Midwest Airlines gets Amtrak stop near Milwaukee airport.

[cypriano]

This purpose of this stop is to assist those of us in Northern Illinois to use Milwaukee's Mitchell Field rather than using crowded O'Hare.

There is one problem: Amtrak does not stop in Lake County IL. To use it, we need to go south to Glenview (30-40 minutes from where I live) or go north to Sturdivant in Racine County WI which is not all that far from the airport. (Amtrack doesn't stop in Kenosha Co. WI either.)

We'd use it if we could. But this experiment will fail, and the experts still won't get it

[techguy57]

Whether or not I should have, I read a little bit more into this. METRA has openly discussed plans on expanding its service into Wisconsin, specifically to Kenosha and possibly to Racine. Amtrak already has a station in Sturtevant,(just outside of Racine) so it seems this could end up being a joint venture, or that METRA would consider extending service to Mitchell airport. I have heard speculation that METRA wants to run a commuter system line from Chicago to Milwaukee anyway, on a more regular schedule than Amtrak can provide. The whole deal with the new station at Mitchell makes me wonder if there isn't some truth to these rumors after all.
Just my [2c]

Mike

[Anonymous]

This could be another ploy by the governing folks in Wisconsin to "prove that rail travel doesn't work". During freeway construction a few years back, they tried to extend the Hiawatha service west of Milwaukee. The trains were poorly timed, there was little or no provision for station stops. The stops were often at a grade crossing, and you had to wait at teh roadside in all kinds of weather. Reading that there are no stops in Northern Illinios, it seems that this is just another "feel good" idea that really could work, but won't because it is designed to fail.

[jeaton]

I agree with tomtrain. I don't know about parking near the Milwaukee station or the new trainstop, which I am sure is a factor in making the drive/ride decision. With 7 trains a day and 1 hour 25 minute running and high on-time performance, it is not a bad way to go. I'd bet that 90% of the time a day time car trip from Milwaukee to Chicago is a minimum two hours and no fun.

[CShaveRR]

Couple of points, regarding what's been said in previous posts.

The Metra extension would not be on this line, if it ever comes about...it would be on the former CNW line from Kenosha through Racine, Cudahy, Oak Creek, and to Milwaukee. I'm sure a shuttle bus service could be set up from Cudahy to the airport, if there were a demand for it.

The plan for a stop at Mitchell was in the works for some time, and was supported by Tommy Thompson, who was about as pro-rail a governor as you'd ever find.

The foregoing was pretty much a rehash of an article I just read:

http://www.utu.org/worksite/detail_news.cfm?ArticleID=11365

As for another stop in Lake County, a case might be able to be made to have one near Great America. But you must realize that the extra stops will slow the schedule, making it less desirable for the Chicago-to-Milwaukee folks who normally fill these trains.

[Anonymous]

I ride the Milwaukee to Chicago I think it would be a good idea my retives house I think would be closer to the Airport than Downtown and I hate going from Milwaukee to Home ina the Car YUCK

[techguy57]

Carl- Thanks, I was thinking that the lines were different but I couldn't remember. Amtrak runs on the CP line right? You said that Metra would use the CNW line. Is there still much traffic on the line in the area that UP would find the commuter trains problematic?

Like you, I too figured that a shuttle service might be a probable solution and Cudahy is the most logical place for it. I guess only time will tell.

[CShaveRR]

Mike, Amtrak uses the CP (old MILW) line from Chicago to Milwaukee. Metra, to be completely truthful, uses this line as far as Rondout. It also uses the old CNW line as far north as Kenosha already. North of Kenosha, there isn't much...maybe a local, and the coal trains to Oak Creek (which plant, I understand, might be expanded). I can remember working on that line when it was double-track and capable of handling passenger trains as fast as MILW could. Somebody (the UP, Metra, or whomever Wisconsin designates for this proposed commuter service) will have to bring the line back to (or above) those standards for the commuter service to stand a chance of running dependably. But that is definitely the logical route, passing through all of the towns along the shore. CP's line avoids most of this, so it's suited for the higher-speed operation with few stops that Amtrak can best provide. (UP's freight line runs between these two, along the east side of the airport, and I've heard of no plans to use it for other than the freight it's already carrying.)