the Volt has become the whipping boy of Republican politicians. Conservatives have equated General Motors Co.’s Volt with everything from government bailouts to radical left-wing environmentalism.

The governor's train drain

There are lots of nice things you could say about Gov. Scott Walker. He appears reasonably well groomed. He recognizes one employee at a time, which is infinitely more intimate and far less crass than recognizing them all. He converts oxygen to carbon dioxide expertly, which is a tremendous boon to our state's algae and the invasive species that rely on it. (Okay, everyone does that, so my mentioning it may just be uncalled-for snarkiness on my part – still, I'd like to think that the breath of Democrats nourishes only lilacs, sunflowers, and nutritious whole grains specially grown for needy Third World schoolchildren.)

Will Buses Lose Out to New Rail Lines?

What will become of the bus if and when plans for commuter and high-speed rail come to fruition? The operators of local business companies don't appear too fazed.

Author Randal O'Toole is probably Mayor Dave's worst nightmare.">Cato Institute's O'Toole Calls High-Speed Rail "the Next Boondoggle"
Author Randal O'Toole is probably Mayor Dave's worst nightmare.

The title of his new book, Gridlock: Why We're Stuck In Traffic And What To Do About It, would suggest simpatico with the Mayor's rail advocacy, but it's actually a critique of various forms of transportation, including commuter and high-speed rail. Suffice to say, he doesn't come down on the same side as the pro-rail Mayor of Madison and Governor of Wisconsin.

Author Randal O'Toole is probably Mayor Dave's worst nightmare.">Cato Institute's O'Toole Calls High-Speed Rail "the Next Boondoggle"
Author Randal O'Toole is probably Mayor Dave's worst nightmare.

The title of his new book, Gridlock: Why We're Stuck In Traffic And What To Do About It, would suggest simpatico with the Mayor's rail advocacy, but it's actually a critique of various forms of transportation, including commuter and high-speed rail. Suffice to say, he doesn't come down on the same side as the pro-rail Mayor of Madison and Governor of Wisconsin.

Placing Bets on Intermodal Rail

Talking with Rodney Kreunen, Wisconsin Railroad Commissioner-Emeritus, one wonders if he ever got the moniker "Rapid Rodney?"

The Madison-based ferroequinologist, which is a fancy term for railroad enthusiast, can quickly tick off the merits of intermodal rail when high-speed rail (between cities) and commuter rail have yet to be fully developed in Wisconsin.

Feeling Used: Thorstad Transition Presents Business Challenges

There still is a sliver of a chance that Thorstad Chevrolet will remain a General Motors dealer, but the company is realistically proceeding with plans to sell used cars when its GM contract expires in 2010. That sliver of hope comes in the form of Congressional legislation that would prevent the shutdown of thousands of dealerships nationwide, which has brought GM to the table to work out a compromise on dealer closings.

Bus Charters with a Cause: A company where cancer is a shared experience, not a barrier.

It was Kevin Patrick’s lucky day.

Recently, while waiting at a Madison park-and-ride planning to hop a Van Galder Bus to O’Hare Airport for a business trip, a Midwestern Bus Lines bus pulled up to the landing. The door opened. A young man stepped out, “Who’s heading to O’Hare?” he asked, and Patrick raised his hand. “We can take you for $25 cash, and we’re not stopping in Janesville,” he said.

Start-Up Company: Key Auto, LLC

Key Auto is a chance Noel Keene needed to take — and took in July 2008, when he entered the buy-here/pay-here system of directly financing vehicles to people with negative or nonexistent credit.

The Freight Train Engineer

On a snowy January morning with below-zero wind chills, Wisconsin & Southern locomotive engineer Robert Hasheider (27) scans a bulletin board for updates, instructions and advisories. It is 5 a.m., and though this one-way trip from Madison to Janesville is a familiar one, the morning's extreme cold and heavy snowfall necessitate extra precautions. "The train is affected by cold weather every minute," he explains, "and everything takes longer." Air brakes, for example, must be adjusted on each car because poor conditions can seriously impair a train's ability to stop. "The number one thing, is safety," he says.

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