The purchase of two new trains was rushed through the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) last week. The committee's final approval of the deal will cost taxpayers $47.5 million for the purchase of two trains from a Spanish-based company to operate on Amtrak's Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha line. However, there was one major problem with the deal: It did not undergo the competitive bid process.
The new trains were purchased from Patentes Talgo of Madrid at the request of Governor Doyle. They will be put into service on the existing Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha route, which recently reported a decline in ridership of 3.8 percent so far this year. The governor also has expressed interest in using the new trains on a hypothetical high-speed rail line that would run from Minneapolis to Chicago. It is estimated that connecting Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago alone would cost up to $600 million.
Regardless of how you feel about expanding train service in our state, I believe we all can agree the project should have been bid out to save taxpayer dollars.
It recently was discovered that at least three other train companies had expressed interest in bidding: Alstom in France, Bombardier in Montreal, and Nippon Sharyo out of Japan. In fact, Nippon Sharyo already is utilizing the Super Steel Plant in Wisconsin to build trains for two existing contracts.
Uncovered e-mails from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) showed that in February the state was seeking competitive bids for the project. In the same month, Governor Doyle traveled to Spain on a trip paid for by the Spanish government. Later, the DOT reversed its decision to allow a competitive bidding process, citing a 12-year-old law which exempts state passenger rail from normal bidding rules.
While technically legal, I do not agree with Governor Doyle's decision to not allow a competitive bidding process. The state budget already is operating at a $2 billion structural deficit, and government must learn to operate more efficiently. The DOT claims taxpayers "got a good deal," but that is impossible to know unless we were able to compare the bids of other interested companies. In the future, I strongly believe the state must competitively bid out projects, especially when millions in spending are at stake, to ensure taxpayer dollars are not wasted.
I want to hear from you, so please feel welcome to express your thoughts or let me know if I can be helpful to you in any way by calling (888) 534-0080, e-mailing me at Rep.Davis@legis.wi.gov or by writing or stopping by 11 West, State Capitol, Madison, WI 53708.
- Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, serves the 80th Assembly District, which includes all of Green County and parts of Lafayette, Rock and Dane counties.
The new trains were purchased from Patentes Talgo of Madrid at the request of Governor Doyle. They will be put into service on the existing Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha route, which recently reported a decline in ridership of 3.8 percent so far this year. The governor also has expressed interest in using the new trains on a hypothetical high-speed rail line that would run from Minneapolis to Chicago. It is estimated that connecting Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago alone would cost up to $600 million.
Regardless of how you feel about expanding train service in our state, I believe we all can agree the project should have been bid out to save taxpayer dollars.
It recently was discovered that at least three other train companies had expressed interest in bidding: Alstom in France, Bombardier in Montreal, and Nippon Sharyo out of Japan. In fact, Nippon Sharyo already is utilizing the Super Steel Plant in Wisconsin to build trains for two existing contracts.
Uncovered e-mails from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) showed that in February the state was seeking competitive bids for the project. In the same month, Governor Doyle traveled to Spain on a trip paid for by the Spanish government. Later, the DOT reversed its decision to allow a competitive bidding process, citing a 12-year-old law which exempts state passenger rail from normal bidding rules.
While technically legal, I do not agree with Governor Doyle's decision to not allow a competitive bidding process. The state budget already is operating at a $2 billion structural deficit, and government must learn to operate more efficiently. The DOT claims taxpayers "got a good deal," but that is impossible to know unless we were able to compare the bids of other interested companies. In the future, I strongly believe the state must competitively bid out projects, especially when millions in spending are at stake, to ensure taxpayer dollars are not wasted.
I want to hear from you, so please feel welcome to express your thoughts or let me know if I can be helpful to you in any way by calling (888) 534-0080, e-mailing me at Rep.Davis@legis.wi.gov or by writing or stopping by 11 West, State Capitol, Madison, WI 53708.
- Rep. Brett Davis, R-Oregon, serves the 80th Assembly District, which includes all of Green County and parts of Lafayette, Rock and Dane counties.
