Wisconsin’s capital city is a step closer to riding the rails to Chicago. The Federal Railroad Administration has picked Hiawatha West, a plan to stretch Amtrak’s busy Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha service west toward Madison, for a federal grant, and Amtrak projects the extension would draw about 278,000 additional riders a year.
The award still has to turn into track work, new schedules and finished stations before any trains run. But it is the clearest signal yet that the Hiawatha could grow beyond its current Chicago-Milwaukee corridor.
What the Hiawatha West grant covers
According to Amtrak’s Oct. 22 announcement, the project would extend existing Hiawatha trains west into Waukesha, Jefferson and Dane counties, serving communities including Pewaukee, Watertown and Madison. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation and Amtrak are advancing the plan together with host railroads CPKC and Wisconsin & Southern Railroad.
Rail fans tracking Amtrak’s growth may remember the recent story on Amtrak doubling its New York-to-Pittsburgh Pennsylvanian service. Anyone daydreaming about longer rail adventures can also browse this list of the cheapest railway tours across America…