Spanish high-speed rail company closing its Wisconsin manufacturing operation

[marmar]

via MassTransitMag:



Talgo pulling out of Wisconsin in 2012

Larry Sandler
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel


WISCONSIN - Talgo Inc. will shut down its Milwaukee train manufacturing operations in 2012, leaving only a maintenance base, because plans for a high-speed rail line between Milwaukee and Madison have been abandoned, the company announced Friday. The Spanish-owned company acted after the federal government withdrew nearly all of the $810 million in stimulus funding for the rail project, which Governor-elect Scott Walker had vowed to kill. Talgo had hoped to land contracts to build two trains for that line.

Talgo is in the process of hiring 125 workers to build two trains for Amtrak's existing Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha line and two trains for Oregon. Those contracts will keep the company's north side plant open through the spring of 2012, said Nora Friend, a Talgo vice president.

The company will keep a maintenance base in Milwaukee to service the two Hia- watha trains after manufacturing ends, Friend said. "In our view, this is even more tragic for the state of Wisconsin than it is for Talgo," Friend said in a written statement. "This is the rejection of creation of direct and indirect jobs, of added tourism, of the increase in state income taxes with permanent employment andlost opportunities (from) the establishment and growth of the vendor supplychain, among many other benefits." State projections show rail-related employment would have peaked at 4, 732 jobs in 2012, counting those in direct construction, at supply companies and in government. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.masstransitmag.com/web/online/Top-Transit-News/Talgo-pulling-out-of-Wisconsin-in-2012-/3$13180

[SpiralHawk]

1. Typical Republicon FAIL

Thanks a pantload Scott Walker - Republicon FAIL artiste.

[NV Whino]

2. Nice move, Scott

How many jobs did that lose your state.

[DirkGently]

3. Has the Republican position simply become preventing anything remotely good from ocurring?

[phleshdef]

4. I dunno, but they act like high speed rail is sinful or something.

[Ikonoklast]

7. Big Oil hates any form of public transport.

They want to keep this country addicted to oil, so they can bleed it dry.


Until Big Oil is made impotent, we will suffer wars and a lower standard of living.




And the single biggest user of refined petroleum products on Earth is the US DoD.

Generals need oil to keep the machines running; Big Oil needs the generals to kill people so we can take their oil.

[Ron Green]

9. That's it in a nutshell.

You ought to create a simple little graphic to illustrate what you just wrote.

[hatrack]

18. Don't forget - trains are for socialist Free-dumb haters . . .

'Murcans drive big-ass SUVs and trucks - and don't you forget it!!!

:eyes:

[Old and In the Way]

19. Unless it's their idea (and OK with their corporate benefactors),

the answer is absolutely yes. Republicans won't be happy until they get us back to the good old days of the Pony Express.

[LiberalFighter]

5. Government is not the problem. Republicans are the problem!!

[Greybnk48]

6. Milwaukee to Madison was only the first leg. We were

going to add a route to Minneapolis as well, eliminating one of the most tedious drives out there. The job loss is devastating in this economy, among other things. But I'm also mourning the loss of this convenience.

IMO: This loss is temporary--a delay. We will get high speed rail because it is the future. What a shame we had a small group of corporate sponsored douche bags come in at this time and delay the start of this in Wisconsin. But it will happen. No doubt in my mind.

[geardaddy]

13. I would love to have a MPLS-St. Paul to Madison line

We've had our own struggles here with light rail and a commuter line, but we've at least got one line each and planning a light rail line between the two Twin Cities (finally!).

[Botany]

8. they are committed to the destruction of America's middle class

:grr:

Remember that great liberal Dwight David Eisenhower and his socialist interstate highway program?

[Tatiana]

10. Republican rule is going to decimate the midwest.

This may be helpful to our cause in 2012, but for now, the effects are going to be devastating. Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan... thank God we barely squeaked out Quinn's governorship in Illinois. These idiots are costing thousands of good jobs and easier, faster, cheaper transit.

It's clear these Republicans don't care about anyone except themselves and the corporate masters that own them.

[geardaddy]

11. Thank God we got Mark Dayton in as gov

here in MN, but we lost the house and senate to the teabaggers so it's pretty much a wash.

[marmar]

12. Snyder, the Michigan governor-elect, is actually a transit booster.....

..... as strange as that seems.

[Tatiana]

14. Very strange.

Of course, I don't know that Detroit Public Schools are welcoming him or his potential extension of Bobb's control over schools. That said, I suppose he could be worse.

[SocialistLez]

15. The people in WI have themselves to blame...

I do feel bad for the workers and their families.

People in WI who voted for their Republican gov knew exactly what was going to go down if they voted for him.

[FarCenter]

16. The Amtrak Empire Builder from Chicago to Mpls/StPaul via Milwaukee doesn't seem very successful

And there is not any bus or shuttle service between its stop at Columbus WI and Madison.

Why would a train between Milwaukee and Mpls/StPaul via Madison be successful?

The Madison - Milwaukee segment would have a hard time beating the competing bus services on door-to-door time, cost and convenience.

[Ron Green]

17. Because it runs once a day, that's why. It needs to run once an hour.

[FarCenter]

20. Badger Bus only runs 7 times a day between Madison and Milwaukee

Is there demand enough for an hourly train?

http://www.badgerbus.com/ ticket prices are less than $20 one way.

[Phlunk]

21. The train was going to be $60 one way

I think more people would have still taken the bus than the train. By the time the train made it's stops the time difference between the two would have been pretty negligible and the bus is a lot less money.