One of the most relaxing aspects of my trips to Europe is the ridership on their intra-city metro trains and the intercity and international high-speed trains. The mass movement of people in ways that are more ecologically friendly, in a relaxed friendly environment is a winner in my books any day.
The sweet irony in my last trip was being served crappy food on a major airline I flew to Spain, only to be wined and dined gourmet quality food as I disembarked and boarded a high speed train traveling from Madrid to Cordoba. I could not believe the main course and array of side dishes spread in front of me with as much beverage as I cared to consume. And this was all within the span of the two hour trip, which would be considered a very short distance compared to the distances among US major cities.
The service, the purr of the train snaking and catapulting through the central Spanish landscape and the hassle-free experiences of high speed rails in Europe made me hooked on them, which now turns to be my first preference in a country with such network.
So, you may now relate to those of us who enjoy the cultural offerings of mega cities but hate the traffic clutter and parking nightmare and are excited as it appears that help is on the way. The Obama administration as an integral part of his clean energy stance and boosting economic recovery announced the initiation of high speed train extension across the country; a system analogous to what obtains in most of Europe today and other big industrial centers around the world.
The upper Midwest arm of the federal plan would link up Chicago in Illinois to Minneapolis in Minnesota with Madison and Milwaukee, the major population centers in Wisconsin being integral hubs in the chain. Wisconsin was awarded $823 million in the federal stimulus grant for the Wisconsin portion of the project. Passing through from the south eastern end to the northwestern end of the state, the high speed train will have major stops in Milwaukee, Brookfield, Watertown, Oconomowoc and Madison.. While construction begins this year, the line is scheduled to become operational in 2013.
The Madison stop will be centrally located right downtown in Monona Terrace facing one of our two beautiful downtown lakes, within the city hall mall and a block from the huge state capital domed edifice. The location is also ground zero dividing Madison into east and west on both flanks.
Our Governor, Jim Doyle who just announced the choice of downtown Madison for the rail stop made the point that he settled on this location after balancing cost, ridership and demand. The other three options examined were at the airport, near downtown on the East Side and the Kohl Center on the University of Wisconsin campus.
To alleviate some concerns about parking, the Madison mayor, Dave Cieslewicz confirmed that the city will kick up plans for a 1,200-car parking ramp and bike parking structure. Yes, Madison is indeed a big biking city; bicycles, that is.
While one is not sure yet the exact speed the trains would travel within Wisconsin, but even at the initial estimated speed of 110 miles per hour, trips to the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul to our northwest would be cut down to perhaps less than two hours instead of the current four. Chicago will be an easy breeze of about an hour train ride.
Coincidentally, Wisconsin has awarded Talgo, a Spanish train company a $47 million contract to build the trains that will ply the Wisconsin route. The company in a gesture that would boost the Wisconsin economy announced that they will build the trains at a Wisconsin plant.
The pleasures of train travel allows one to savor the beauty of the vast expanse of the country in which you are traveling and taking in sights that you would otherwise not be able to see. Given the vast distances between cities in America, you are always focused on the road if you were driving without as much casting a glance sideways to magical geographic feature a couple yards away, or the cluster of beautifully decorated houses in a lonesome looking town within eye distance from the railway.
Such beauty that translate to a piece of cultural information met my gaze when my train crossed the state of Castilla La Mancha in central Spain into the state of Andalucia.. It was memorable to see the earth toned colored houses and villages give way to purely white painted houses that clustered into villages or towns and cities. My curiosity about the uniformity and lack of vibrant colors that would express the vibrancy of life in Andalucia was assuaged when I heard that the hottest parts of Spain as temperatures soar in the 90s and beyond, houses where painted white to deflect searing hit from the houses and entire villages. Even within the towns, houses are further crowded to shade the pathways from direct heat bearing rays of the sun.
Well, I look forward to enjoying the serene beauty of western Wisconsin and soaking in the essence of those quaint towns snaking along the Mississippi river valley that was once the fur trading Mecca of the old world in the upper Midwest as I leisurely cruise to the twin cities. This definitely is my own stimulus from the government that is trying to bring us back from the brinks of economic collapse.
One of the most relaxing aspects of my trips to Europe is the ridership on their intra-city metro trains and the intercity and international high-speed trains. The mass movement of people in ways that are more ecologically friendly, in a relaxed friendly environment is a winner in my books any day.
The sweet irony in my last trip was being served crappy food on a major airline I flew to Spain, only to be wined and dined gourmet quality food as I disembarked and boarded a high speed train traveling from Madrid to Cordoba. I could not believe the main course and array of side dishes spread in front of me with as much beverage as I cared to consume. And this was all within the span of the two hour trip, which would be considered a very short distance compared to the distances among US major cities.
The service, the purr of the train snaking and catapulting through the central Spanish landscape and the hassle-free experiences of high speed rails in Europe made me hooked on them, which now turns to be my first preference in a country with such network.
So, you may now relate to those of us who enjoy the cultural offerings of mega cities but hate the traffic clutter and parking nightmare and are excited as it appears that help is on the way. The Obama administration as an integral part of his clean energy stance and boosting economic recovery announced the initiation of high speed train extension across the country; a system analogous to what obtains in most of Europe today and other big industrial centers around the world.
The upper Midwest arm of the federal plan would link up Chicago in Illinois to Minneapolis in Minnesota with Madison and Milwaukee, the major population centers in Wisconsin being integral hubs in the chain. Wisconsin was awarded $823 million in the federal stimulus grant for the Wisconsin portion of the project. Passing through from the south eastern end to the northwestern end of the state, the high speed train will have major stops in Milwaukee, Brookfield, Watertown, Oconomowoc and Madison.. While construction begins this year, the line is scheduled to become operational in 2013.
The Madison stop will be centrally located right downtown in Monona Terrace facing one of our two beautiful downtown lakes, within the city hall mall and a block from the huge state capital domed edifice. The location is also ground zero dividing Madison into east and west on both flanks.
Our Governor, Jim Doyle who just announced the choice of downtown Madison for the rail stop made the point that he settled on this location after balancing cost, ridership and demand. The other three options examined were at the airport, near downtown on the East Side and the Kohl Center on the University of Wisconsin campus.
To alleviate some concerns about parking, the Madison mayor, Dave Cieslewicz confirmed that the city will kick up plans for a 1,200-car parking ramp and bike parking structure. Yes, Madison is indeed a big biking city; bicycles, that is.
While one is not sure yet the exact speed the trains would travel within Wisconsin, but even at the initial estimated speed of 110 miles per hour, trips to the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul to our northwest would be cut down to perhaps less than two hours instead of the current four. Chicago will be an easy breeze of about an hour train ride.
Coincidentally, Wisconsin has awarded Talgo, a Spanish train company a $47 million contract to build the trains that will ply the Wisconsin route. The company in a gesture that would boost the Wisconsin economy announced that they will build the trains at a Wisconsin plant.
The pleasures of train travel allows one to savor the beauty of the vast expanse of the country in which you are traveling and taking in sights that you would otherwise not be able to see. Given the vast distances between cities in America, you are always focused on the road if you were driving without as much casting a glance sideways to magical geographic feature a couple yards away, or the cluster of beautifully decorated houses in a lonesome looking town within eye distance from the railway.
Such beauty that translate to a piece of cultural information met my gaze when my train crossed the state of Castilla La Mancha in central Spain into the state of Andalucia.. It was memorable to see the earth toned colored houses and villages give way to purely white painted houses that clustered into villages or towns and cities. My curiosity about the uniformity and lack of vibrant colors that would express the vibrancy of life in Andalucia was assuaged when I heard that the hottest parts of Spain as temperatures soar in the 90s and beyond, houses where painted white to deflect searing hit from the houses and entire villages. Even within the towns, houses are further crowded to shade the pathways from direct heat bearing rays of the sun.
Well, I look forward to enjoying the serene beauty of western Wisconsin and soaking in the essence of those quaint towns snaking along the Mississippi river valley that was once the fur trading Mecca of the old world in the upper Midwest as I leisurely cruise to the twin cities. This definitely is my own stimulus from the government that is trying to bring us back from the brinks of economic collapse.
