Expansion of the airport train station is progressing » Urban Milwaukee

Construction of the Milwaukee Airport Rail Station. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

There is life on MARS.

But MARS in this case is the station of the Milwaukee airport.

Construction of a second platform at the south passenger station is now much closer to completion than it was when we described the project in September 2023. Construction of a second platform is a critical infrastructure improvement needed to increase the number of daily Amtrak Hiawatha Service trains.

However, there is still much work to be done on the project, which is scheduled to be completed next June.

One reason for the slow progress is that the station continues to serve 14 Amtrak Hiawatha trains daily.

The double-track line is also heavily used by freight trains owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). And every time one rumbles by, a foreman blows an air horn and all workers must stay at least 15 feet away from the tracks. Two cross-country Amtrak Empire Builder trains also pass by but do not stop.

Zenith Tech was awarded a $17.2 million construction contract to build an 800-foot concrete platform, elevator towers, a pedestrian bridge over the double-track rail line, and a number of improvements to the surrounding tracks.

MARS is located at 5601 S. 6th St., on the western edge of the Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport site. Despite its airport name and proximity to the airport, the station is primarily aimed at residents living south of downtown who want to travel to Chicago. The station’s large parking lot and proximity to the airport’s freeway exit make it a convenient alternative for those who would otherwise drive from downtown to the Milwaukee Intermodal Station.

Recent visitors to the station include the US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Governor Tony EversAs part of a press event, the two prominent Democrats took a 15-minute ride aboard the Hiawatha from MARS to the Intermodal Station.

At a press conference after the trip, both spoke in favor of expanding rail service in Wisconsin and the public demand for it. The trip comes on the heels of strong initial ridership of the Amtrak Borealis, which began service in May. The new train, a once-daily extension of the Hiawatha to St. Paul, adds a second daily service between the Twin Cities, western Wisconsin, Milwaukee and Chicago.

The expansion of MARS brings a crucial efficiency advantage: trains can stop on both tracks. The 14 trains that currently stop at the station every day can only do so on the eastern track. This one-sided stopping creates an operational bottleneck when the faster passenger trains are planned around slower, longer freight trains.

But as the cost of the project proves, this efficiency comes at a price. As it did previously for the Sturtevant station, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has designed an enclosed walkway over the two-track main line. Each tower will house two elevators and numerous improvements are planned.

MARS originally opened in 2005. The current Sturtevant station opened in 2006. WisDOT received a $5 million federal grant to fund the MARS expansion in 2019.

For those using the train-airport service, an on-demand shuttle bus runs between the station and the airport. Increasing the frequency of the Hiawatha could make it more attractive for residents of Illinois or southern Wisconsin to use the train-airport service, as wait times for the train portion would be shorter.

While the station is owned by WisDOT, the rail line is owned by CPKC. The rail company will allow one additional round-trip on its tracks in exchange for a number of infrastructure improvements, including the new platform and two projects near the downtown station. A previous agreement to allow three additional round-trips is on hold after Illinois canceled plans to build a siding for freight trains in the Chicago suburbs in 2019.

WisDOT is awaiting a second federal grant to complete the Muskego Yard Bypass project. This grant is needed to add the eighth daily Hiawatha round trip. The project involves building a new double-track main line through CPKC’s Muskego Yard in the Menomonee Valley so trains carrying double-decker freight containers can avoid the downtown station. The rising costs of the project, including from inflation and bridge replacement, prompted WisDOT to apply for a second grant. It originally received a $26.6 million grant in 2020 for a project that was supposed to be worth $55 million.

Through a web of federal regulations, railroads can demand infrastructure improvements that primarily benefit their operations in exchange for allowing expanded passenger service. The CPKC main line between downtown Milwaukee and the Illinois border is one of the busiest rail corridors in Wisconsin.