"That train is dead," announced Republican John Kasich at his first press conference as Ohio's governor-elect. "I said it during the campaign: It is dead. We are not gonna have it." Kasich has said he will reject $400 million in federal funds meant to establish passenger rail service from Cleveland to Columbus and Cincinnati.

And Wisconsin's Republican Gov.-elect Scott Walker says he will turn down more than $800 million in federal funds for high-speed trains between Milwaukee and Madison.

Rejecting the high-speed-rail funds could prove to be quite costly to the incoming governors and their states' taxpayers, and not just in the thousands of jobs that killing the rail projects cost.

In Wisconsin, for example, if Walker turns away the federal funds, his state's taxpayers will be on the hook for close to $100 million in costs already incurred and in improvements that must be made...

If the new governors do not want the federal funding, [transportation secy] LaHood says the money will be reallocated to other states that want improved, cleaner and more efficient transportation options and the thousands of jobs the high-speed-rail projects would create.

Caught in the middle of the backlash are workers for companies such as Talgo, a manufacturer of high-speed trains that just opened a new plant, bringing jobs to Milwaukee.

According to spokeswoman Nora Friend, Talgo will have 40 employees by the end of November, and it plans to hire up to 125 positions. Friend says the company is now faced with telling its workers they might be out of jobs when the trains they are making now are completed.

"If we don't have any more orders, then as a business entity, we have no choice but to shut down the facility," Friend says.

¶ 5:43 PM