Wis. DOT Seeks Public Comment on Passenger Rail Expansion, Including Chippewa Valley Shuttle

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is looking for public input on a pending project that would add a second train on the existing Chicago-Milwaukee-Twin Cities line. As planned, the initiative would also include a dedicated shuttle from the Chippewa Valley to the Amtrak station at Tomah to provide rail connections to Milwaukee and Chicago.

Known as the TCMC project (Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago), the plan will extend one of the existing Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha trains to Tomah, La Crosse, Winona and St. Paul as an additional frequency on the current Empire Builder route. Federal grants have been awarded, and plans are included for connecting shuttles to additional communities including the Chippewa Valley, Madison and Rochester.

How to submit your comments

As final planning by WisDOT, Minnesota DOT, and Amtrak nears completion, public comments are being invited about the benefits and details of the service. To submit yours, simply take a moment to click on the links below. There is an easy-to-use, survey-style Public Comment Form to make your submission:
Project website with full information
Recorded project update video (20 mins)
Public Comment Form

Local support for the project and shuttle connection

As WisDOT began consideration of the Chippewa Valley shuttle, local support for the connection was expressed in resolutions and letters from the Eau Claire City Council, Eau Claire County Board, Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce, and West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition. These were among more than 60 letters of support and local governmental resolutions from across Wisconsin and Minnesota that helped WisDOT obtain key federal grants to help implement the service.

Eastward connections to Milwaukee and Chicago

Many Chippewa Valley area residents already drive to Tomah to catch the current Amtrak service, but a dedicated shuttle will significantly improve mobility for those who cannot or do not want to drive. Shuttle connections like these have been successful in other states like​ California and North Carolina. WisDOT also recently established dedicated shuttles to link the current Hiawatha service at Milwaukee to Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Appleton, and Green Bay.

The proposed Chippewa Valley shuttle would travel along​ I-94 and make a direct connection to trains at the Amtrak station in Tomah. ​At a recent meeting of the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition, WisDOT Passenger Rail Program Manager Arun Rao provide a conceptual sample schedule the shuttle connection if established to connect with both the existing Empire Builder and the new Twin Cities Hiawatha Extension (TCMC) to Eau Claire and Menomonie:

Complementary to future plans for direct rail service to the Chippewa Valley
​The West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition is working to establish a multi-frequency Twin Cities-Eau Claire corridor as a public-private partnership on the tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad and has endorsed the proposal as a complementary step to provide residents of the region access to the national passenger train network.

In a resolution it drafted last year, the Coalition stated: "This would open up more travel opportunities for area residents and visitors to connect to/from Milwaukee and Chicago via Tomah, and would especially provide improved mobility for students, seniors and others who cannot or do not want to drive 80 miles to access the service."

Similarly, in a letter to WisDOT Secretary Craig Thompson, the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce noted: "Transportation is a critical component for economic prosperity. The Chamber has long advocated for establishing passenger rail service to our region as an important component for economic competitiveness and talent attraction," and that the shuttle "would enhance the connectivity of our community and be complementary to efforts to obtain future direct train service for Eau Claire." ​The Eau Claire City Council passed a supporting resolution last February, and the Eau Claire County Board last May.

Why not run the second train through Eau Claire and/or Madison?
As these plans have come forward, residents of places like Eau Claire and Madison have asked why WisDOT doesn't take this opportunity to route the second train via Eau Claire and/or Madison to provide direct train service to more communities.

"This is a practical way to double train service across Wisconsin at a reasonable cost," notes West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition Chair Scott Rogers. "The service is less expensive to implement because it uses existing tracks and stations, while new routings would require larger investments. The proposed shuttles to other communities provides additional mobility and is a step towards building demand for future direct train service."

More information:
West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition (website)
WisDOT seeking public input on $53 million expansion of passenger rail to Twin Cities (BizTimes)
’Second Empire Builder’ project wins a $12.6 million Restoration & Enhancement grant​ (MIPRC)
Wisconsin-Minnesota passenger rail project getting $31.8 million federal grant (La Crosse Tribune)
Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago Intercity Passenger Rail Service (WisDOT)
​​Eau Claire-Tomah Shuttle Fact Sheet (West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition)
Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce Letter in support of CRISI grant (Eau Claire Chamber)
Eau Claire City Council Resolution (City of Eau Claire)
Eau Claire County Board Resolution (Eau Claire County)
West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition Letter and Resolution (West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition)

Update on plans to establish passenger rail service between St. Paul and the Chippewa Valley

Chippewa-St. Croix Rail Commission

The West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition has been working to build a framework for a Public-Private Partnership to establish service over the Union Pacific tracks, with a private operator and applying value capture concepts for station area development (taking advantage of the economic activity and growth in value around stations to help support the service). The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has also agreed to work with us in an advisory capacity.

As one of the important next steps, Eau Claire County is coordinating an effort with counties and municipalities along the route to create a Chippewa-St. Croix Rail Commission to represent the public interest. The commission will be organized soon, since the required eight entities have passed enabling resolutions, including Dunn, Eau Claire and St. Croix counties, and the municipalities of Altoona, Eau Claire, Menomonie, Baldwin and New Richmond. For more details on progress for the overall project, click the following link: Chippewa & St Croix Valley Rail Connections move closer to reality

Upcoming meeting: If you're interested in getting a current update on the Rail Coalition's work, and learning about the transformative impact rail can have, we've begun having monthly meetings on the third Thursday of each month. Click here to watch the latest meeting: https://youtu.be/0neweGtDuP0

Additional valuable information: Given the challenges of society coming out of the current health and economic crisis, what will happen to demand for passenger rail? Futurist and author Bill Draves says train ridership in the United States will continue to grow after the pandemic ends. Read more at this link: Why Post-Pandemic Train Ridership Will Be Strong by William Draves

Want to support the work of the Rail Coalition? If you're not already a member, consider joining: Membership information

Other dates for your calendar:

* Tuesday, March 16, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Brown Bag Webinar - Passenger Rail

Organized by the West Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission

Background and current status of the rail initiative for our region, and planning implications for communities. Register at www.wcwrpc.org

* Thursday, March 18, 8:00-9:00 a.m.
Rail Coalition Monthly Meeting

Guest speaker: John Robert Smith, Chairman, Transportation for America

Mark your calendar. Registration opens soon.

Why Post-Pandemic Train Ridership Will Be Strong by William A. Draves

Train ridership in the United States will continue to grow after the pandemic ends. Here’s why.

1. The current wave of hand wringing about a post pandemic decline in train ridership simply means those people do not understand nor take into account the underlying economic and demographic factors that are driving train ridership in this century. 

2. We know that after the pandemic people will travel again, go places, and see people again.  
-We know this because it has already happened in New Zealand where COVID has essentially been eliminated, and where minor COVID flare ups are dealt with.  
-We know that airlines expect traffic to pick up.  We know no major hotel chains that have just called it quits. We know DisneyWorld is not closing permanently.

3. The continuing increase in people working from home contributes to increased train travel, it doesn’t inhibit it. People working from home know their only resource is their time, and trains save time. People who work from ‘home’ work from anywhere and travel for work and leisure.

4. The fundamental underlying economic force is that time is so valuable it cannot be wasted driving a car. With trains, one can work and travel at the same time.  

5. Trains and train ridership are not a single issue separate from the overall transformation of our economy and way of life. Instead trains and train ridership are an integral part of the new economy and way of life.

6. Just one generation can and will drive the growth of trains. Generation Y, also called Millennials (born 1980-1999) and future generations of workers understand they can work on a train, unlike with cars. The also know trains are safer than cars. 

7. In addition, Gen Y/ Millennials know trains save the environment and cost less than maintaining a car. Trains also go faster than cars. 

8. After the pandemic, yes, travel patterns will change.  “Commuter trains” might see declines as people don’t need to go to an office.  But other travel patterns will increase.  Business relies on face-to-face meetings. Tourism will resume its growth. Colleges and  K-12 schools will be restructured into systems, where students and even teachers shuttle via train to other cities and back home the same day to take advantage of resources not available at any one school location. 

9. There are nine shifts that Julie Coates and I identified in our predictive book, Nine Shift: Work, Life and education in the 21st century, released in 2000.  They are inter-related, intertwined, one ‘whole.’  The economic shifts they predicted that mesh together are:
1. People work from home.
2 .Intranets replace offices.
3. Networks replace pyramids.
4. Trains replace cars.
5. Suburbs decline, dense neighborhoods increase.  

Welcome the new age of trains. 

William A. Draves is a futurist and co-author with Julie Coates of the 2000 book, “Nine Shift: Work, Life and Education in the 21st Century.”  The book predicted the rise of trains and the decline of cars, as well as more people working from home and learning online.  The BBC sent its Global Business reporter from China to River Falls, Wisconsin to interview Coates and Draves. The program was aired worldwide.  In 2008, Draves keynoted a national train conference in Milwaukee, and in 2010 gained national media attention for proving that young people were driving less than previous generations.  Draves co-founded the St. Croix Valley Rail Group, is a member of the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition, WISARP, and the Midwest High Speed Rail Alliance.  

Eau Claire-to-Minnesota Passenger Train Closer to Reality

The dream of restoring passenger train service between Eau Claire and the Twin Cities is moving forward. This week, the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition heard from a potential private-sector partner interested in operating the trains.

Jim Coston, CEO of Corridor Rail Development, told the WCWRC board his company is finalizing its investment and financial details and will be ready shortly to move forward with the project. Coston says CRD will pay the $200,000 for a study to get the ball rolling. That’s an important milestone to resuming discussions with the Union Pacific, whose tracks would be used for the service. Corridor is based in Illinois (http://corridorrail.com/about/) .

Corridor Rail Development is also working with RailPlan International to move equipment to RailPlan’s Baltimore facility to begin refurbishing the train cars that would be used initially for an Eau Claire-St. Paul route.

Coston said, despite delays caused by the pandemic, he believes service could begin as soon as 2022, if everything goes as planned.

Coston said he hopes to use the Eau Claire-St. Paul service as a prototype to spur development of other similar routes across the United States.

The West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition is also working to establish a shuttle bus that would take passengers to/from the Amtrak station in Tomah, synchronized with the train’s arrival and departure times. Coalition chair Scott Rogers says that service could be launched within 24 months, making it more convenient for Chippewa Valley residents heading to Milwaukee, Chicago or points east: https://www.eauclairechamber.org/eau-claire-chamber-blog/potential-eau-claire-tomah-amtrak-shuttle-moves-closer-to-reality

Meanwhile, Amtrak is considering reducing service between St. Paul and Chicago (and other routes nationwide) to 3 trips per week. WCWRC board members expressed concern that such a reduction could be detrimental to efforts to grow passenger rail service.