Wisconsin lawmakers OK funds to expand Amtrak Hiawatha service

The Wisconsin Legislature’s Budget Committee last week approved a $35 million proposed expansion of Amtrak service between Milwaukee and Chicago, a local radio station reported. 

Funds will go toward adding three more roundtrips a day on the Hiawatha route, bringing the number of daily round trips to 10, WUWM 89.7 reported.

The committee did not approve an additional $10 million that was proposed to complete final design and construction of a second daily intercity passenger-rail service between Milwaukee and Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minneapolis.

Whether the proposed Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago service "stands a chance" will depend on how much resistance Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Democratic lawmakers put up to Republican lawmakers' state budget proposals, Terry Brown of the Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers said in a written statement, according to WUWM.

Elected in November 2018, Evers is a Democrat. Republicans control both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature.