A handful of students made a train and shouted at the top of their lungs.
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Devin Tresize of WISPIRG speaks about high speed rail at the La Crosse Train Station.
Erik Daily
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“What do we want?”
“High-speed rail!”
“When do we want it?”
“Now!”
Wearing
cardboard boxes resembling train compartments and carrying hand-made
advocacy signs, 14 college students from across Wisconsin gathered with
community leaders and citizens Thursday afternoon at the Amtrak depot
on St. Andrews Street.
“Our goal today is simple,” said Devin
Tresize of the Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group. “We’re
here to demonstrate the wide-spread student support and enthusiasm for
high-speed rail.”
As many as 40 students joined WISPIRG
on a four-day, 10-stop tour along the proposed high-speed rail system
line from Green Bay to Milwaukee, Madison and ending in La Crosse.
Bruce
Speight, WISPIRG director, said the state Department of Transportation
is applying for almost $600 million of stimulus money for the proposed
high-speed rail line.
“This is for business travel,” Speight
said. “It’s providing an alternative to driving or flying. It is, per
passenger, less energy-intensive.”
It also has the support of La Crosse Mayor Matt Harter, who sees the line as a solution to increasing transportation demands.
“It
looks like it is going to be a shining success story,” Harter said. “I
have no doubt about that. We’re gonna get a rail in here and it’s gonna
help out.”
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow said he’s an enthusiastic supporter of the plan.
“When I heard WISPIRG was behind this, I said, ‘This is going to go places,’” Gow said.
