While freight rail service is somewhat limited in Walworth County, a transit commission is working to make sure the potential of rail doesn't fall by the wayside. In fact, Hennerley thinks increased service is inevitable. The recent removal of the rail line between Elkhorn and Burlington was a mistake, Hennerley said. Efforts have focused on making the defunct rail corridor a trail. The Canadian Pacific railroad used to have a major presence in Burlington, offered access to Walworth County from the east, Hennerley said.
Trains now serve the county from the west only.
There was plenty of room for both, but now, in the long-term, Walworth County has lost an opportunity to benefit. Rail doesn't have a large constituency in America. Sure, Amtrak uses private rails for public transportation, but people see railroads as private companies. And when they fall on hard times, people start wondering what we can do to use the line as soon as possible for as many people as possible. We're missing the big picture of the importance of rail in both the freight and passenger sectors.