Second daily round-trip train between Twin Cities, Chicago edges closer to reality

Star Tribune - October 3, 2020

Longstanding efforts to add a second daily Amtrak train between the Twin Cities and Chicago received a big boost recently when federal funders kicked in nearly $32 million to help see the project through.

While passenger rail advocates cheered the news, their reaction was a bit tempered because the status of $10 million in state matching funds is uncertain at this point. And, current service on Amtrak’s Empire Builder long-distance line between Chicago and the West Coast will be pared to three trips a week beginning Oct. 19.

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Wisconsin-Minnesota passenger rail project selected to receive $31.8 million federal grant

Lodi Enterprise - October 2, 2020

The joint Wisconsin-Minnesota Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago (TCMC) Passenger Rail Project has been selected to receive a $31.8 million federal rail grant. The TCMC project will add an additional daily round-trip between the Twin Cities, La Crosse, Milwaukee, and Chicago and points in-between, along the existing long-distance Amtrak Empire Builder route. The TCMC service will be an extension of one of the existing Amtrak Hiawatha round trips.

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Feds give Wisconsin-Minnesota rail project $31M grant

The Center Square - October 1, 2020

The federal government chose the joint Wisconsin-Minnesota Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago (TCMC) Passenger Rail Project to receive a $31.8 million federal rail grant. The TCMC project will add a daily round-trip between the Twin Cities, La Crosse, Milwaukee, and Chicago along the existing Amtrak Empire Builder route. “The expanded service provides a much-improved connection between the Midwest economic hubs of Minneapolis/St. Paul, La Crosse, Milwaukee and Chicago,” Craig Thompson, Wisconsin Department of Transportation secretary-designee, said in a statement.

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