Guest Column: Eurostar offers a glimpse at why Wisconsin needs intercity rail

The train starts to pick up speed, almost imperceptibly, and within 20 minutes the Eurostar high-speed train has left Paris behind, quietly slicing through the French countryside at 185 miles per hour on its way to London. Just over two hours later, the five-football-field-long train - one of 20 trains that day - deposits 500 passengers at the St. Pancras International station in central London. The high-speed Eurostar announced last year it has now transported more than 100 million passengers.