Work is about to begin on a study that will determine the future of passenger train service in West Central Wisconsin. That was the word from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Jennifer Murray at a meeting in Eau Claire Tuesday, January 30th.

“This summer, Wisconsin DOT will begin step one for the Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Eau Claire, Twin Cities corridor,” Murray said. “With that, we will begin looking at a scope of work for the service development plan and we’re going to analyze that route from Chicago to the Twin Cities through Madison and Eau Claire.”

Meanwhile, passenger traffic on existing trains is slowly getting back to pre-pandemic levels, according to Amtrak’s Derrick James. The only passenger train in Wisconsin currently is Amtrak’s Empire Builder, which runs from Chicago to Seattle and Portland, passing through the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Dells, Tomah and La Crosse. Wisconsin also operates The Hiawatha Service between Milwaukee and Chicago, in cooperation with Illinois.

James told the group he expects the number of Amtrak passengers this year to reach or exceed the peak seen in 2019. James also said Amtrak remains committed to working with private train operators, too. One of the proposals being examined is a short-line service between Eau Claire and St. Paul, using the existing Union Pacific tracks. That service could potentially be operated by a private company: