If you dislike the drive from Chicago to Madison, Wisconsin, you’re not alone. The trip takes about two and a half hours and feels even longer when there’s traffic.
While you could take the train, it doesn’t necessarily bring you any closer to your destination. The closest Amtrak service from Chicago to Madison still leaves you in Columbus, WI, which is about 30 minutes from the city.
However, we have good news—this could soon be a thing of the past.
Amtrak is finally bringing passenger rail to Madison
Amtrak has announced plans for a passenger rail service to Madison that could launch as early as 2030.
The project would extend the existing Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha line with new stops in Pewaukee, Watertown, and downtown Madison. The current plan includes twice-daily service between Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison.
Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the agency “aims to start the line as early in the 2030s as possible,” and it could be operational by 2030 or the following year.
However, he also mentioned that it’s still too early to estimate the amount of federal funding needed or which railroad upgrades will be required.
The timeline remains uncertain due to Federal approvals
While the plan would launch with twice-daily Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison service in 2030, officials say that timeline still depends on federal approvals, track improvements, and money actually showing up.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Hiawatha West project is currently in a phase where station locations are being selected, which will feed into the Federal Railroad Administration’s review and environmental studies.
Once the station locations are finalized, the Federal Railroad Administration has to approve the stops before preliminary engineering and environmental clearance can proceed, and any construction will need to secure federal grants.
