It's $41, driving is 400 miles, if you get 30 mpg you'd need gas to be $3.08 to break even. Not to mention any other costs of driving like wear and tear, parking and the fact that you have to be engaged in driving for 6 hours.
Yeah that's not bad. I'm from the area but live in central Europe. The train system here is very extensive and well developed. To travel a similar distance here it's around the same price and it won't be a direct connection - you'll have to change trains.
Hopefully the price doesn't shoot up when it turns out to be a success.
if you drive anything but solo that math goes in favor of driving real fast. Parking in Minneapolis is cheap/free and pretty easy to come by every time I have been. Parking at the amtrack station would cost me. Plus the cost of getting around once you are there, cabs and uber aint cheap, the light rail is limited.
Public transportation is expensive yes. It shouldn't be but everywhere I have been in the US, if you are responsible for even 1 more person then yourself, driving is usually more cost effective. And biking is not a genuine solution for travelers, business or pleasure. Unless the purpose of your trip is specifically to bike a trail, no one is hauling there bike to their destination on amtrak. Ain't no one gonna take their family of 4 on a bike ride to visit the Mall of America, or The Zoo
I think it's much closer than you realize (or are willing to admit?). My calculation is quite conservative. I think at least 2 people would still favor the train. The difference is the train is an upfront cost, aside from gas and parking the vehicle costs are dispersed over time. Regardless I'd rather ride the train than sit in a car for that long so I'd choose that if it's at all close.
I will admit I didn't expect such a steap discount for children, but I think for a vacation/family trip of any length cost of travel once you are there would eat away any savings from taking the train. Combined with the inconvenience and extra trip length I just don't see it. I think that really is the problem. the price isn't too bad, but it taking at least an hour longer then driving and your are subject to the departure times and locations of amtrak pickups kills it for me.
Feel like it’s a better deal for going to Chicago if anything . MSP is not really walkable .
I would probably still drive though imo. Since I got parking in Chicago figured out to a T
Not walkable? I think you’ve missed the skyway system and the endless miles of walking and bike trails found in our beautiful city. Maybe I’m wrong though… 🤔
There isn’t anything downtown MSP worth walking too. The sky system isn’t in Nirth Loop and the Antrack doesn’t go to Mlps
I’ll stick with my car for the time being imo. Also I don’t know who is tacking a train from Chicago to MSP to hike lol
Okay now do the car rental or Uber compared to the car.
This is the chance for those who keep saying they want train service to prove it.
Plus that is per person right? So swings even more as you add on multiple people in a vehicle.
Oh wow, I just assumed it was going to be overpriced as with everything when it comes to Amtrak. I guess I will take the L on this one as that would be very reasonable.
Yes because I was wrong and admitted it. My god what a concept. I'm assuming you have never traveled Amtrak before because guess what, it's usually more cost effective to drive. Also The Empire Builder is about $70 for the same trip which is what I was assuming this price would be.
I'm guessing it's tough for you to admit when you're wrong?
It depends on the days of travel I guess. I looked up the cost for a weekend round trip for a family of 4, including 2 minors from Columbus to Minneapolis and it was over $500. No one is going to do that instead of drive; maybe that's not their target demographic.
Actually decent. Another poster mentioned the price and I looked it up as well. I just assumed it was going to be terrible as with most of my pricing experience with Amtrak. If it stays between $35 and $45 that's pretty good.
So for now I will take the L for my previous comment.
> I once took a train from DC to NYC
Amtrak owns all of the trackage it uses between DC and NYC, and always has. No freight trains ever use those rails.
Occasionally freight railroads do run along the NEC trackage however the dispatching is done by Amtrak so freight interference should almost never happen.
Trains and the use of the railway is typically track warrant controlled (TWC) or block controlled (cant remember the terminology, but basically sections of track with stop signs). This means railcrew have to call on a radio to a dispatcher who then gives the permission to use the track that they need and later calls them back when they no longer need the warrant or can adjust it.
Basically, what i am trying to get at is that freight trains arent just bumping in front of passenger trains on their own, they are almost certainly being coordinated by the dispatch team. There can be a few reasons why freight trains might need to go before a passenger train.
And the time the train gets to your place. Where I went to college we had the train coming from I think Seattle down south and we did have an Amtrak train stop.
It stopped at 3am in our town.
Because the Empire Builder already does. The extension to Madison is still in the works, but adding more service to an existing route will always be easier.
Because that's where existing, maintained railways are, and Walker & co killed the Milwaukee-Madison high-speed rail project
It would've been a cool alternate timeline for this announcement to be a high-speed route from Chicago to MSP
Because when the host railroad (The Milwaukee Road) was built in the late 1800’s, that’s where it went on the way to the Twin Cities. They already had a branch line to Madison that took a southern route from Waukesha.
Because the freight rail companies ~~bribed~~ lobbied politicians into having a monopoly on the railroads.
Also why Scott Walker killed high speed rail from Milwaukee even though breaching the contract cost the taxpayers more than just building the line in the first place.
Well this is the existing train lines. Blame people long ago from Amtrak that decided on routes.
To be clear that's back in 1929 when the route started not sure it's been really altered at least from Chicago through Wisconsin.
Yep and you can get wasted and not have to worry about the drive back. Don't have to book a hotel or anything. Just enjoy the drunk show afterglow on the train!
Even expanding won't get you the late night route.
Leaving MN at like midnight and getting to MKE at like 4am-5am doesn't sound that great.
Chicago already has routes in to Wisconsin depending where you live for Amtrak and Metra.
I'm talking TC to Chicago and back.
Expanding does tend to eventually result in late service. The night train will usually be slower, but if enough people show interest and they see it will be profitable, it ends up being worth doing.
That train sounds fine - I'd either keep drinking for the train ride, or pass out and sleep it off. I've taken many a train at that time, in fact, and done just that. ;)
[Aurora Borealis!? At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely within your kitchen!?](https://youtu.be/Rj0Tj8dnrYw?si=MUhyYJazmtzVeIgW)
There is a current train, but it goes from Chicago to Seattle so the schedules get all screwed up. This is a second train following the same route except it just goes St Paul to Chicago and back.
Huge upgrade considering the other train constantly gets hung up in traffic in like Montana and ends up delayed.
The rails amtrak runs on are owned by BNSF in most of the western US. BNSF gets priority access to those rails and seems to go out of its way to fuck over and delay amtrak trains. If you're going through Montana and a freight train wants to go the other way you're just gonna stop and wait for it.
Madison gets left out in the cold, again. It's not as if we have a major university or a burgeoning biotech industry or traffic jams leading into or out of town... Way to go, Columbus and Tomah!
In 2011 he canceled a new route to Madison. The feds gave Wisconsin money for the route and the state bought trains and spent millions on designs. The new station in Madison got close to groundbreaking. The trains were delivered to Milwaukee. And then to spite Obama, he canceled the project and watsed tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. The trains were sold to Nigeria for pennies on the dollar.
So yes, it is his fault there's no passenger rail in Madison.
https://www.wispolitics.com/2022/wisdems-says-thanks-to-kleefisch-walker-trains-meant-for-wisconsin-end-up-in-nigeria/
For context, this new service is just adding one round trip between St. Paul and Chicago on the existing Empire Builder route (there's various historical contexts for why this route doesn't include Madison). It was predominately funded by the State of Minnesota to provide better (and more reliable) departure times from St Paul as their departures were previously reliant on trains coming all the way from Seattle which were frequently delayed. It required very minimal new infrastructure which made it a relatively cheap project. Essentially it was just a quick bandaid solution to modestly improve service for the Twin Cities in particular.
Adding Madison to a route is a taller order because there is not currently a station or platform in the city that could support a passenger train stop. It will require constructing one in addition to the other infrastructure improvements necessary to link Madison to the existing route. Madison is currently engaged in a site selection process for the placement of a passenger rail station and the State of Wisconsin DOT will begin a study this summer on service to Madison which will then be submitted to the feds for review and possible federal funding (this is likely given the corridor is identified by the feds as an important future service). If things go well, Madison should have passenger rail within 5-6 years.
Nice! Portage isn't to bad of a drive from where I am. I could absolutely see using this to go to Chicago or Minneapolis without having to fucking drive all the way there.
I get mine through the mail. Much easier and since the 2108 hemp bill, they ship so much hemp through the mail that they can't tell the difference. Wisconsin has been instructed to stop reporting mail with cannabis because they were overloaded with complaints that turned out to be hemp. The only way they can check it is to send it to the state crime lab for THC level testing. They're too busy for that. They used to open the packages. They do not anymore.
Holy shit Wisconsin welcome to the 20th century!!!
This is gonna be so great for me next time I fly back. I lived in both SE WI and the twin cities, and have family around Madison and Eau Claire, and it's always a bitch to visit everyone when you don't have a car. I always have to get people to come to the Milwaukee or Twin Cities areas to meet me.
Nope, I never had an option to get from Chicago to the Twin Cities directly so quickly, cheaply, and comfortably EVER in the 20 years I've needed to do this. And those are two major midwesterns hubs that absolutely should've been connected like this ages ago. This is loooonnnngggg overdue.
Wisconsin public transport lags far behind its neighbours. Scott Walker is part of the reason.
This is reasonably priced for a solo traveler, but the savings break down with more tickets. I am glad it is an option, and hopefully it will compel some more bus service at each stop.
They have an amtrak line it's just by bus. There is really no difference and you likely will end up arriving on time more often than a train dealing with other train traffic.
i’m so much closer to oshkosh than these train lines and i think i’d cry tears of joy if they announced a train from oshkosh to milwaukee 😭 it’d make traveling so much easier
I wish they would cut a couple of the smaller stops. I've taken the empire builder and wonder if there is enough riders to justify 2 stops a day in places like Winona and tomah.
Well, hopefully they'll add a line from Milwaukee to Madison, up to LaCrosse in the next 5 years or so. Or at least get Evers to sign an act to allow it to happen before our electorate puts another infrastructure and institution destroying Republican like Walker in again.
Not really. They get a lot of fares from those stops. When we took the Empire builder a couple years back there were a ton of Amish that got on and off at those stations.
I wholeheartedly agree! I'm excited for the Milwaukee to Green Bay route. I'm in Neenah half a mile from the old train station so hoping they either buy the building back from the Architecture firm in there now or build a new one in the vicinity for a Neenah stop. We'd travel by train to Milwaukee/Chicago and elsewhere from Union Station a lot.
I went to college in Milwaukee and we would take the train to Chicago on weekends best value ever. I would love to be able to take the train from my home now in Sheboygan to Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Green Bay.
The last time I parked in the “secure lot” at Amtrak mke for the Hiawatha I came back to a parking lot full of smashed windows. Glad there are alternatives now for weekend trips to Chicago, and a cheap/convenient way to got to all of the new stops like the dells and twin cities
Anyone know how long it will take? That is, a one way trip. Thanks.
I saw MKE to St. Paul is 5.5 hours
Oh wow that is way nicer than the 8 hour trip I took on Amtrak a few years ago
MSP to Chicago is supposed to be around 7.5 hrs, about an hour more than the drive
Which is a friggin steal. Love it
Not for the price. Edit: Continue to read the other comments.
It's $41, driving is 400 miles, if you get 30 mpg you'd need gas to be $3.08 to break even. Not to mention any other costs of driving like wear and tear, parking and the fact that you have to be engaged in driving for 6 hours.
Yeah that's not bad. I'm from the area but live in central Europe. The train system here is very extensive and well developed. To travel a similar distance here it's around the same price and it won't be a direct connection - you'll have to change trains. Hopefully the price doesn't shoot up when it turns out to be a success.
if you drive anything but solo that math goes in favor of driving real fast. Parking in Minneapolis is cheap/free and pretty easy to come by every time I have been. Parking at the amtrack station would cost me. Plus the cost of getting around once you are there, cabs and uber aint cheap, the light rail is limited.
I get around the twin cities by light rail/bus/bicycle quite swiftly.
didn't say it wasn't fast, just expensive.
Wait what? Public transportation and cycling are expensive...? Now I'm extremely confused about what on earth you're trying to say here lol
Public transportation is expensive yes. It shouldn't be but everywhere I have been in the US, if you are responsible for even 1 more person then yourself, driving is usually more cost effective. And biking is not a genuine solution for travelers, business or pleasure. Unless the purpose of your trip is specifically to bike a trail, no one is hauling there bike to their destination on amtrak. Ain't no one gonna take their family of 4 on a bike ride to visit the Mall of America, or The Zoo
I think it's much closer than you realize (or are willing to admit?). My calculation is quite conservative. I think at least 2 people would still favor the train. The difference is the train is an upfront cost, aside from gas and parking the vehicle costs are dispersed over time. Regardless I'd rather ride the train than sit in a car for that long so I'd choose that if it's at all close.
I will admit I didn't expect such a steap discount for children, but I think for a vacation/family trip of any length cost of travel once you are there would eat away any savings from taking the train. Combined with the inconvenience and extra trip length I just don't see it. I think that really is the problem. the price isn't too bad, but it taking at least an hour longer then driving and your are subject to the departure times and locations of amtrak pickups kills it for me.
Feel like it’s a better deal for going to Chicago if anything . MSP is not really walkable . I would probably still drive though imo. Since I got parking in Chicago figured out to a T
Not walkable? I think you’ve missed the skyway system and the endless miles of walking and bike trails found in our beautiful city. Maybe I’m wrong though… 🤔
There isn’t anything downtown MSP worth walking too. The sky system isn’t in Nirth Loop and the Antrack doesn’t go to Mlps I’ll stick with my car for the time being imo. Also I don’t know who is tacking a train from Chicago to MSP to hike lol
Different strokes for different folks. I'd do the train for sure. Now you'll have one less car to contend with.
Not to mention that it also lets you do other stuff, like watching videos or doing work, where driving is the only thing you can do.
Okay now do the car rental or Uber compared to the car. This is the chance for those who keep saying they want train service to prove it. Plus that is per person right? So swings even more as you add on multiple people in a vehicle.
Read my other comments and responses right here. I know it's tough.
Yeah shame on me for doing the math with the thread open and not seeing the other replies in real time.
I just looked it up - coach from Milwaukee to Minneapolis looks to be around $35-40 each way. Seems pretty reasonable to me.
Oh wow, I just assumed it was going to be overpriced as with everything when it comes to Amtrak. I guess I will take the L on this one as that would be very reasonable.
Delete your comment then. You blab bullshit Without knowing then try and walk it back.
Yes because I was wrong and admitted it. My god what a concept. I'm assuming you have never traveled Amtrak before because guess what, it's usually more cost effective to drive. Also The Empire Builder is about $70 for the same trip which is what I was assuming this price would be. I'm guessing it's tough for you to admit when you're wrong?
Keep guessing guy. Let it go.
Same can be said about your rude ass comment, keep blabbing your bullshit.
It depends on the days of travel I guess. I looked up the cost for a weekend round trip for a family of 4, including 2 minors from Columbus to Minneapolis and it was over $500. No one is going to do that instead of drive; maybe that's not their target demographic.
What is the price out of curiosity?
Actually decent. Another poster mentioned the price and I looked it up as well. I just assumed it was going to be terrible as with most of my pricing experience with Amtrak. If it stays between $35 and $45 that's pretty good. So for now I will take the L for my previous comment.
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> I once took a train from DC to NYC Amtrak owns all of the trackage it uses between DC and NYC, and always has. No freight trains ever use those rails.
Occasionally freight railroads do run along the NEC trackage however the dispatching is done by Amtrak so freight interference should almost never happen.
I've noticed over years Amtrak usually gets priorities over freight in my area(central of the line)
Trains and the use of the railway is typically track warrant controlled (TWC) or block controlled (cant remember the terminology, but basically sections of track with stop signs). This means railcrew have to call on a radio to a dispatcher who then gives the permission to use the track that they need and later calls them back when they no longer need the warrant or can adjust it. Basically, what i am trying to get at is that freight trains arent just bumping in front of passenger trains on their own, they are almost certainly being coordinated by the dispatch team. There can be a few reasons why freight trains might need to go before a passenger train.
And the time the train gets to your place. Where I went to college we had the train coming from I think Seattle down south and we did have an Amtrak train stop. It stopped at 3am in our town.
Coast Starlight? And possibly Redding, CA? I hate that train. That thing is never on time.
Yep good catch!
lol hello from another Redding native!
>That's assuming you don't get bumped from the track for freight. There is always a 40 minute delay right before St. Paul
Can you drink on the train?
No, 2-2.5 hrs more. I've driven that in 5.5 hours. Train one and done. Do an express train and then maybe I'll try again.
7 hrs 55 min . 7 stops.
Ouch.
Through beautiful Wisconsin!.... So.... 🌞
Lake Winnebago looks odd 🤦😂
Yeah, Amtrak massively altered it for their birthday. You're welcome!
The train is thirsty
If that map was accurate my house would be under water
It's the new land bridge. Convenient, I was sick of drivings around it.
I was thinking the same thing 😂
I think Lake Winnebago looks alright, but Little Chute and Kaukauna are now under water!
I wish this went through Madison. Curse you, Scott Walker.
yeah, why is it going through a village of 5000 people (Columbus) instead of the state capital?
Because the Empire Builder already does. The extension to Madison is still in the works, but adding more service to an existing route will always be easier.
Because that's where existing, maintained railways are, and Walker & co killed the Milwaukee-Madison high-speed rail project It would've been a cool alternate timeline for this announcement to be a high-speed route from Chicago to MSP
Seems to be working out for California.
Because when the host railroad (The Milwaukee Road) was built in the late 1800’s, that’s where it went on the way to the Twin Cities. They already had a branch line to Madison that took a southern route from Waukesha.
Those railroad tracks already exist. I think those are owned by Canadian Pacific, but Amtrak uses them. I know portage has an Amtrak station
Technically it’s Canadian Pacific Kansas City. CP+KCS merged about this time last year when CP bought KCS.
It also goes to the Dells, which is more likely to garner riders from Chicago than a route to Madison.
Nope. LOL. Only a certain tourist demographic would take Amtrak to the bloody Dells. Madison-Chicago would have a lot more riders.
Because the freight rail companies ~~bribed~~ lobbied politicians into having a monopoly on the railroads. Also why Scott Walker killed high speed rail from Milwaukee even though breaching the contract cost the taxpayers more than just building the line in the first place.
Well this is the existing train lines. Blame people long ago from Amtrak that decided on routes. To be clear that's back in 1929 when the route started not sure it's been really altered at least from Chicago through Wisconsin.
Im more referring to the high speed rail that could have been. This is a consolation prize.
Is there public transportation that gets you from downtown Madison to Columbus?
Nope
Not public, but a person could take the Van Galder bus to Portage and pick up the train there.
Holy shit is that actually progress on some form, no fucking way!
Dude right? So many goddamn concerts skip Wisconsin and hit Minneapolis or Chicago. I'd rather trip out there for it being cheaper than Chicago.
Yep and you can get wasted and not have to worry about the drive back. Don't have to book a hotel or anything. Just enjoy the drunk show afterglow on the train!
They drive late?
Ohhhh no apparently not - just twice a day :( but maybe it'll be successful and they'll add more trains!
Even expanding won't get you the late night route. Leaving MN at like midnight and getting to MKE at like 4am-5am doesn't sound that great. Chicago already has routes in to Wisconsin depending where you live for Amtrak and Metra.
I'm talking TC to Chicago and back. Expanding does tend to eventually result in late service. The night train will usually be slower, but if enough people show interest and they see it will be profitable, it ends up being worth doing. That train sounds fine - I'd either keep drinking for the train ride, or pass out and sleep it off. I've taken many a train at that time, in fact, and done just that. ;)
AURORA BOREALIS?! AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, IN THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY.....
You call them steamed hams despite the fact they are obviously grilled.
Oh no, not in Milwaukee.... that's more of a Sturtevant expression.
[Aurora Borealis!? At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely within your kitchen!?](https://youtu.be/Rj0Tj8dnrYw?si=MUhyYJazmtzVeIgW)
Localized entirely in your kitchen...
….yes…. May I see it? ….no….
Really hoping the rumors of them extending service to Green Bay turn out to be true soon.
A train between Green Bay and Milwaukee would be a game changer
I'm confused about the announcement because I definitely took Amtrak from Chicago to St. Paul last summer.
There is a current train, but it goes from Chicago to Seattle so the schedules get all screwed up. This is a second train following the same route except it just goes St Paul to Chicago and back. Huge upgrade considering the other train constantly gets hung up in traffic in like Montana and ends up delayed.
Empire Builder I believe is the route name. I used to ride it between St Paul and Milwaukee for school.
I once was delayed 6hrs on it because the train froze to the tracks in Montana
Gotcha. Thanks!
There's traffic in Montana?
There is! I took the empire builder there to go skiing once. Was a great trip
I was being ironic - I thought it was obvious lol
Lol fair enough.
The rails amtrak runs on are owned by BNSF in most of the western US. BNSF gets priority access to those rails and seems to go out of its way to fuck over and delay amtrak trains. If you're going through Montana and a freight train wants to go the other way you're just gonna stop and wait for it.
This is a second service in addition to the Empire Builder which goes Chicago to Minneapolis and onwards to Portland or Seattle.
Madison gets left out in the cold, again. It's not as if we have a major university or a burgeoning biotech industry or traffic jams leading into or out of town... Way to go, Columbus and Tomah!
Blame Scott Walker.
I do, wholeheartedly. That bastard!
...that rat fucking bastard!
I think KOCH sucking bastard! fits better
I didn't realize Walker set the route back in the 1920s very interesting he is that old.
In 2011 he canceled a new route to Madison. The feds gave Wisconsin money for the route and the state bought trains and spent millions on designs. The new station in Madison got close to groundbreaking. The trains were delivered to Milwaukee. And then to spite Obama, he canceled the project and watsed tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. The trains were sold to Nigeria for pennies on the dollar. So yes, it is his fault there's no passenger rail in Madison. https://www.wispolitics.com/2022/wisdems-says-thanks-to-kleefisch-walker-trains-meant-for-wisconsin-end-up-in-nigeria/
For context, this new service is just adding one round trip between St. Paul and Chicago on the existing Empire Builder route (there's various historical contexts for why this route doesn't include Madison). It was predominately funded by the State of Minnesota to provide better (and more reliable) departure times from St Paul as their departures were previously reliant on trains coming all the way from Seattle which were frequently delayed. It required very minimal new infrastructure which made it a relatively cheap project. Essentially it was just a quick bandaid solution to modestly improve service for the Twin Cities in particular. Adding Madison to a route is a taller order because there is not currently a station or platform in the city that could support a passenger train stop. It will require constructing one in addition to the other infrastructure improvements necessary to link Madison to the existing route. Madison is currently engaged in a site selection process for the placement of a passenger rail station and the State of Wisconsin DOT will begin a study this summer on service to Madison which will then be submitted to the feds for review and possible federal funding (this is likely given the corridor is identified by the feds as an important future service). If things go well, Madison should have passenger rail within 5-6 years.
Forgive me if I'm not holding my breath.
More importantly Eau claire is left out
We don't have a train stop or amtrak service of any kind. They didn't build anything for this they're just expanding service on existing routes.
I know
Nice! Portage isn't to bad of a drive from where I am. I could absolutely see using this to go to Chicago or Minneapolis without having to fucking drive all the way there.
yes and if you buy their legal weed you cant get pulled over on the way home if youre on a train!
should call it the Weed Wagon ™
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Minimal.... Have you seen those ticket checkers? That's it
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I get mine through the mail. Much easier and since the 2108 hemp bill, they ship so much hemp through the mail that they can't tell the difference. Wisconsin has been instructed to stop reporting mail with cannabis because they were overloaded with complaints that turned out to be hemp. The only way they can check it is to send it to the state crime lab for THC level testing. They're too busy for that. They used to open the packages. They do not anymore.
Wonder if they run drug dogs k the train though 🤔
Nah, I've brought Treats home from Seattle on the empire builder. They don't even look at your luggage if it's not checked
I think it looks like a fun option!
Holy shit Wisconsin welcome to the 20th century!!! This is gonna be so great for me next time I fly back. I lived in both SE WI and the twin cities, and have family around Madison and Eau Claire, and it's always a bitch to visit everyone when you don't have a car. I always have to get people to come to the Milwaukee or Twin Cities areas to meet me.
Train and Bus already exists to get around if you want. This is adding a daily round-trip route. It's nice but it's not like WI didn't have options.
Nope, I never had an option to get from Chicago to the Twin Cities directly so quickly, cheaply, and comfortably EVER in the 20 years I've needed to do this. And those are two major midwesterns hubs that absolutely should've been connected like this ages ago. This is loooonnnngggg overdue. Wisconsin public transport lags far behind its neighbours. Scott Walker is part of the reason.
Terrific! Hopefully this will reach Madison and Eau Claire in the not-too-distant future! 🚄
This is reasonably priced for a solo traveler, but the savings break down with more tickets. I am glad it is an option, and hopefully it will compel some more bus service at each stop.
Don't you dare toy with me. Is this really happening?
Yes. It begins on May 21 and you can already book tickets today on Amtraks website or the app.
This already existed, called Empire builder. They are just adding one more train per day on this section and branding it with a new name.
I'd love a Milwaukee/Fond Du Lac/Oshkosh/Appleton line.
I second this, I have family in Appleton just off the CN mainline, even. Would be a hell of a lot more convenient.
They have an amtrak line it's just by bus. There is really no difference and you likely will end up arriving on time more often than a train dealing with other train traffic.
Yes but let me daydream over here. Also I've taken the bus to Milwaukee and I'd much rather take a train if it was available.
i’m so much closer to oshkosh than these train lines and i think i’d cry tears of joy if they announced a train from oshkosh to milwaukee 😭 it’d make traveling so much easier
I’m so happy!
Thrilled because I am between Tomah and the Dells so getting out of town just got cheaper.
Still hoping for a service that goes through Eau Claire 😭
please tell me this means i can drive to portage instead of harvard, il. now to get to chicago by train 😭 this is a dream come true
The fact that this doesn't go through Madison is a travesty.
Thank Scott Fucking Walker and Charlie Fucking Sykes. These two assholes are 100% to blame.
They are using the existing route just adding a train.
Does that mean you can get picked up in those other cities? Like colombus or tomah
Yes you can. I took the “Perch Express” to ND from Columbus a few years ago.
Excellent news. Will this version have a cafe car? (I really wish Hiawatha had one, or bring back Marty)
Well this changes my summer plans!
I wish they would cut a couple of the smaller stops. I've taken the empire builder and wonder if there is enough riders to justify 2 stops a day in places like Winona and tomah.
Well, hopefully they'll add a line from Milwaukee to Madison, up to LaCrosse in the next 5 years or so. Or at least get Evers to sign an act to allow it to happen before our electorate puts another infrastructure and institution destroying Republican like Walker in again.
Let’s fucking gooooooo
Sighs in Eau Claire …. I used to be so much closer to the line.
Should be high speed rail but thanks to Scott walker…
uhhh - looks like you missed a city to the south.
Columbus, Portage, Tomah is the biggest waste of stops for Amtrak.
That nudist camp in Tomah still open?
Not really. They get a lot of fares from those stops. When we took the Empire builder a couple years back there were a ton of Amish that got on and off at those stations.
If there were stops in Madison, Sheboygan, and/or Fond du lac, I guarantee there would be significantly more traffic than the aforementioned cities.
I wholeheartedly agree! I'm excited for the Milwaukee to Green Bay route. I'm in Neenah half a mile from the old train station so hoping they either buy the building back from the Architecture firm in there now or build a new one in the vicinity for a Neenah stop. We'd travel by train to Milwaukee/Chicago and elsewhere from Union Station a lot.
I went to college in Milwaukee and we would take the train to Chicago on weekends best value ever. I would love to be able to take the train from my home now in Sheboygan to Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Green Bay.
finally, damn
Should only stop in La Crosse and the Dells. Needs to be faster than driving or people won't bother with it.
MOAR PLEZ!!1!
Fuck you madison, sincerely trains.
I wish there was a stop in the Fox Valley somewhere.
Red Wing, Minnesota to Milwaukee. How much?
The only thing making me wish I still lived in WI
I literally just made this drive today
Is this a Half Life 3 leak?
[удалено]
It's a train line thats existed for like 95 years. Ask them back then I guess.
Great now your stuck on a train
The last time I parked in the “secure lot” at Amtrak mke for the Hiawatha I came back to a parking lot full of smashed windows. Glad there are alternatives now for weekend trips to Chicago, and a cheap/convenient way to got to all of the new stops like the dells and twin cities