FIRST, THE RENT-SEEKERS GET TO WET THEIR BEAKS.

Our Political Masters have been sounding off recently about the allocations of printed money to study the expansion of Amtrak's national network.  We'll focus first on Wisconsin.  In Illinois, there might be an extension of train service to Rockford, but those trains will be operated by Chicago's Metra, the tax-funded Regional Rail operator.  At the moment, it's all wishful thinking.  "The routes the study secured new grants for were identified by Amtrak as part of a visioning process for what future service could look like."  Government, always good for visioning processes.

The wishful thinking is all over Wisconsin.

Wisconsin officials in the Evers administration, supported by politicians in many of the state’s big cities, are vying for a piece of a $4.56 billion federal Infrastructure Act pot that they want to use to broadly expand Amtrak.

Most of the construction costs would be federally funded. But state taxpayers could be on the hook for operating and maintenance costs for an expansion that some legislative leaders say isn’t needed or wanted.

Wisconsin is one of 90 state, regional and local transit entities outside the Northeast Corridor that will learn by the end of this year if the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) approves the first phase of their projects.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has asked the FRA to fund four projects. The first would extend Amtrak’s existing Hiawatha line between Chicago and Milwaukee by adding four daily round-trips between Milwaukee and Madison, with proposed stops in Pewaukee and Watertown, said Lisa Stern, chief of railroads and harbors for WisDOT.

The second would extend the Hiawatha line north by adding three daily round trips between Milwaukee and Green Bay, with stops in Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and Appleton.

WisDOT is also asking for federal support for more round trips between Chicago and Milwaukee and to add a second roundtrip to the Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul line, she said.

Because the projects are in the preliminary stage, Stern could provide no total cost estimate for them.

Leaders from seven cities — Appleton, Green Bay, Fond du Lac, Kaukauna, Menasha, Neenah and Oshkosh — already have signed a letter sent to the FRA expressing support for the Hiawatha line extension to Green Bay.

Officials in Madison, Pewaukee and Watertown also have publicly embraced the expansion of the Hiawatha line to Madison.

The extension of Hiawatha service to Madison was last a thing during the Obama presidency.  We covered it extensively at the time, paying particular attention to the failure of advocates for the extension in Wisconsin to debunk the Milwaukee area talkers who spun the project as a Milwaukee to somewhere near Madison service with no possibilities for, say, Glenview area collegians to ride to and from the university, or Watertown shoppers to ride the rails to Chicago, assuming that anyone still goes shopping in Chicago, or Waukesha or Brookfield residents to do their Chicago commutes without driving to the Airport Station parking lot first.

Passenger Rail advocates have been angling for a return of service to Green Bay for some time as well.  The most direct routing through the Fox Valley is no longer available, with the Chicago & North Western's former Air Line via West Bend converted to a bike trail.  Back when Amtrak fancied themselves in the mail and express business, they proposed, but never ran, a train that would go as far as Fond du Lac on the old Wisconsin Central via Duplainville.  (I have the vaporware timetable for that, suggesting a summer 2000 launch of service!)  Presumably, that is the routing future Green Bay trains would take.

Make that distant future.

The Federal Railroad Administration has released its list of routes selected for the first step of its Corridor Identification and Development Program, a catch-all group of 69 potential future Amtrak routes, possible extensions to existing routes, efforts to increase service on existing routes, and future high speed rail systems.

Thirty-three of these routes had previously been reported by Trains News Wire as they were announced by elected officials; in the lists below, they are indicated with italics.

The vast majority of routes are corridor services that will require state support, but among the routes seeking increased service are Amtrak’s two current triweekly long-distance trains, the New York-Washington-Indianapolis-Chicago Cardinal and the Los Angeles-New Orleans Sunset Limited.

Selection is the first phase of a process that could take as much as seven to 10 years before service begins on new routes, according to some of those involved. It brings a $500,000 grant to be used to create a Service Development Plan, which estimates the cost and timeline for launching service, among other features. That grant goes to the organization that applied for inclusion in the program, indicated in parentheses on the lists below.

The selections were presented in four categories: new routes, existing routes with extensions, existing routes, and high-speed rail.

The Jarrett regency likes to denounce "trickle down" policies, although in those seven to ten years Our Political Masters are hoping to spend on analysis paralysis, it is likely that local bureaucrats and Beltway consultants will make a lot of money working out those plans.  In typical Washington fashion, the Madison service qualifies as a "new route" (with hopes of running beyond Madison to the Cities by way of Eau Claire) as does the hoped for second train to the Cities (never mind that in the early days of Amtrak, the daily Empire Builder was supplemented by a North Coast Hiawatha, daily between Chicago and the Cities, tri-weekly through Mike Mansfield's constituents' cities.)  The hoped-for Green Bay service will be an extension of the existing Hiawatha route.  Go figure.  Meanwhile, the talk of additional Hiawatha frequencies between Milwaukee and Chicago resumes.

Just like that, Wisconsin's Democrat senator Tammy Baldwin becomes a fan of trickle-down (or is it trickle-out?) trains.

Wisconsin could see a major expansion of passenger rail service under grant awards announced Wednesday by Senator Tammy Baldwin.

The state will receive $2.5 million to study initiating new service in Madison, Green Bay and Eau Claire that would connect with Milwaukee, Chicago and the Twin Cities. The state will also receive grants to support studying expanding service between Milwaukee and Chicago on the existing Amtrak Hiawatha Service line and adding a third daily round trip between Chicago, Milwaukee and the Twin Cities.

“Passenger rail helps people get to work and school safely, boosts tourism and recreation, and grows our local economies, and I am proud to deliver funding to help expand it in Wisconsin,” said Baldwin in a press release announcing the awards. “I voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to move our economy forward and get Wisconsinites where they need to go efficiently and safely, and I am excited to see these plans for passenger rail move forward.”

A Milwaukee to Green Bay line would function as an extension of the existing Amtrak Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago. It would use an existing freight rail corridor through Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and Appleton.

Another new line, Milwaukee to Madison and Eau Claire, would also function as a Hiawatha extension. Both of those cities are bypassed by the existing Amtrak Empire Builder, a long-distance route between Chicago, Milwaukee and the West Coast that uses a rail line that runs through eastern Minnesota. A third $500,000 grant would study a line from Eau Claire to the Twin Cities. The Empire Builder currently stops in St. Paul.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will also receive a $500,000 grant to study increasing the frequency of the existing Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha. The Hiawatha currently operates with seven round trips per day. It is expected to operate to eight round trips in the coming years, with concerns in Illinois currently blocking an expansion to 10 daily roundtrips.

A fifth grant will fund the study of an additional Empire Builder trip, likely served by an extended Hiawatha train, between Chicago, Milwaukee, La Crosse and the Twin Cities. The larger cross-country route currently serves the corridor with one round trip per day, but a second round trip is expected to start in early 2024 as part of the “Great River” service (previously TCMC). A Hiawatha train will continue its trip beyond Milwaukee to serve the route to the Twin Cities.

The grants, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, are part of the U.S. Department of Transportation‘s Corridor ID and Development Program. Grant awards have been trickling out this week, with senators nationwide announcing the awards before the federal department announces the full package later this week.

I repeat, that's $2.5 million for five different feasibility studies to be carried out by reliable Democrat voters in the form of state agencies and friendly consultants.  Some of that money will trickle down (or is it out) to technicians who service the computers and word processors.  The only train that is even close to entering service is that Great River (think Morning Hiawatha northbound, Afternoon Hiawatha southbound) and I'll believe it when I see it running.

Meanwhile, local politicians in Madison are giving their cronies opportunities to wet their beaks.

In her 2024 capital budget request, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway is asking the Common Council to increase local funding from $350,000 to $400,000 to further study the potential for an Amtrak station in Madison. Along with planning and programming, part of that money could be used as the city's required local match for participating in a federal passenger rail corridor identification program, according to the request.

Ultimately, Rhodes-Conway hopes Madison will get a piece of the $66 billion in federal funds allocated by Congress in 2021 for passenger rail expansion nationwide.

Rhodes-Conway acknowledges, however, that such plans for Madison are still years away at the very earliest.

"We're at the beginning of the process, but it's very important for us as a community, I think, to keep pushing, and to continue to say that we really want this service, so that folks at the federal level and also at Amtrak will continue to prioritize this particular corridor," Rhodes-Conway said during a news conference earlier this month.

A 15-year plan released by Amtrak in 2021 proposed extending the existing Hiawatha rail line connecting Chicago and Milwaukee to include Madison. And, eventually, Amtrak suggested trips could be added to connect Madison to St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Additionally, a 2021 report from the U.S. Department of Transportation identified Madison as a "significant market" that would be "critical to the operational viability" of a passenger train line connecting Chicago to the Twin Cities.

So much planning, so much process, so little action.  Now for the wishful thinking.

Northeast Wisconsin could learn this month whether passenger train service to Green Bay will take the next step in its development.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) applied under a federal program for the train that currently ends in Milwaukee to be extended north, stopping in Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Appleton before reaching its final destination of Green Bay.

The route would mean Chicago could be reachable by train from Green Bay and would be another travel option for families like David Roehrig’s.

“I’ve used it as a time to bond with my daughter, we usually do our Christmas shopping,” said Roehrig, who works for the Village of Ashwaubenon and helps organize charter bus trips to Chicago.

That article at least recognizes the challenges of getting even one trip a day running.

The route could mostly follow the Canadian National Railway (CN) existing track on the route from Milwaukee to Green Bay.

WisDOT wrote that CN has heavy freight traffic and the railroad's major freight yard in North Fond du Lac will "have to be considered."

CN did not respond to an inquiry from NBC 26.

Another option for part of the route, according to the WisDOT application, is to use an old railroad which is now the Eisenbahn State Trail, which goes through the Eden area of Fond du Lac County.

The existing tracks are operated by the same Canadian National that require extra cars on the Carbondale service "to ensure that the signals shunt properly," whilst that Eisenbahn State Trail is the grade of the aforementioned former Air Line, abandoned when Wisconsin Central obtained ownership of the railroad operating those tracks.  The non-response from CNR tells me everything I have to know: the Green Bay trains are unlikely to run even in seven to ten years.  (If I'm still at this in seven to ten years, feel free to tell me I'm wrong.)

Never mind that the sports fans are indulging in railway fantasies more fantastic than their fantasy leagues.

A proposal is calling for an Amtrak station at American Family Field stadium, connecting Milwaukee to Madison and Green Bay.

The idea is being pushed by the nonprofit NEWRails (Northeastern Wisconsin Rail Advocacy Group). It's possible from a technical point of view, according to the municipal and legislative liaison for NEWRails, Larry Rueff, according to TMJ4 News partners at the Milwaukee Business Journal.

“We know from the technical standpoint, just the engineering and whether or not it could be possible, it’s possible, but there are a lot of questions that have to be resolved before it could actually happen," said Milwaukee Business Journal reporter Sean Ryan.

Would that station replace the existing downtown station, or would it be a conditional stop only on game day? "The idea, as the Business Journal points out, is for Amtrak service heading west from the Intermodal Station in downtown Milwaukee to stop at a station outside Am Fam Field before turning north towards Green Bay or turning west towards Madison."  More opportunities, undoubtedly, for consultants to wet their beaks.  Alas, the most logical location for that station is approximately where the former freight main that runs on the south side of the Menomonee River valley joins the tracks the passenger trains use.

Go north, and the fan fantasies become even more fantastic.

Fans of the Green Bay Packers in southeastern Wisconsin might have an easier time making it to Lambeau Field soon, if the Wisconsin Department of Transportation gets a green light on developing an Amtrak train service to the northeast corridor of the state.

The Wisconsin DOT applied for a grant from the federal government to extend the train that runs from Chicago’s Union Station to Milwaukee’s Downtown Intermodal Station. During an appearance on Wisconsin’s Afternoon News, Green Bay Packers business reporter for the Green Bay Press Gazette Richard Ryman says it could help transport season ticket holders for the Packer’s during the work week.

“They get games number two and five, which always seem to be night games,” said Ryman. “Those are always on work nights so that is difficult for them. That came to a head this year when half of the stadium was filled with Detroit Lions fans.”

The proposed plan would have the line run from Milwaukee to Green Bay three times a day with stops in Fon Du Lac, Oshkosh and Appleton. Outside of sports, Ryman says there might be a demand from Green Bay residents to have an easier method to travel to Chicago.

“I think it might be more in-demand to go to Chicago than it is to go to Milwaukee because it is such an easy drive,” explained Ryman. “To go onto Chicago would be very helpful.”

If the new Amtrak line were to come to fruition, Ryman suggested a timeline for the completion of construction.

“If they could get everything in place for the NFL Draft in 2025,” said Ryman. “There will be people staying in hotels from here to Milwaukee and Madison. The train would make it a lot easier for them to get here.”

Alas, that seven-to-ten-year planning process rules out any trains running in time for a spring 2025 draft.  The most likely routing north of Appleton uses tracks that run about a mile east of Lambeau Field, although there was never a passenger platform there.  It's wishful thinking, though, to hope for special game-day trains to a city that's not on an Amtrak route.

In addition, the Amtrak business model is not one for developing ridership.  That's central to the Republican opposition to these Passenger Rail projects, whether in Wisconsin, or anywhere else.

Republican leaders, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg), are on record opposing any state funding to operate or maintain expanded Amtrak lines.

The chairman of the state Senate’s Committee on Transportation and Local Government, Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee), said it’s “appalling” that at a time when inflation, driven by runaway spending in Washington, is crippling Wisconsin families, “out-of-touch Democrats want to divert money from critical infrastructure needs into railway fantasies.

“The left’s unrealistic dreams of a car-less country ignores that railway developments like those being considered in Wisconsin and already underway in California do not cover their own development and upkeep, consistently underperform rider estimates, do not move passengers faster than cars and have development costs that unfailingly skyrocket over initial estimates,” Tomczyk said.

State Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Green Bay), whose district includes Green Bay and much of surrounding Brown County, also opposes Amtrak expansion in Wisconsin.

“I haven’t heard any serious conversations about this getting legs in the Legislature,” said Wimberger, a member of the Senate Finance Committee and Joint Finance Committee. “It just doesn’t make financial sense.”

Two Amtrak Thruway buses currently run twice a day to connect travelers from Green Bay to the Hiawatha line in Milwaukee. Citing ridership numbers from WisDOT, those buses are about 38% full on average, Wimberger said.

“It’s not like public transportation isn’t needed or worthwhile,” he said. “But to switch from two buses a day to a railroad line when you’re not even maxing out bus capacity sounds like nonsense to me.

“Expanding rail service to Green Bay is virtue signaling at its worst — trying to impose an ideology by designating something as good, then doing it whether or not it makes sense,” he added. “It’s just bad economic and social policy.”

Stern said she believes there is political support for expanding round trip service between Chicago and Milwaukee and on to the Twin Cities.

How much money is the infrastructure boondoggle spending on widening the interstate highways in Wisconsin?  Construction delays we'll never get back, right?  Isn't spending on roads imposing an ideology, and not a free-market ideology at that?

That's not to say Amtrak, or a state department of transportation, is going to get the business model right for trains.  Take it away, William Lindley.

Brightline in Florida has refuted the naysayers of profitable intercity trains. As we await its ongoing results from the winter tourist season and the next year of full operation, one might well pose the question: Is Florida unique? Or might the conventional wisdom be wrong elsewhere as well, and do opportunities now present themselves in almost every state of the Union?

Brightline were only running the demonstration trains between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm when I checked them out in 2018. They had already installed billboards along Interstate 95 (which parallels the former Seaboard tracks Amtrak use) announcing that the Miami service was coming soon.  There's often plenty of time to read those signs as traffic congeals on the so-called freeways.  Early reports from Florida indicate a fair amount of station-to-station traffic even on the extended Orlando service.

It's not always the case that the Fox Cities to Milwaukee is an easy drive, and the stretch of Interstate 41 between Oshkosh and Green Bay can be nerve-racking even on the three lane stretches south of Appleton, between the mall traffic (yes, there still is mall traffic) and the paper and cheese haulers.  I have trouble, though, envisioning Amtrak, even with $2.5 million in feasibility studies, doing any thinking about cultivating the local traffic among the Fox Cities the way Brightline have cultivated the Florida East Coast local traffic.