With Madison’s Amtrak debate returning to the political scene and financial plans coming off the drawing board, the reality of reconnecting Madison to Amtrak is closer than ever.
Figuring out where the Amtrak will actually dock in Madison could change how successful the reconnection is for passengers.
There’s already movement in the state’s Joint Finance Committee for the City of Madison’s preferred option, but there are several alternatives should it fall through.
Finance Committee OKs purchase for potential state on Monona Lakefront
Madison leaders’ preferred option also has the most momentum. The Joint Finance Committee approved the land sale of the former State Human Services Building June 2.
The former services building is already next to a railroad and has some infrastructure set up for a passenger rail that used to run in the 1970s.
Once the sale is penned, Landmark Development Services will buy the building $10 million. The Department of Administration reported land values were between $16.46 million and $20.9 million.
While it might appear the state left money on the table, the $10 million bid actually saves the state about $194 million it would have spent to bring the building up to code itself, according to a 2022 building assessment.
If Landmark decides not to turn the building into a transit hub, there are other ways to get a one on the former Lake Monona’s rail line.
In the city’s feasibility study, redevelopment and new infill are possible. City planners reported that it would be complicated to find a new spot between the Monona Terrace convention center, John Nolen Drive and other nearby developments, but is is possible if needed.
The study even reported city planners could collaborate with the convention center to construct an building addition that would also serve as the transit hub.
Street yard, east Capitol and UW campus all floated for station potential
There is a Plan B and C should something on Lake Monona not pan out.
The next-most ideal alternative is the Johnson Street Yard along WIS-113. The street yard is also already connected to a railroad and has much more open space if a brand-new transit hub would need to be built.
What it has in development it lacks in connectivity. According to the feasibility study, almost every passenger would have to bus, bike, taxi or park-and-ride to and from the street yard. In contrast, The Lake Monona hub would put passengers directly downtown.
Less favorable but still considered possible is the rail corridor east of the Services building. The area is already under heavy development and finding another open space would be difficult. City planners also said it would require major alterations to existing road connectivity.
Finally, a connection to UW-Madison was pitched. University leaders would be responsible for the project and there aren’t ideal locations to set up a station.
The ridership potential is too high to deny the idea outright. The rail station study even proposed a secondary station with a skeleton hub could be built in the future for special events like football games and other campus activities.
Dane County airport and complex corridors are no-go’s for rail transit
Not everything on Madison’s rail corridors made the list for future transit hub potentials.
The Dane County Regional Airport was shot down because it is so far from the city with only one bus route to get downtown.
Other eastern portions of the rail network were dismissed for similar accessibility reasons and further complications to retrofit a station into busy corridors.
The general plan has site selection complete in early 2027 so construction can begin in 2028 and finish by 2032.
Amtrak officials estimate the connection from Milwaukee to Madison would cost $215-275 million. The federal government would cover 80% of the tab with the state taking the rest and a $2.5 million annual boost to operations.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: If Madison gets Amtrak back, where would the station go? Here are the city’s options
Reporting by Caden Perry, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Caden Perry, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
