Far right wing Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker got sued after he cancelled orders and refused federal money to build a rail line with Talgo trains in the USA. In Canada, VIA RAIL service compared to Uzbekistan passenger rail is embarrassing. So here is more news to make our situation even more depressing as Uzbekistan buys additional Talgo high speed trains. http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/rolling-stock/uzbekistan-railways-orders-more-talgo-250-trains.html?device=auto

DETROIT NEWS - Lawmakers who questioned a one-bid contract awarded to a Spanish firm for “next-generation” passenger cars now are willing to let the deal proceed, said Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John Pappageorge, R-Troy. The investigation, and a longer than anticipated evaluation process, delayed purchase of the passenger cars with modern amenities. The $58 million for Michigan’s two train sets is to come from $200 million in federal funds for Amtrak improvements in Michigan and other states, mostly in the Midwest. The move to the faster trains is expected to give a boost to the Detroit-Chicago route, where ridership steadily has been building back toward a 20-year peak of nearly 504,000 passengers in 2010. Down the road, the state will use additional federal money for more “next-generation” passenger car and engine sets, said Michigan Department of Transportation railroad chief Tim Hoeffner. The state will own the cars and the Michigan rails on the Detroit-Chicago ...

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/talgo-set-to-move-idled-high-speed-trains-to-indiana-storage-facility-b99270470z1-259278631.html Talgo, the Spanish train manufacturer that's abandoning its Milwaukee headquarters, is about to transport its two high-speed trains from the city's north side to an Amtrak maintenance facility in Indiana to save on storage costs. The exact date of the move is still being coordinated, Talgo spokeswoman Nora Friend said. The company is paying for the move and the storage. The destination, the Beech Grove Shops in Beech Grove, Ind., is Amtrak's primary heavy maintenance and overhaul facility. The train sets have been idling at a factory in the Century City development on the north side of Milwaukee, an arrangement that brought $29,000 a month in rent to the city. Friend didn't say how much Amtrak was charging for storage. The trains were originally commissioned in 2009 by Wisconsin for its Hiawatha passenger service between Chicago...

Well there is a lot of similarities between the Republicans refusing of money to reinvest in passenger rail and the Harper governments slow kill of passenger rail in Canada. This article is a good summary of the ridiculous attitude of the Republican politicians south of our border towards improving passenger rail. Republican governors’ rejection of funding frustrates efforts in key regions of the country. By Juliet Eilperin The Washington Post MILWAUKEE — The gleaming red-and-white trains sit motionless in a cavernous warehouse in Century City, an industrial neighborhood that cranked out 100 million car and truck frames in its heyday. The seats are draped in plastic; an electronic screen on one reads, “Quiet Car. 11:10 a.m. 000 MPH.” President Barack Obama once hoped that these high-speed trains would be transporting passengers from Milwaukee to Madison, Wis., part of a broader system crisscrossing the Midwest and the nation. But Wisconsin’s Republican governor, Scott Walker, re...