Steve Hiniker – Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin
For the first time in nearly 40 years, passenger trains will soon be coming to downtown Madison. The only question is: “Will they stop here?”
When Amtrak trains return to Madison, they will come in from the east and travel parallel to East Washington Avenue before hooking around the Fiore Shopping Center and going to the airport. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation seems to think that it makes sense to put the train depot at the Dane County Regional Airport — miles from where most passengers would like to get on or off the trains.
The DOT plan all but guarantees that rail will fail in Madison.