Deal may make Janesville a site to build trains
Janesville has a foot in the door in a deal that will bring 80 jobs to Wisconsin, but so does Milwaukee.
Wisconsin has agreed to a $47 million deal with Spanish train manufacturer Talgo for two 14-car passenger "train sets" to be built in Wisconsin. The trains would replace aging trains now running between Milwaukee and Chicago.
Gov. Jim Doyle made the announcement with Talgo officials Friday in Madison.
Rep. Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville, confirmed Friday that Talgo has looked in Janesville for a possible manufacturing building.
"We're aggressively going after that thing for Rock County," Sheridan said.
The vacant General Motors plant is probably not in the mix, but the former LSI building, with more than 700,000 square feet and rail access, is, Sheridan said. LSI supplied the GM plant.
"The locations of the assembly and maintenance facilities have not yet been determined but are likely to be in south-central or southeastern Wisconsin," according to the governor's statement. "Together, the assembly and maintenance facilities are expected to create about 80 jobs for Wisconsin workers … "
Antonio Perez, CEO and president of Talgo's U.S. operations, said during the announcement in Madison that he visited the GM plant in Janesville and said the factory has "potential," but the company doesn't expect to make a decision for six to nine months.
State officials hope to have the Talgo cars in service by 2011.
The deal provides for two additional train sets if the state secures federal stimulus funding to extend passenger rail service from Milwaukee to Madison.
Perez said the facility could become a regional assembly and maintenance hub as Talgo expands to other Midwestern states, creating more jobs.
Sheridan said he has been in touch with the governor on the deal, and he is arranging to talk to Talgo officials. He believes he will be able to do that next week.
Brad Dutcher, district representative for the international UAW and former president of UAW Local 95 in Janesville, recently talked with Talgo officials in Washington state, Sheridan said.
Talgo services Amtrak Cascades trains in Seattle.
Sheridan said Janesville has a lot to offer, including a Development Opportunity Zone that was part of the recently passed state budget. Janesville was to be the only place in Wisconsin to get a DOZ, but the final budget deal also assigned one to Kenosha, Sheridan said.
Sheridan said the experience of putting together an incentive offer that GM ultimately rejected will help Janesville sell itself to Talgo.
"There are a number of incentives, not to mention the great workers we have here, the large pool of workers that are ready to hit the ground running," Sheridan said.
Sheridan cautioned that Janesville might not succeed in attracting the train plant, and he said Janesville needs to continue to diversify its employer base.
"We're going to go through this process a number of times, I suspect, in the future, and we're going to win some, and we're going to lose some," Sheridan said.
Sheridan said this deal has been in the making at least since Doyle visited Spain in February.
Talgo cars are made of aluminum alloy with welded seams to form a frame that makes them lighter weight and stronger than traditional rail cars, according to Doyle's statement. The cars use a technology that allows them to tilt in curves and to ride smoother at higher speed for a more comfortable ride.
The aluminum alloy frames will be made in Spain and then shipped to Wisconsin for assembly. Talgo will work with vendors in Wisconsin and elsewhere in the Untied States to supply parts for outfitting the trains, Doyle said.
The trains will be put into service on the Amtrak Hiawatha line with the cars pulled by existing locomotives, Doyle said. Each train set provides a seating capacity of 420, compared to the current capacity of 350.
The Amtrak Hiawatha provides daily trips between Chicago and Milwaukee. Ridership was more than 766,000 in 2008, a 24 percent increase over 2007.
Wisconsin and Illinois pay for the Amtrak line between Milwaukee and Chicago. Last year, the two states paid about $7 million to run it.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.
Jul 22, 2009 at 9:22 a.m.
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Whine, whine, whine.
All you complain about the jobs lost in this county and then a story that talks about bringing 80 jobs to Rock County and there are people still whining. Short term or not it is a JOB. Quit whining and be thankful that this is at least positive news.
Jul 22, 2009 at 12:14 a.m.
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Just want to point out that the $7 million dollars for 766,000 rides that Illinois and Wisconsin taxpayers paid for the Milwaukee to Chicago train last year, comes out to $9.10 per ride! That's on top of whatever the fare is. And this is a good thing??
Jul 20, 2009 at 9:02 p.m.
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ggatr1 - it's the short sighted, pollyanish thinking of those that took the 5 year adjustable rate mortgages that led to our current foreclosure disaster. Learn to see the long term consequences of events today. Translation, with projects like this focus on trains, the state is taking on millions more in ongoing maintenance that will lead our state (or country) to a California style bankruptcy.
Jul 20, 2009 at 8:56 p.m.
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frusion, "could" - learn to recognize political rhetoric when you read it. Kind of like the bike trail "could" create new jobs.
Jul 20, 2009 at 8:54 p.m.
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kuznacic - roads are paid for with the state and federal gas taxes.
Jul 20, 2009 at 2:27 p.m.
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Could we not find a company from america to build these trains , just more of our money leaveing this country. sad
Jul 20, 2009 at 2:26 p.m.
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lovemycountry, am I misreading this?: "Perez said the facility could become a regional assembly and maintenance hub as Talgo expands to other Midwestern states, creating more jobs."
Jul 20, 2009 at 1:48 p.m.
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love my country, Thanks for not disappointing me. There always has to be one who fails to see any positive.
Jul 20, 2009 at 1:46 p.m.
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It would be unrealistic to expect new jobs to land here in large numbers, biggirl. I would bet that that is not happening anywhere these days. Most people without work would be thrilled to see this project land in Janesville.
Jul 20, 2009 at 1:43 p.m.
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lovemycountry,
I find it interesting that you don't include our publicly funded roads/highways/interstates as a "money losing taxpayer subsidized service."
Jul 20, 2009 at 1:30 p.m.
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These aren't long term jobs. They will last about a year. (from the time the assembly starts sometime next year to the time they are completed by 2011.)
Jul 20, 2009 at 1:20 p.m.
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I personally think this could be more productive than the Dean facility in terms of decent paying jobs for the regular Janesville resident. It will be interesting to see how long the lines are to apply if it comes here. I'd bet a few thousand applicants.
Jul 20, 2009 at 1:04 p.m.
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Why would they build & maintain the Trains in Janesville that will be running between Milwaukee and Chicago to replace the older Hiwatha trains?? Makes more sense to build and maintain near Milwaukee.
Jul 20, 2009 at 12:01 p.m.
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80 jobs is better than no jobs. Anything that can be done to bring any jobs to the area is a positive thing. I have been looking for work for quite some time and am sick of getting the you are overqualified. Do I need to dummy myself up just to get a job. We need more tech jobs that will bring us into the future, but those train jobs are money in the bank just the same.
Jul 20, 2009 at noon
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It might be only 80 jobs; however that is 80 families that don’t leave the area. That is 80 families spending their money in Janesville, which will help make a small impact and keep money flowing in the community. And if they do decide to locate here they can use a local architecture firm and local contractors. That will help keep more people spending money and employed. They would be paying utilities and taxes into the local economy. Even if it is not very many jobs does not mean that it is not worth fighting for, they could have a positive impact on the local economy. And we need every positive impact on this community that we can get, big or small.
Jul 20, 2009 at 11:28 a.m.
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biggirl- I agree. It's a great thing, but won't do much in the way of new jobs for our area unless it can attract more new businesses to the area.
Jul 20, 2009 at 10:53 a.m.
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A train that connects Milwaukee/Madison to Chicago and Minneopolis would be a boon to Wisconsin. It would encourage more businesses to settle here, and it would encourage more exchange between the areas. This is long overdue. The job angle, however, is meaningless, as it is only 80 jobs.
Jul 20, 2009 at 9:57 a.m.
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someone please build that train, and give that governor a first class ticket out of this state,i think hes done enough for the state of wisconsin.promises,promises,promises. thats all we hear.i know my comment may not have anything to do with the story,and i apologize.but him and those trains are about to run on my last track.
Jul 20, 2009 at 9:40 a.m.
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Interesting how they don't mention the train line is still a money losing taxpayer subsidized service.
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