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6/29/2021
The Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago Intercity Passenger Rail project (TCMC Second Train) will receive $10 million from a more than $7 billion omnibus transportation funding package signed into law by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz last weekend.
The funds, combined with funds committed by Wisconsin and Amtrak, result in a full match for a federal grant awarded last year, and a green light for final design and construction, Great River Rail Commission officials said in a press release.
The TCMC Second Train project will add a second daily round-trip passenger train between the Twin Cities and Chicago operated by Amtrak, and is expected to carry 124,000 passengers annually beginning in 2024. The $10 million investment will result in $40 million in track and signal improvements to rail infrastructure in southeastern Minnesota that will benefit both passenger and freight rail.
The transportation package received bipartisan support. With this action, Minnesota joins the federal government, the state of Wisconsin and Amtrak in funding the $53.3 million capital portion of the project to be used for final design and construction of freight-rail track and signal improvements in and around Winona and La Crescent, Minnesota.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded a $31.8 million grant to the project in 2020, while Wisconsin committed $6.5 million and Amtrak allocated $5 million, as well as additional funding to upgrade the Winona station.
The next steps for the project are a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to be reached between the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois; and Amtrak and Canadian Pacific, the host railroad. Once the MOU is approved by all parties it will be submitted to the FR to begin the process of accepting federal grant dollars. The Wisconsin and Minnesota departments of transportation will lead the process of establishing the agreements, and final design and construction of the project.