Milwaukee Intermodal Station

Milwaukee Intermodal Station is the main intercity bus and train station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, located downtown. The station is served by Amtrak's Empire Builder and Hiawatha Service as well as bus companies Coach USA - Wisconsin Coach Lines (regional and intercity services), Greyhound Lines, Jefferson Lines, Indian Trails, Lamers, Badger Bus, Tornado Bus Company, and Megabus.

Milwaukee Intermodal Station
Glass station building and 6th Street Bridge at sunset
General information
Location433 West Saint Paul Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
United States
Coordinates43°02′03″N 87°55′02″W
Owned byWisDOT
Operated byAmtrak
Line(s)CP Watertown/C&M Subdivisions
Platforms2 island and 1 side platform
Tracks5
Train operatorsAmtrak
Bus stands9
Bus operators
ConnectionsMilwaukee Streetcar
Milwaukee County Transit System: BlueLine, 12, 31, 34, 57
Construction
Parking425 long term spaces
Bicycle facilitiesBublr Bikes bike-share
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: MKE
History
Opened1965
Rebuilt2007
Previous namesMilwaukee Union Station (1965–2007)
Passengers
FY 2021198,389[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Columbus
toward Seattle or Portland
 Empire Builder Glenview
toward Chicago
Terminus Hiawatha Service Milwaukee Airport
toward Chicago
Preceding station The Hop Following station
Terminus M-Line St. Paul at Plankinton
toward Burns Commons
Former services
Preceding station Chicago and North Western Railway Following station
Terminus Milwaukee Division Racine
toward Chicago
Future services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Columbus
toward St. Paul
 Great River Milwaukee Airport
toward Chicago

Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) local bus routes 12 and 57 serve the station directly and several other local bus routes operate on nearby streets.

The city's other intercity stations include Milwaukee Airport Railroad Station near Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on the south side of the city and several other intercity bus stations.

It is Amtrak's 18th-busiest station nationwide, and the second-busiest in the Midwest, behind only Chicago Union Station.[2]

History

The station opened on August 3, 1965 as Milwaukee Union Station. Operated by the Milwaukee Road, it replaced their previous Everett Street Depot. The depot was built on West St. Paul Avenue in a modernistic style that proved unpopular quickly after it was erected.[3] The Chicago and North Western Railroad closed their Milwaukee station (Lake Front Depot) and moved their passenger operations to the new Milwaukee Road depot in 1966. Following the formation of Amtrak in 1971, the Chicago and North Western withdrew all of its intercity trains and commuter service from the station.

Intercity coach platforms are located partially under the Sixth Street Viaduct
The original Milwaukee Union Station, soon after its opening in 1965

In November 2007, the facility was renamed the Milwaukee Intermodal Station following a $16.9 million renovation. The new facility included a larger waiting area with a glass atrium and improved space for Amtrak ticketing, as well as facilities for intercity buses (to accommodate Greyhound service after it relocated from its former location at 7th and Michigan), a restaurant, and retail space.[4] In 2016, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation completed a rebuild of the train shed and platform to meet federal accessible standards.[5]

The Canadian Pacific Railway (through its Soo Line Railroad subsidiary) acquired the trackage within the train shed when it bought the remnants of the Milwaukee Road in 1986 (the Milwaukee went defunct that year). The CP Rail C&M Subdivision runs on two mains through the station. There are 4 depot spurs used to store private railcars and Amtrak Hiawatha trains overnight. CP's Muskego Yard is just to the south of the station.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation owns the station and platforms. The DOT's Statewide Traffic Operations Center is on the 3rd floor of the station.

There is a 300-space parking lot just west of the station.[4] The station has a restaurant and a large vending area. Checked baggage service is available for Amtrak passengers.

Services

The station's busiest service is the Hiawatha Service, with seven daily round trips to Chicago (six on the weekends) with an additional late-night southbound train on Fridays. It is the successor of Chicago-Milwaukee express trains operated by the Milwaukee Road from the 1930s onward. The Empire Builder, a long-distance train linking Chicago and the Pacific Northwest, also stops here once a day in each direction, with the eastbound train arriving in early afternoon and the westbound train arriving just before rush hour. Due to the wider availability of the Hiawatha Service, it normally only stops to receive passengers westbound and discharge passengers eastbound. However, for much of the spring of 2020, the Empire Builder temporarily allowed local travel between Chicago and Milwaukee to make up for the suspension of the Hiawatha due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of November 2, 2018, the station is served by a stop on The HOP Milwaukee Streetcar.

Statistics
Ridership by Fiscal Year
Fiscal YearRidership
2003[6] 405,151
2004[7] 438,891
2005[8] 474,808
2006[9] 481,818
2007[10] 471,752
2008[11] 565,009
2009[12] 553,475
2010[13] 588,617
2011[14] 617,800
2012[15] 632,078
2013[16] 617,153
2014[17] 596,415
2015[18] 594,076
2016[19] 597,134
2017[20] 605,351
2018[21] 604,631
2019[22] 639,713
2020[23] 311,350
2021[24] 198,389

See also

References
  1. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2021: State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Amtrak. August 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  2. Amtrak national fact sheet FY2018
  3. Holland, Kevin J. (2001). Classic American Railroad Terminals. Osceola, WI: MBI. p. 61. ISBN 9780760308325. OCLC 45908903.
  4. Amtrak, Greyhound now at same location Archived November 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Jannene, Jeramey. "Eyes on Milwaukee: New $22 Million Rail Concourse Opens". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  6. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2003 State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-06-09.
  7. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2004 State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-03-17.
  8. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2005 State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-03-17.
  9. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2006 State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-10.
  10. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2007 State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-25.
  11. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2008 State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06.
  12. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2009 State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-07.
  13. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2010 State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-19.
  14. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2011 State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-01.
  15. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2012 State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-19.
  16. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2013 State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-18.
  17. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2014 State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-25.
  18. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2015 State of Wisconsin" (PDF).
  19. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2016 State of Wisconsin" (PDF).
  20. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2017 State of Wisconsin" (PDF).
  21. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2018 State of Wisconsin" (PDF).
  22. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2019 State of Wisconsin" (PDF).
  23. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2020 State of Wisconsin" (PDF).
  24. "Amtrak Fact Sheet Fiscal Year 2021 State of Wisconsin" (PDF).

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