Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has been allocated $US 25.7m by the Federal Railroad Administration through State Partnership for a State of Good Repair (SOGR) programme to fund the acquisition of three new driving cars and six intermediate coaches to replace life-expired vehicles used on the Chicago - Milwaukee Hiawatha Service.
WisDOT plans to add the coaches to the Midwest Rail equipment pool, a fleet already being manufactured by Siemens for use on eight Amtrak Midwest routes. All Hiawatha services will be operated using rolling stock from this fleet.
The procurement of new vehicles will also help to increase seating capacity and frequencies on the Hiawatha, which is the busiest inter-city passenger service in the Midwest and the ninth-busiest in the United States, with ridership increasing 6% in the first half of 2019.
The first coaches are due to enter service at the end of next year.
In addition, Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will receive a $US 23m SOGR grant from the US Department of Transportation to fund track renewals on the state-owned section of the Chicago - Detroit/Pontiac corridor, which is used by Amtrak Midwest Wolverine services.
The works include the replacement of around 80,000 sleepers east of Battle Creek, 24 track-km of rail east of Jackson, and two new bridges in Jackson.
