What is the current status of the high-speed rail project?
The Minnesota High-Speed Rail Commission is working with state and federal policymakers to finalize the preferred route and the allocation of funds to start rail upgrades. The first phase of the route is upgrading the existing rail between Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison. In addition to requesting $990.3 million for these upgrades, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has asked the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to complete its study on the best route for high-speed rail service between Madison and the Twin Cities by January 2011. In Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) has asked the Obama Administration for $600,000 in funding from the American Recovery and Investment Act to study the best route between Madison and the Twin Cities. In its recently-released draft rail plan for the state, MNDOT included the River Route as the most viable and shovel-ready high-speed passenger rail route connecting the Twin Cities to Chicago.
