High-speed rail

Rep. John Mica (R-FL) was confirmed today as the next Chair of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.

Republican Governor-Elect Scott Walker’s decision to kill the Milwaukee-to-Madison high speed rail line is based on bad data and old numbers, according to a story in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Walker said in his campaign that Wisconsin can’t afford to pay $7.5 million a year to operate the rail line so he’s promised to kill the project, despite the fact that federal money would cover the $810 million construction costs.

The top Republican currently on the Appropriations Committee wants to take back stimulus funds promised to states and localities for much-needed infrastructure programs, including more than $6 billion in transportation funding. High-speed rail projects would take an especially big hit under the plan.

Wisconsin Governor-Elect Scott Walker has pledged to kill the planned high speed rail line between Milwaukee and Madison. If current Governor Jim Doyle doesn’t beat him to it.

Dear Governor-Elect Kasich,

We're keeping the news coming on the governor’s races we're following most closely. Check out our previous coverage of Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Texas, Maryland, Colorado, and Tennessee. This one could be the most important yet.

Here's another installment of our series on key governor’s races. Here's the news from Wisconsin and Ohio. Check out our previous coverage of California, Texas, Maryland, Colorado, and Tennessee. Let them serve as a reminder to vote on Tuesday.

Continuing with our series on key governor’s races, here’s some news on the contest in California. We’ve taken a look at some races in Maryland and Colorado where pro-transit, pro-bike candidates are likely to win. We examined the nuances of a candidate in Tennessee who’s a mixed bag on transportation issues. And yesterday we brought you the bad news that Rick Perry of Trans-Texas Corridor fame was driving a Hummer to victory in that state. That was sort of a bummer, so let’s get back to good news.

Last week I mentioned I was about to take Amtrak from DC to New York. Well, it cost over $200 (and there was nothing particularly "high speed" about that rail experience).