Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac write letter backing Amtrak expansion

APPLETON - Municipal leaders from seven of Northeast Wisconsin's largest cities submitted a joint letter to the Federal Railroad Administration encouraging Amtrak to extend passenger train service from Milwaukee to Green Bay.

Mayors and city managers from Green Bay, Appleton, Kaukauna, Menasha, Neenah, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac signed on, saying the region meets the selection criteria for inclusion in the Corridor ID program. The program was included in the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included $66 billion for passenger rail upgrades and expansion. The White House at the time noted American rail service "lags behind the rest of the world in reliability, speed, and coverage."

Signatories said the letter is an important, procedural step, but there is still no guarantee Northeast Wisconsin will be included in Amtrak's formal expansion plan.

The Northeast Wisconsin expansion would operate three round trips each day with a Green Bay-to-Milwaukee trip taking just under three hours and the trip from Green Bay to Chicago taking 4 hours, 20 minutes. The service map includes stops in Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac.

Currently, Amtrak connects Green Bay to its Milwaukee station via a bus service that stops in Appleton, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac and De Pere.

Originally Posted By Grizz272:
I have no problem with this as long as the riders pay the whole cost of the service.  Absolutely no public funding.

Who would ride 3 hrs to Milwaukee or 4 hrs to Chicago?

Originally Posted By prebans:
They see dollar signs from income SUBSIDIES instead of social problems requiring tax dollars.

Originally Posted By olyman:
Amtrak is a complete failure. Half of its revenue is paid via state and federal tax dollars.