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Amtrak sees passenger trains in Madison's future by 2008 WisDOT Secretary Busalacchi also supportive of plans 6/30/2004

Amtrak unveiled plans June 29 for extending service to Madison by not later than 2008. It would be the first scheduled passenger train service to and from Madison since 1971.

Madison would be the only city added to the Amtrak system under the railroad's new "Corridors Initiative."

The city also would become part of one of two Midwestern routes in the demonstration project included in Amtrak's latest five-year plan.

If Congress provides its proposed share of the funding, the Madison-Milwaukee line would start with six daily round trips at 110 miles an hour, eventually rising to 10 daily round trips.

(In addition to Madison, new stations would be built in Brookfield, Oconomowoc and Watertown. Some trains would stop in those communities, according to Randy Wade of the State Transportation Department. Others would provide express service between Milwaukee and Madison.)

It all would be part of a $2 billion spending program to develop faster, more frequent passenger service on eight short and medium range routes nationwide by 2008.

Madison would be the western terminus of a Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison route. Amtrak currently runs seven daily roundtrips using conventional equipment between Chicago and Milwaukee, on its Hiawatha Corridor.

The other Midwestern corridor would be Chicago-St. Louis, which already has conventional Amtrak service. Other corridors on the top-priority list are in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California, and Oregon-Washington State.

Amtrak President David Gunn said the Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison route and seven others were ready to go, with the only remaining major question being the required federal funding.

He said all eight routes were designated as "Tier 1," meaning they each had a long-term master plan, market revenue forecast, operating expense forecast, infrastructure investment plan, equipment investment plan, host railroad acceptance, an agreement to fund a 20% match, and agreement to cover any added operating deficit.

Amtrak's plan for adding Madison to its network also is consistent with the more ambitious nine-state Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, creating a high-speed rail network which is still awaiting federal funding.

Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi added his support for Amtrak's "Corridors Initiative" at the Washington, D.C., news conference where Gunn also spoke, along with state officials from California, Washington State, Virginia and North Carolina.

"Wisconsin has built a solid partnership with Amtrak when it comes to the Hiawatha service and other passenger rail initiatives," Busalacchi said. "We stand ready to work with Amtrak to obtain the federal funding necessary to extend passenger rail service between Milwaukee and Madison."

According to Busalacchi, "Amtrak's Hiawatha service connecting Chicago and Milwaukee has seen a 14% rise in ridership over the last year and can also boast the best on-time performance of any Amtrak services over the same period."

"Extending this type of service between Milwaukee and Madison will be good for Amtrak, will strengthen our state and local economies, and will provide state residents and visitors a transportation option that is anchored in success.

"The pieces are in place; all we need now is federal support to make this a reality."

Busalacchi said Governor Jim Doyle's "Grow Wisconsin" plan supports strategic investments in transportation including passenger rail to spur economic growth.

The transportation secretary asked for the same level of federal support for the passenger rail initiative that is provided to highway, airport and other transportation improvements.

He pointed to several other passenger rail initiatives in Wisconsin including construction of a $6.5 million rail station at Milwaukee County's General Mitchell International Airport made possible by a federal funding earmark from U.S. Senator Herb Kohl.

Construction of the 1,800-square-foot station, platform and parking facilities is already underway with completion expected by the end of this year. (For more details on this project, go to http://communities.madison.com/prorail/pages/milwairport)

Work is also underway on an $8.8 million public and private venture to remodel the Milwaukee Amtrak Station into a modern inter-modal facility that will connect rail, bus, motor vehicle and other travelers.

The states of Wisconsin and Illinois provide financial support for the Hiawatha service that currently offers seven daily round trips between Milwaukee and Chicago.

Preliminary engineering and environmental work on the Milwaukee to Madison segment has already been completed and a "Finding of No Significant Impact" under the National Environmental Policy Act is expected soon.

According to The Associated Press, the federal government would pay $281 million of a $351 million plan to develop the high-speed service linking Madison and Milwaukee and to upgrade the Milwaukee to Chicago service.

Amtrak's plan also quickly won the endorsement of the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP), a passenger railroad advocacy group.

The group's Executive Director, Ross Capon, said "Amtrak highlights the need for the federal government to step forward as a funding partner" with the states.

The group's Executive Director, Ross Capon, said "Amtrak highlights the need for the federal government to step forward as a funding partner" with the states. (See NARP's complete news release. Click on "Resources," then "News Releases.")

(Amtrak has issued its own news release on the plan.)

(For the New York Times account of the news conference, click here.)