Milwaukee Intermodal Station

The M-Change construction offers improvements for people who drive their own cars to work, but those who prefer buses and trains for their commute shouldn’t worry, they won’t be left behind.

The Milwaukee Intermodal Station, downtown’s new Amtrak train and bus station, had its grand opening yesterday. According to WISN sources, guests at the ribbon cutting ceremony included the project designer, Milwaukee government officials – Governor Jim Doyle and Mayor Tom Barrett to name a few – and everyday passengers who were commuting to work or heading back home from the holiday weekend, and some locals who just wanted to catch a glimpse into the new station.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited about this. After looking at the photos in the Journal Sentinel yesterday, the $16.9 million project has clearly transformed the former Amtrak station into a new and improved facility.

I wasn’t there for the grand opening, but I took a detour on my way home from work last night and drove past the new building on St. Paul Ave. I can’t believe how different it looks! Check out these photos and see it for yourself if you haven’t already. It’s pretty cool, don't you think?

The new Intermodal Station has definitely updated the former 42-year-old Amtrak Station with a modernized exterior and remodeled waiting room that’s made of a contemporary, three-story steel and glass galleria, which I think is reminiscent of the clean openness of the Calatrava. Plus, the hub now serves Greyhound buses as well as Amtrak’s Milwaukee-to-Chicago line and long-distance Empire Builder Line that goes to the Twin Cities and Green Bay.

The remodeling has received a lot of hype, but I think it’s well deserved. I’ve taken the Amtrak multiple times prior to the renovation and was a little embarrassed by its unwelcoming appearance. It was an unacceptably unpleasant way to enter the city, with a dim and depressing interior virtually devoid of windows, natural light and charm of any sort. All the old station offered was a single entry train depot and worn-out seats in a dismal waiting room with a couple vending machines that provided stale bags of Cheetos for travelers – there wasn’t much to brag about.

Now, the station is being hailed as a new hub with multiple transportation options: passenger rail, intercity and regional bus connections, and taxi and limousine services; plus new features including office and retail spaces, and food services. Milwaukee finally has a more dignified place to wait for a train, but there’s still room for more expansion.

As of now, the improvements haven’t touched the platform, so the boarding process will remain as uninviting as ever. Was this really overlooked? Perhaps there are plans to revamp the dingy, unattractive depot in the future. I certainly hope so at least – I wouldn’t want visitors passing through the city and leaving with such a misguided first impression of Milwaukee.

But for the most part, the thousands of Amtrak passengers who come through Milwaukee for business or pleasure each year will find the station to be a unique and inviting place to catch a bus or train. At last, the city has a facility that is more welcoming to travelers and more representative of Milwaukee. The renovation is a big step in keeping up with the city’s constant evolution.

Besides the current changes, there’s potential for additional transportation means and citywide or regional connections. I read an article this morning about possible plans for the Intermodal Station. The author is hopeful that someday transportation will be available so that people can take a commuter train from their home in Kenosha and hop a streetcar to their job downtown. Future plans may even speak of high-speed trains that could whisk people away to a relative’s home in Oshkosh for the holidays as well.

While the new Milwaukee Intermodal Station does indeed boost the city’s image and encourages progress, I’m confident that there’s more that can and will be done in the future. This is a great start!

Check it out and let me know what you think.

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Milwaukee Intermodal Station
433 West St. Paul Ave., Milwaukee

Comments

[Scott]

Very good article. I think it is a much needed revamp, and agree that the building does look fantastic.

In addition I think that if you give people great coffee and great music while riding, they might just leave their cars behind.

Just wondering if you knew, will rates being going up as a result?

[bluesphee]

I think the new station looks great and overall I'm glad they did it. That being said, let me go off for a minute on the crappiness that is Amtrak...

Your post gave me the idea of taking the train to Minneapolis for an Ugly Sweater Christmas Party I am going to. So I went to the website to see what it would cost and how long it would take. The ticket would be $130 (round trip)!!! On top of that the ride is 6 1/2 hours one way. That assumes there are no delays. If you've ever been on Amtrak you know that you'll have a delay.

I'm sorry, but the facade of the building is important, but the actual product that is sold is more important. I'll take a dumpy looking train station where the trains actually are reasonably priced and they get you to where you want to be on time over something that looks great and has awful service.

Here's my main question...who is paying for this? The customer through ticket fares, Amtrak itself, or the government (which = we pay for it)?

I've travelled in the UK and in Europe extensively via train and the difference is night and day. Why they can get it right and we can't is beyond me. The UK trains would have some delays but overall the service was so much better. The European lines are ridiculously better than what Amtrak offers. Ok that's enough for now :).

[Kristin]

I'm so excited to see the new updates to this facility. After reading the article you linked from JS Online, I'm even more anxious to see *more* transportation in, around, to, and from Milwaukee -- let's put that new station to use.

Most major cities here and abroad (temporarily ignoring LA and its transportation woes) has some kind of network of trains, whether above ground or below, connecting each city to itself and to the surrounding areas. Living on the East Coast now, I'm spoiled -- I can get to Boston in 4 hours by bus or even less by train, Philadelphia in an hour or 2, D.C. in just a few... Milwaukee may not be as large as some other cities but it is becoming a very sought-after location, and its inaccessibility is a major downfall.

Besides transportation to and from cities as far as Chicago, Green Bay, or Mpls-St. Paul, I can't wait to see a commuter rail to/from the suburbs. How great would it be if you could commute from Waukesha, Kenosha, Racine, without having to deal with the traffic? It would not only save you gas money and save the environment some stress, you could be more productive too. My morning commute involves over an hour on a train, but I get so much work done in transit.

I didn't realize how enthusiastic I was about this topic... Yikes. Thanks for the post, K-ran. :)

[mjonthemove]

Hey Karen,
Great Post. I meant to get down to the grand opening, but had to work. And I haven't had the chance to check for pictures, so, I greatly appreciate it. Setting up infrastructure like this so we can then implement things like high-speed rail downtown streetcars and the KRM line are SOOOOO vital. Amtrak sucks because it doesn't have priority over freight, and is therefore, late, often. Amtrak is heavily subsidized by the government to stay open. It's a mess.

We need high speed rail from Chicago to Milwaukee to Madison at the very least. We would have rail priority, and the high usage would drive down prices.

I checked my archives, and I wrote about this like 2 years ago.
http://mjonthemove.blogspot.com/2006/02/milwaukee-becoming-again-what-it-once.html

[alba]

I took the Amtrak train on Monday night to Chicago for around $40 round trip. The new station is a big improvement over the trashy hole that was there before.

It may not make sense for traveling to Minneapolis, but the train is a great value for trips to Chicago. Most hotels in Chicago charge $40 or more per night for parking anyway, plus you would have to spend some money on few gallons of gas if you drove. And the traffic down to Chicago is really bad now due to construction on I94.

The train is fast (90 minutes from downtown to downtown), smooth, and comfortable. You can fold your seat way back and the pull out a footrest from under your seat so that you can practically be flat on your back.

Plus they sell beer on the trains. What more do want?

[daver]

So this is cool, I'm working my way through all the blogs I read and what do I see my pictures! very cool.

As far as the staion it is just amazingly better than it was.. Night and day. Next spring it will be even better as they further improve the streets and streetscaping.

I too took the Amtrak to Chicago and you can't tell me driving is the better option. Sit back relax, have a beer, save money, and most likely save time. Of course the Megabus isn't a bad option either round trip for less than $20 (price varies)

[sammy]

Wow! I wondered whatever happened to the plans announced what seems like years ago. This is first rate. We are looking more like a major league city. I'm really impressed. Great blog.

[Peter Bridges]

Amtrak is doing better and the Hiawatha service is a success...but this old man remembers that half a century ago, the Hiawatha ran from Milwaukee to Chicago not in 90 minutes but 75. Admittedly that was non-stop; but in any case we have far to go in this country to restore the kind of passenger train service we had decades ago, not to speak of the kind of train service other countries enjoy now.