MILWAUKEE — Amtrak's proposal to add a route between Milwaukee and Madison could happen within the next five years, according to our partners at the Milwaukee Business Journal.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway predicts it could happen with funding from the massive federal infrastructure bill, the Milwaukee Business Journal reports.
Rhodes-Conway, former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, and the mayors of Chicago and the Twin Cities submitted a letter to federal officials supporting expanding Amtrak service in Wisconsin in April 2021.
The bipartisan $1.2 trillion bill was signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021. The bill includes $66 billion for Amtrak to maintain existing lines and expand service.
The Milwaukee Business Journal reports the plan includes the Milwaukee-Madison route, as well as another new state route between Milwaukee and Green Bay.
According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, the two proposed Wisconsin routes would be extensions of Amtrak's existing Hiawatha round-trip service between Milwaukee and Chicago
Currently in the works is a new round-trip service that links the Twin Cities, Milwaukee and Chicago on the Empire Builder and Hiawatha tracks. The Milwaukee Business Journal reports that the Wisconsin and Minnesota departments of transportation received $45 million in federal funding and will begin service in 2024.
