Milwaukee would see increased Amtrak passenger service to Chicago and new routes to Madison and Green Bay under federal funding applications filed this month by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in partnership with local governments.
The DOT submitted four projects to expand Amtrak’s service in the state, each with stops in Milwaukee, according to a Wednesday statement by the state agency. Those applications were filed with the Federal Railroad Administration’s nationwide Corridor Identification and Development Program, which is intended to set the foundation to expand passenger rail service between cities across the country.
WisDOT applied to that Corridor ID program for its plan to expand daily roundtrips on the Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago from seven to 10. Efforts are already underway to achieve eight round-trips next year. The separate Empire Builder route from the Twin Cities to Milwaukee and Chicago would grow from one to three daily roundtrips under a second application.
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