Capitol Report: By State Representative Mark Pocan

Wisconsin and Southern - A Poor Corporate Neighbor:

As many of you are aware Wisconsin and Southern Railroad has had some high profile battles with the city and state over the past few months. In response to these difficulties I, along with several of my Madison area colleagues, wrote to the Secretary of the Department of Transportation asking for an investigation into W&S business practices. Below is a copy of the letter we sent to the Department of Transportation. As of the date of writing this article no specific investigation has been announced by the DOT.

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Dear Secretary Mulcahy:

We are writing today to make an official request that the Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission, conduct an investigation into the actions of the Wisconsin and Southern (W&S) Railroad and consider removing them as the contract operator for primary service in the region that serves Madison and the surrounding area. Below is a copy of the letter we sent. At the time of the writing of the article the DOT has not determined if any hearings will held.

As you may be aware, W&S has had a number of high-profile battles with local communities over railroad issues. However, instead of trying to deal with them in a professional and positive manner, the company has thrown insults and quips to the press about the local units of government, their officials and the general public.

The recent battles they have engaged in, include, but are not limited to: canceling service with the Middleton Tourism Commission; refusing to discuss the use of train whistles in the City of Madison; refusing to consider moving rail road track in an area of a new proposed park in Madison; and most recently, refusing to move over 60 abandoned rail cars in Madison, Fitchburg and the Town of Madison.

With numerous changes being planned for the rail system in and around Madison and Dane County (high speed, light and/or commuter rail) it is imperative that we have a rail provider that is capable of working in a professional and cooperative manner with citizens and local units of government.

It appears that based on past performance, W&S has given us questionable confidence that they are able to provide trustworthy and professional service in future rail endeavors. Therefore, we ask the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to conduct an investigation into the recent actions of W&S and consider terminating their contract as operator for primary service in the region.

State Representatives: Mark Pocan, Mark Miller, Terese Berceau, David Travis and State Senator Chuck Chvala

If you favor an investigation into W&S please feel free to contact the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission, call Kenneth Lucht at 608-342-1214.

I will be certain to keep you up to date on any further developments relating to this issue. As always, you can reach me at (phone) 266-8570, (e-mail) mark.pocan@legis.state.wi.us or you may write to P.O. Box 8953 Madison, WI 53708.

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