Feedback Wanted On Proposed Second Train to Twin Cities
WisDOT seeking feedback as part of federal review process. 2024 start proposed.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is soliciting public feedback on a proposed second daily train between Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul.
The plan, known as the Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago (TCMC) passenger train service, would add a second daily Amtrak Empire Builder train with 13 stops in 12 cities. Approximately 60% of residents in Minnesota and Wisconsin live within 30 miles of a proposed stop or 15 miles of a proposed shuttle bus stop (Madison, Eau Claire and Rochester, MN).
The Empire Builder currently provides service from Chicago to Seattle and Portland, but east-bound trains are frequently delayed before arriving in St. Paul and the once-a-day departures limit the desirability of the service. The TCMC plan calls for a second train that doesn’t go west of St. Paul, reducing delays and providing enhanced connectivity between the communities along the route.
WisDOT, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, has secured multiple federal grants to bolster the project. The partners received a $12.6 million grant in May 2020 to fund startup operations. A $31.8 million fall 2020 grant would be paired with a $21.2 million match to fund the project’s $53 million in capital costs. Wisconsin will contribute $6.2 million, Minnesota $10 million and Amtrak $5 million. The latter grant is intended to fund final design and infrastructure work necessary to accommodate the train. The majority of the infrastructure improvements negotiated with host railroad Canadian Pacific to accommodate the train would occur near La Crosse and Winona, MN.
An eastbound train would leave St. Paul at 11:47 a.m. and arrive in Milwaukee at 5:45 p.m., becoming the southbound Hiawatha that arrives in Chicago at 7:14 p.m. The setup is similar to one envisioned in the $810 million Hiawatha expansion rejected by then-Governor-elect Scott Walker in 2010.
The eastbound Empire Builder currently arrives in Milwaukee at 2:07 p.m. The westbound Empire Builder departs Milwaukee at 3:52 p.m.
The train would stop in Chicago, IL, Glenview, IL, Sturtevant, Milwaukee, Columbus, Portage, Wisconsin Dells, Tomah, La Crosse, Winona, MN, Red Wing, MN and St. Paul. A light rail line operates out of St. Paul Union Depot with service to downtown Minneapolis. The Empire Builder is currently scheduled to take six hours and seven minutes in each direction between Milwaukee and St. Paul. On the TCMC, the westbound train would take five hours and 37 minutes and the eastbound train five hours and 58 minutes.
Similar to the Hiawatha, the TCMC would stop twice in Milwaukee. Once at the airport station and once at Milwaukee Intermodal Station. The Empire Builder does not currently service the airport station.
Feedback on the proposal, part of the environmental review process, is being solicited through the WisDOT project website.
A separate project is well underway to expand the Hiawatha between Milwaukee and Chicago.
Wisconsin has been working on expanding the Hiawatha from seven to 10 daily round-trips as part of a $195 million project. WisDOT received a $26.6 million federal grant to pay for a freight yard bypass in the Menomonee Valley in March, $2.7 million to fund a signalization project to speed up trains through downtown Milwaukee in June 2019 and a $5 million award to build a second platform at the Milwaukee Airport Rail Station in March 2019. All three grants required a state match. The Illinois-portion of the project remains on hold.
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More about the TCMC train
- Pete Buttigieg Tours Port With Mayor, Rides Train With Governor - Jeramey Jannene - Jul 31st, 2024
- New Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago Train Starts May 21 - Jeramey Jannene - May 1st, 2024
- Wisconsin Planning Passenger Trains To Green Bay, Madison - Jeramey Jannene - May 26th, 2023
- Chicago, Milwaukee, Twin Cities Train Could Start in Late 2023 - Gaby Vinick - Feb 24th, 2023
- Transportation: TCMC Train Poised for 2024 Start - Jeramey Jannene - Mar 10th, 2022
- Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago rail gets $31.8 million federal boost - Wisconsin Department of Transportation - Mar 9th, 2022
- Transportation: Biden Infrastructure Plan Adds Amtrak Service To Madison, Green Bay - Jeramey Jannene - Apr 1st, 2021
- Committee to hear file in support of TCMC Railway service expansion - Ald. Bob Bauman - Mar 30th, 2021
- Transportation: Feedback Wanted On Proposed Second Train to Twin Cities - Jeramey Jannene - Mar 25th, 2021
- Transportation: Second Daily Train to Twin Cities Moving Forward - Jeramey Jannene - Sep 23rd, 2020
Read more about TCMC train here
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Yes, please. More of this. Car-free travel to the Twin Cities and to MKE/Chicago!
Pious as hell Walker and his wanker buddies. They’re still around and Dunder stupid. The propaganda from MKE radio and Koch money killed the Hiawatha expansion project. The idea that WI “couldn’t afford” to use Fed dollars to complete for $800 mil, when this same ilk gave a $1.7+ TRILLION!!! tax cut to the top 10%? So much for fiscal responsibility.