:Milwaukee Airport Railroad Station

File:Milwaukee Airport station interior.jpg

The Milwaukee Airport Rail Station's primary functions are to serve as an airport rail link for Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport and to serve as an alternate to the downtown Milwaukee Intermodal Station for residents of the southern portions of the Milwaukee metropolitan area.{{Cite web |last=Jannene |first=Jeramey |date=September 22, 2023 |title=Friday Photos: Airport Train Station Construction Progressing |url=https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2023/09/22/friday-photos-airport-train-station-construction-progressing/ |access-date=September 28, 2023 |website=Urban Milwaukee |language=en}} The station is served only by the Amtrak Hiawatha, and sees fourteen daily arrivals, seven each from Milwaukee and Chicago Union Station.{{Citation |last=Amtrak |title=Hiawatha Service Timetable: Milwaukee – Chicago |date=October 26, 2009 |url=http://www.amtrakhiawatha.com/documents/Amtrak_W23.pdf |publisher=Amtrak}} The station is the first stop enroute to Chicago, {{Convert|8|mi|km|abbr=out}} from Milwaukee with a travel time of about 10 minutes. It is also the third stop en route to downtown Milwaukee, with a travel time along the {{Convert|78|mi|km|abbr=out|adj=on}} section taking one hour and 14 minutes. In Amtrak's {{Amtrak ridership|longdate}}, the station handled {{Amtrak ridership|Milwaukee Airport}} passengers.{{Amtrak ridership|citationWI}}

The {{convert|1600|sqft|m2|sigfig=2|adj=on}} station includes a Quik-Trak ticket machine, restrooms, a seating area, and covered walkways to both the drive-up area and the boarding platform.{{Cite web |title=Milwaukee Airport Railroad Station |url=http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/rail/mars.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080912030537/http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/rail/mars.htm |archive-date=September 12, 2008 |access-date=January 3, 2010 |publisher=Wisconsin Department of Transportation}}{{Cite web |title=Milwaukee – General Mitchell International Airport, WI (MKA) |url=http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am/am2Station/Station_Page&code=MKA |access-date=January 3, 2010 |publisher=Amtrak}} As the station is unstaffed, all tickets from the station need to be purchased online, from the Quik-Trak machine or on the train from a conductor. Passengers needing checked baggage service are advised to use the downtown station.{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Larry |date=January 14, 2005 |title=Amtrak on track to open at airport; Officials expect to lure O'Hare traffic |page=1B |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}} The station parking lot contains 300 spaces and a fee is charged to park.{{Cite web |title=Milwaukee Airport Railroad Station |url=http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/rail/mars.aspx |access-date=August 28, 2017 |website=wisconsindot.gov |publisher=Wisconsin Department of Transportation}} All revenue generated from parking fees is used to finance the station's operating costs. Transport to and from the airport terminal is provided by the free shuttle buses operated by the airport.

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The idea of opening an Amtrak station in the vicinity of Mitchell Airport had been discussed since the mid-1970s.{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Larry |date=March 10, 1996 |title=Norquist, Daley considering Mitchell-O'Hare train |page=3A |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}} The justification for not building the station at the time was based on infrequent Amtrak service and relatively congestion-free access to the airport from the south via I-94 and WI 119. By the late 1990s, a station at the airport was proposed as part of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative.{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Larry |date=October 21, 2000 |title=Thompson tours site of possible rail station |page=3B |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}} In June 2001, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation authorized $100,000 to start the preliminary design for the station, with an original opening slated for late-2003.{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Larry |date=June 12, 2001 |title=Amtrak station at Mitchell advances |page=1A |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}}

How to fund construction of the station became an issue following objections from both airport and Milwaukee County officials.{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Larry |date=June 13, 2001 |title=Funding for Amtrak stop up in air; County, airlines not interested in footing bill for airport station |page=3B |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}} Although supported by both airport and local officials, they stated that financing a facility to transport persons primarily away from Milwaukee should not be done with local, but rather state and federal sources. As a result of this sentiment, Senator Herb Kohl requested $5 million for its construction as part of a federal transportation appropriations bill in July,{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Larry |date=July 13, 2001 |title=U.S. Senate panel backs Hoan funds; Bill would cover repairs, fund airport Amtrak, Kohl says |page=3B |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}} only to see it reduced to $2.5 million in the final bill in December.{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Larry |date=December 4, 2001 |title=U.S. aid for Hoan repair advances; Congressional panel sets aside $7.5 million |page=3B |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}} With an additional $4 million in funding secured by Kohl in February 2003,{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Larry |date=February 25, 2003 |title=State, federal budgets would keep railway passengers on track |page=3B |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}} combined with the $2.5 million previously appropriated, construction of the $6.5 million station could commence.{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Larry |date=May 18, 2003 |title=DOT officials consider train service to Mitchell |page=3B |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}}

File:Hiawatha Milwaukee Airport.jpg

Groundbreaking for the facility occurred on June 28, 2004.{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Larry |date=June 29, 2004 |title=Amtrak breaks ground for airport station |page=1D |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}} Included in the $6.8 million project budget were funds for the construction of the station and track improvements to reduce delays between Milwaukee and Chicago. State and local economic development officials saw its construction as an opportunity for travelers from the Chicago metropolitan area to use the station as a rail link to reach Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport as an alternative for both Chicago's Midway and O'Hare airports.{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Larry |date=August 15, 2004 |title=Mitchell touted as alternative to O'Hare |page=2B |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}} The station opened for Hiawatha trains on January 18, 2005, as a regular stop along Amtrak's .{{Cite news |last=Sandler |first=Larry |date=January 19, 2005 |title=Amtrak launches airport link |page=3B |work=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel}} At the time of its opening, this became only the fourth Amtrak station to have direct service to an airport, after Baltimore, Newark and Burbank.

The station was designed for trains carrying only four coach cars, but service was expanded to five cars by 2009, with a sixth proposed.{{Citation |last=Wisconsin Department of Transportation |title=Milwaukee Airport Rail Station Platform Extension Grant, Application Number: HSR2010000142 |url=http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/recovery/docs/rail-grant-mars.pdf |date=August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528124948/http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/recovery/docs/rail-grant-mars.pdf |access-date=January 4, 2010 |archive-date=May 28, 2010 |url-status=dead}} In 2010, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation was awarded $678,000 in ARRA funds to double the length of the {{convert|400|ft|m|adj=on}}-long platform.{{cite web |url=https://railroads.dot.gov/passenger-rail/high-speed-rail/hsipr-funding-region |title=HSIPR Funding by Region |publisher=Federal Railroad Administration |access-date=June 22, 2023}}{{cite report |url=https://utcm.tti.tamu.edu/publications/final_reports/Morgan_11-10-75.pdf |title=Intercity Passenger Rail: Implications for Urban, Regional, and National Mobility |page=23 |first1=Benjamin R. |last1=Sperry |first2=Curtis A. |last2=Morgan |date=December 2011 |publisher=United States Department of Transportation Research and Innovative Technology Administration}} The work was completed in October 2012.{{cite web |url=https://miprc.org/portals/0/pdfs/WISCONSIN12.pdf |title=Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2012: State of Wisconsin |date=November 2012 |publisher=Amtrak}} From March 21 to June 29, 2020, the Empire Builder temporarily stopped at Milwaukee Airport and Sturtevant while Hiawatha trains were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite news |url=http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2020/03/19-amtrak-sets-more-cuts-in-midwest-announces-first-changes-on-west-coast|title=Amtrak sets more cuts in Midwest, announces first changes on West Coast |newspaper=Trains Magazine |first=Bob |last=Johnston |date=March 19, 2020 |archive-date=March 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320223828/https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2020/03/19-amtrak-sets-more-cuts-in-midwest-announces-first-changes-on-west-coast |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/25-first-hiawatha-trains-to-return-june-1/ |title=First 'Hiawatha' trains to return June 1 |newspaper=Trains Newswire |date=May 25, 2020 |access-date=June 22, 2023}}

In February 2019, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded $5 million in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements funds to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for the addition of a second 800-foot (240 m) platform and a footbridge at the station. Construction on the $17.2 million project began in June 2023 and was initially expected to be completed by June 2025.{{cite web |title=Milwaukee Airport Rail Station Second Platform and Pedestrian Overpass Project |url=https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/multimodal/mars.aspx |access-date=June 22, 2023 |publisher=Wisconsin Department of Transportation}} However, the timeline was later revised to Spring 2026.{{cite web |title=Milwaukee Airport Rail Station Second Platform and Pedestrian Overpass Project |url=https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/projects/multimodal/mars.aspx |access-date=March 2, 2025 |publisher=Wisconsin Department of Transportation}}

{{Reflist}}

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{{Amtrak web|MKA|Milwaukee Airport Rail Station}}

{{Amtrak Wisconsin stations}}

Category:Amtrak stations in Wisconsin

Category:Transportation in Milwaukee

Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 2005

Category:Airport railway stations in the United States

Category:2005 establishments in Wisconsin