Wisconsin Applies for Federal Grant to Expand Amtrak Hiawatha Service to Madison Area
The state says the project could add up to two daily round-trips and 260,000 annual trips if federal funding is approved.
- On Thursday, Governor Tony Evers announced Wisconsin submitted a $218.2 million federal grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation to expand Amtrak Hiawatha service to Madison, Watertown, and Pewaukee.
- This expansion seeks to "right that wrong" from 2010, when former Governor Scott Walker rejected federal funds for high-speed rail, derailing the project and resulting in a $50 million settlement with manufacturer Talgo.
- Recent ridership growth supports expansion: the Borealis line served more than 416,000 passengers since May 2024, while corridor ridership grew 27 percent to nearly 1.8 million passengers.
- With total construction costs of $272.8 million, Wisconsin would cover 20% of the project while projecting 200 permanent jobs and $46 million in annual economic benefits.
- If the Trump administration approves the grant in the coming months, Amtrak estimates Hiawatha West service could launch as soon as 2030, pending engineering studies.
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WJFW NewsWatch 12
Evers, WisDOT want grant expanding train service from Milwaukee to Madison
(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, the state’s Department of Transportation and Amtrak have applied for a federal grant to expand the Amtrak Hiawatha train line into Dane, Jefferson and Waukesha counties.
Governor Evers application for Hiawatha expansion grant comes amid Milwaukee passenger rail conference
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Wisconsin passenger rail developments came in twos June 25. As rail advocates and southeast Wisconsin leaders were meeting for the “Think BIG About Wisconsin Passenger Rail” conference at Milwaukee’s Oriental Theatre, Governor Tony Evers separately announced a grant application sent to the U.S. Department of Transportation requesting $218.2 million to help fund a westward expansion of the Hiawatha Amtrak line. “The opportunity …
Wisconsin applies for federal grant to expand Amtrak Hiawatha service to Madison area
MADISON (WKOW) — Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation submitted a grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation to expand Amtrak Hiawatha train service into Dane, Jefferson and Waukesha counties.
Gov. Evers: Gov. Evers, WisDOT announce new effort to expand passenger rail into Dane, Jefferson, and Waukesha counties
MADISON — Gov. Evers, along with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and in partnership with Amtrak, today submitted a grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation, reviving a long-thwarted effort to expand passenger rail in Wisconsin. Under an...
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