They may not agree on which route should be chosen for the planned Madison-St. Paul High Speed Rail Line, but business groups advocating for the Eau Claire and La Crosse routes say they support continued state investment in passenger rail. This includes completion of the planned Milwaukee to Madison line, as well as increased frequency on current routes and additional local corridor opportunities.

In a joint statement, the groups are calling on candidates running for the State Legislature, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and Governor to pledge support for passenger rail as critical to the economic future of the region and state.

Representatives of the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition (WCWRC) and the Empire Builder High Speed Rail Coalition met Friday, May 7th in Arcadia in an effort to focus attention on passenger rail, and eventually high speed rail, being a necessary addition to the travel choices available for business and leisure.

Scott Rogers, facilitator of the WCWRC said, "We want people who seek to govern next year at the state and federal level to know that there is a significant constituency in the business community and beyond that calls for adding high speed train travel as a transportation choice as well as an economic development tool. We believe high speed rail will be to the 21st Century economy what the interstate highway system was in the latter half of the 20th Century."

The West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition has been promoting a route running through Black River Falls, Eau Claire, Menomonie and Hudson to St. Paul as the preferred route. The group is a sub-committee of Momentum West. The Empire Builder Coalition, the Minnesota High Speed Rail Commission and OnBoard Midwest-have been promoting the "Empire Builder" route, also known as the "river route", as the preferred route. The route selection has been assigned to a study process that is likely to be completed in 2011.

For more information, visit The West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition.