Governor Scott Walker announced the state has finalized the purchase a 70-mile segment of rail line between Madison to Reedsburg and Madison to Cottage Grove. In a release from the Wisconsin Department of Transporation, the DOT signed an acquisition agreement for the purchase of the Madison to Reedsburg and Cottage Grove rail corridor from the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) earlier this year. The $30 million purchase was made jointly with the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission (WRRTC) with funds from the Freight Rail Preservation Program which provides grants to local units of government, industries, and railroads for the purpose of preserving and rehabilitating essential rail lines. Service on the line will continue to be provided by the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WSOR) under lease with the WRRTC. In 2013, WSOR transported 5,070 cars on the Madison to Reedsburg and Cottage Grove line, serving 23 customers. Commodities transported include grain, chemicals, polymers, paper, food products, lumber, aggregate and metal. From 2007 to 2030, overall freight rail tonnage shipped in Wisconsin is forecast to grow 16 percent. Annually, railroads move 33 percent, or about 180 million tons, of Wisconsin’s total freight by weight. For more information, contact Frank Huntington of WisDOT Bureau of Transit, Local Roads, Rails and Harbors at 608-267-3710.
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