MILWAUKEE — The state of Wisconsin has filed a brief document with the Federal Transit Administration in support of a private corporation’s plan to provide commuter rail service between Milwaukee and Kenosha, Wis. — a long-discussed but moribund project dating to 1998.
The two-page “Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Commuter Rail Project Development Profile” was filed by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in conjunction with the Wisconsin Transit & Realty Group. It proposes a 33-mile operation from the Kenosha station served by Metra’s Union Pacific-North line to the downtown Milwaukee Intermodal Station, with seven intermediate stops.
The state DOT said in a statement to WUWM-FM that it was serving as the public sponsor required by FTA rules for the proposal from the Wisconsin Transit & Realty Group, “a private corporation that will own and operate the commuter service if the FTA agrees to the plan. … There are no state funds associated with the project, as all costs will be paid by WTRG.” The application, the DOT said, was a request to enter the project development phase of the FTA’s Capital Investment Grant Program, during which WisDOT will lead an environmental study of the proposal.
The proposed route would use an existing Union Pacific freight line, with infrastructure upgrades including improvements to allow 79-mph operation, up to three new 10,000-foot sidings, implementation of positive train control, and other improvements. The proposal also calls for use of hydrogen-powered trainsets, and initially would operate only during peak periods on weekdays. The estimated capital cost is $460 million.
WUWM also notes that Wisconsin Transit & Realty’s website is incomplete, listed phone numbers do not appear to be working, and that the officials listed on the site did not respond to emails.
The concept of a Milwaukee-Kenosha commuter line began receiving consideration in 1998, when a study by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission found the idea to be feasible. Additional studies were conducted between 2005 and 2011 by the planning commission, and then by the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority, created by the state legislature in 2009. The legislation creating the transit agency was repealed in 2011, but some of the material it produced remains available on an archived website. The Racine County Eye reports the idea received a brief revival in 2021 by Racine officials hoping to take advantage of federal infrastructure money.
Share this article
