New Hiawatha round trip

[Superliner Diner]

One new round trip is being added to the Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha Corridor effective with the timetable change of October 27th.

The new southbound trip will be the last of the day, departing MKE at 7:30 PM, arriving CHI at 8:59 PM. This train will operate 7 days a week, and be designated 342.

Its northbound counterpart, 329, will originate in Chicago at 6 AM, and arrive in Milwaukee 7:29 AM. It will run every day except Sunday. Train 331, the current first departure from Chicago at 8:25 AM, will become a daily train (currently it does not operate Sundays).

I am told that one crew will operate 342 from Milwaukee to Chicago in the evening, overnight there, and then take 329 back to Milwaukee in the morning.

Always nice to see service added rather than cuts being threatened or carried out.

 

[Steve4031]

This is great. Now I might be able to ride up to Milwaukee and have dinner with my buddy, and then come back to Chicago. I have been looking for a train in this time slot for years.

 

[Superliner Diner]

AMTRAK's press release on the new Hiawatha round trip:

October 22, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact:

Ron Adams, WisDOT Kathleen Cantillon, Amtrak

(608) 267-9284 (312) 880-5390

[email protected] [email protected]

AMTRAK DEBUTS ADDITIONAL CHICAGO-MILWAUKEE SERVICE

Increases to seven round trips Monday through Saturday

Beginning Sunday, October 27, Amtrak will provide another round-trip train on the Hiawatha Service operating between Chicago and Milwaukee. The new trains leave Chicago and Milwaukee at the very beginning and end of the work day, respectively, and will bring the total number of round-trips in the corridor up to seven from Monday through Saturday, while remaining at six round-trips on Sunday.

"We are excited that Amtrak will offer even more options for travelers in this key corridor," stated Acting Secretary Tom Carlsen of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. "With almost 1,100 people using the Hiawatha Service every day, we have one of the busiest intercity passenger train routes in the country. We also have the best on-time performance rate – 94% – of any Amtrak route."

The new Hiawatha Service trains are as follows:

Stations #329 Northbound #342 Southbound

Mon-Sat Everyday

(read down) (read up)

Chicago, IL – Union Station 6:00 a.m. 8:59 p.m.

Glenview, IL 6:22 a.m. 8:31 p.m.

Sturtevant, WI (Racine) 6:59 a.m. 7:54 p.m.

Milwaukee, WI 7:29 a.m. 7:30 p.m.

By adding the new service, Amtrak will be making more efficient use of its equipment. Previously, the six roundtrips required the use of three trainsets to correctly position the equipment to meet the timetable. By adding the seventh roundtrip, Amtrak will use just two trainsets that are rotated more frequently.

The state of Wisconsin contributes about $3.9 million each year, which is added to the $1.3 million provided by the state of Illinois, to support the Hiawatha Service. The state of Wisconsin is in the midst of a $2.6 million renovation and private development partnership at the passenger rail station in downtown Milwaukee, and is planning a new $7.5 million train station at Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport. The village of Sturtevant is also developing a new train station to serve that community.

"Amtrak’s new service fits very well into our long-term goal to make the Hiawatha Service more efficient while at the same time expand opportunities for ridership growth," noted Secretary Carlsen. "More frequent train service is essential to providing good connections for business and leisure travelers and, ultimately, airport connections. The potential growth in ridership also improves the viability for our public/private development partnership at the Milwaukee station, which is already among Amtrak’s top 20 busiest stations. This also keeps us on track for eventual high-speed passenger rail service to Madison and other parts of Wisconsin."

For tickets, schedules or other passenger information for the Hiawatha Service or the other 500 communities in 46 states served by Amtrak’s 22,000-mile route system, visit Amtrak’s Web site at http://www.amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL.