Madison ramping up work towards Amtrak station, possible service to Milwaukee
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee and Madison and the two biggest cities in Wisconsin, yet there is no direct passenger train service connecting them.
It's been that way for a long time, but there's a push to bring passenger rail to the Capital City. The City of Madison is stepping up its work to land an Amtrak train service.
At an informational hearing Wednesday, city officials took the first step in the bidding process by holding a discussion open to the public on potential train station locations.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said it's a key element to securing a portion of the $66 billion for passenger rail included in the infrastructure bill approved by Congress last year.
“I think I can say with confidence that Madison wants passenger rail service," Rhodes-Conway said to a crowd who attended Wednesday's meeting.
The current options are:
- Near University Avenue and Park Street on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus
- Downtown near the Monona Terrace
- Former Oscar Mayer plant
- First Street and East Washington Avenue
- The Dane County Regional Airport
- The tracks that run near Milwaukee Street and Fair Oaks Avenue
The six locations don't guarantee a deal with Amtrak, but it does put the city in a better position once federal funding is distributed.
Federal officials will consider certain criteria such as, environmental impacts, transportation to the location, size, maintenance, and much more.
Amtrak's proposed plan for Madison would expand on the Hiawatha service between Milwaukee and Chicago. In the future, the route would include stops to St. Paul.
Passenger rail between Madison and Milwaukee is not a new concept. You may remember when Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker rejected $810 million in federal aid for a similar project more than a decade ago.
However, this time around, officials with the city said it largely lies in the hands of local governments to put the wheels in motion to secure a bid.
"Hopefully the state gets out of the way of local communities that want to see this happen," said State Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee). "It's not just huge for them, it's huge for the state."
If Madison were to earn federal funds for an Amtrak passenger rail, officials estimate construction could begin within the next 5 to 7 years if all goes accordingly, said Mark Weitenbeck, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers.