Sen. Tammy Baldwin announced on Wednesday that a proposed Milwaukee to Madison to Minneapolis Amtrak route is one of five in Wisconsin receiving $500,000 federal planning grants, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The routes were deemed priorities for passenger rail expansion.
Funding for the grants comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development program. Eligible activities to be covered under the grants include creation of a scope, schedule, and cost estimate for preparing a service development plan.
The route that includes Madison would be new service on an existing alignment. The proposed Milwaukee to Minneapolis route also includes Eau Claire.
The four additional state projects include:
- Expanding existing Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee to Green Bay;
- Adding service to the existing Hiawatha service between Milwaukee and Chicago;
- Creating new service between Eau Claire and St. Paul on an existing alignment; and
- Adding service from LaCrosse to St. Paul on the Empire Builder running from Chicago through LaCrosse.
