June 8, 2026 7:15p
(WGTD)---By one measure, extending commuter rail from Kenosha to Milwaukee could be twice as popular as Amtrak’s busy Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee.
A ridership estimate—said by planners to be on the conservative side—is included in a new brochure that makes the business case for the extension. It’s part of a push launched two years ago with the help of a $5 million federal grant to restart the planning process that was killed 15 years ago when the state legislature withdrew statutory support for a regional transit authority.
In the brochure, consultants hired by Milwaukee Area Racine Kenosha Rail, or MARK for short, are estimating an annual ridership of nearly 2.5 million passengers. By comparison, Amtrak’s Hiawatha and Borealis carried 677,000 passengers last year.
Racine Mayor Cory Mason chairs the new MARK Rail Commission. He believes the case for additional federal funding for more planning will stack up well against other proposals from around the country.
The window for submitting an application was expected to open this year, but now that’s in question under the Trump administration.
Following a meeting of MARK yesterday, Mason said the delay will give the group more time to strengthen its case for funding even further.
The new brochure estimates that the tax base within a mile of either direction of the rail line will grow by $168 million with the advent of commuter rail. That increase could be used to create tax incremental financing to help fund the local share of construction costs.
The proposed new service would run on existing track bed, much of it through heavily-urbanized areas. Some track would have to be added and a few bridges would have to be replaced or modified.
MARK's schedule on the south end of the line in Kenosha would be aligned with METRA's arrivals and departures to and from Chicago. A representative of METRA was at Monday's MARK Commission meeting in Racine.
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