Great Lakes Basin Transportation now has a deadline to submit an application for its proposed rail line through Rock County. The Federal Surface Transportation Board has given Great Lakes Basin until May 1st or the board will stop the environmental review process. Great Lakes Basin had filed a request for an application extension with the board, which ultimately will decide whether the company can construct the rail line. The company is proposing a 278-mile rail line that would start in Milton, pass between Beloit and Janesville and head south around Chicago into Indiana. This is the third proposed route for the rail line, which is designed to cut transit times by allowing trains to circumvent the congested Chicago area. The project has met with resistance from opponents in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, including local opposition group, Rock Against the Rail.
