MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Transportation along with Gov. Tony Evers submitted a grant application to the US Department of Transportation to bring Amtrak to Madison.
Under an application submitted to the Trump Administration on Thursday, the Evers Administration is proposing to expand the Amtrak Hiawatha train service into Dane, Jefferson, and Waukesha counties by building upon existing railroad infrastructure to extend two daily Hiawatha Chicago to Milwaukee trains to Madison, Watertown and Pewaukee. The Trump Administration is expected to make award determinations in the coming months.
In recent decades, Wisconsin has seen several attempts to expand passenger rail across the state. In 2009, former Gov. Jim Doyle reached a deal with Talgo, a high-speed rail manufacturer to build two new trains for the purpose of connecting the cities of Madison and Milwaukee and in the same year, the state was awarded $810 million in federal funds to carry out the project…