In a move which demonstrates that campaign rhetoric has real life consequences, train manufacturer Talgo has announced that it will leave Wisconsin if Gov.-elect Scott Walker follows through on his pledge to kill the proposed high-speed rail line. This exodus could be the first of several similar moves if the train project is ultimately shut down.
Talgo could be gone by 2012
Talgo, which currently employs 40 people in Milwaukee, was hoping to grow their staff to as many as 125 to fulfill the orders that Gov. Jim Doyle and his administration had made in preparation for the rail project. Based out of the Tower Automotive property on Milwaukee’s north side, the company’s move would not be imminent, but might not be too far down the line, either.
The company is currently building two trains for Amtrak’s Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha line and two trains for a rail line in Oregon. Company officials predict that work will keep them in business until the spring of 2012, but once the work is completed, they will look to move on if Milwaukee’s high-speed rail project is shut down.
As published in the Daily Reporter, Nora Friend, Talgo vice president for public affairs and business development, said, “We were hoping to stay in Wisconsin and we were expecting our business to grow. But once the orders for the Oregon trains are done, we would have to shut down the facility. I don’t think that’s what the new governor wants.”
New home for Talgo?
Recruited to Wisconsin to build trains for the state’s high-speed rail line by Doyle in July 2009, Talgo might not be without a home for long. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, sent Talgo a letter last week promising to do all that he could to get them rooted in the state. Illinois, which has taken several pro-active measures in an effort to secure Wisconsin’s high-speed rail funding, has put such rail projects on the top of their priority list.
In response to Quinn’s invitation, Friend, as published in JSOnline, responded, “If Wisconsin is losing its enthusiasm for its rail program and others are not, we could go to Illinois and manufacture world-class trains there. We certainly appreciate Gov. Quinn reaching out to us. We will consider very seriously states that want to grow their rail program.”
Talgo leaving to Illinois might not be the only drama that unfolds, however. In order to lure Talgo to Milwaukee, the city committed over $3 million in renovations to the Tower Automotive plant. If Talgo leaves, the city might pursue legal action to reclaim that money from the state. That sum is 40% of the projected annual operating costs that state taxpayers would be on the hook for if the rail project would commence.
As published in JSOnline, Jodie Tabak, spokeswoman for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who lost to Walker in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race, said, “The mayor is not surprised the governor of Illinois would launch an aggressive effort to recruit Talgo. If we lose the train, we lose jobs.”
Train proponents rally
In response to the threat of Talgo leaving the state, Wisconsin officials and community leaders opposed to Walker’s plan to kill the train rallied at the Tower Automotive manufacturing plant on Nov. 15 to rally support for their cause (please see video). Despite the rally and the outcry from train proponents, Walker does not appear to be budging on this issue. As published in the Badger Herald, John Hiller, spokesman for Walker, stated, “Governor-elect Walker is going to fulfill his campaign promise to stop the construction of the Madison-Milwaukee train line.”
By killing the train project, Walker, at least initially, might make it harder to fulfill his most highly touted campaign promise: to create 250,000 new jobs in Wisconsin during his first term as governor. As published in the Badger Herald, Jay Heck, executive director for Common Cause Wisconsin, noted, “To risk losing all these jobs, it’s going to put [Walker] in a pretty serious hole. On the other hand, he doesn’t want to be labeled a flip-flopper.”
How Walker navigates the choppy waters of this dilemma might very well help chart the course of his four years as governor.
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