Committee to hear file in support of TCMC Railway service expansion

Tomorrow – Wednesday, March 31^st – the Public Works Committee will take up a file of support for expanding service on the Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago (TCMC) railway line. File# 201611 would add a second daily round-trip in the TCMC corridor, providing a morning and mid-day departure from Chicago and from Saint Paul.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Minnesota Department of Transportation have proposed intercity passenger rail service improvements for the Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago corridor. The project would improve railroad track, at-grade crossings, signals, and communication infrastructure in Winona (MN), La Crescent (MN) and La Crosse to allow freight trains to bypass passenger trains and reduce delays.

Pending project approvals and funding availability, construction could begin in 2022, with service starting in 2024.

“The proposed rail service improvement project in the Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago corridor is long overdue and would benefit Milwaukee and other communities along the route by increasing travel options for personal, leisure and business travel,” said Alderman Robert J. Bauman, the sponsor of file #201611. “It would also create engineering and construction jobs by connecting workers with employment opportunities in other communities, and I believe the City should be on the record as officially in support of advancing this project.”

The Public Works Committee meeting will be virtual at 9 a.m. tomorrow and can be watched live via the City Channel – channel 25 on Spectrum Cable or channel 99 on AT&T U-Verse – or online at http://city.milwaukee.gov/channel25.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.