by mtuandrew
Nothing about a Mad-Town extension yet? Would have figured that would be on Evers’ short list even before MSP.
Railroad Forums
Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman
mtuandrew wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 3:42 pm Also, I’m not sure that the less affluent use Amtrak in higher numbers than the more affluent. College students are famously known for riding regional trains, and Amtrak hasn’t gotten any cheaper.College students are also notoriously broke and frugal...
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In 2018, more than 850,000 people rode the train and that number is expected to be even higher by the end of 2019.
On Wednesday, local leaders discussed three projects that are needed in order to keep up with ridership and reliability.
Two grants were awarded earlier this year. One of the grants will help add another platform at Milwaukee’s Airport Rail Station. The other grant will improve signaling.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is also waiting on another grant that would bring in new train cars.
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“Ridership is soaring,” WisDOT Passenger Rail Manager Arun Rao said. “It's a critical option for the business community and the general public and other travelers in this region. I think the big takeaway is the impact it has on commerce and the business community.”
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Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:18 am CBS58.com: “Ridership is soaring:” Improvement projects announced for Amtrak’s Hiawatha lineYup. NICTD is also making moves to increase frequencies.
So they're ultimately looking to get to 10 round-trips. Is ridership really soaring?
Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:18 am CBS58.com: “Ridership is soaring:” Improvement projects announced for Amtrak’s Hiawatha line"Soaring" is maybe a little too dramatic but it's up 6.2% fiscal YTD. If it keeps up the pace for the last four months of the fiscal year it will finish with just under 900k passengers, up just over 50% from the (relatively) recent bottoming out in 2007 of just under 600k.
So they're ultimately looking to get to 10 round-trips. Is ridership really soaring? How does this corridor perform financially?
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The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will be awarded up to $25.7 million for the upgrade of train cars on the route.
It's the busiest Amtrak route in the Midwest.
The project will replace deteriorated, outdated passenger cab-baggage and coach cars used in the Chicago–Milwaukee Amtrak Hiawatha Service with three single-level cab-coach cars and six single-level coach cars. Replacement of the cab-baggage cars with cab-coach cars will increase seating capacity, reduce fuel consumption, increase equipment reliability, reduce crowding, and improve accessibility for passengers with disabilities.
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