HNTB / City of Madison Transportation / Google Earth
A potential site at the Monona Terrace for Madison's Amtrak station.
The Monona Terrace site, above, and Blair Street locations were the two sites that met all of the study’s evaluation criteria at least “moderately” well.
A study of possible locations for a passenger rail station in Madison gives top marks to downtown locations, but also leaves the door open for a location near First Street or the former Oscar Mayer site. The study eliminated possibilities for a train station near the UW campus or Dane County Regional Airport.
The results of the study will be presented to the city’s Transportation Commission Jan. 17, with public meetings scheduled for Jan. 30 and Feb. 6.
The next phase of the study, conducted by the city’s transportation department and consultant HNTB, will narrow the options in a report to be released later this year.
“I don’t know if we have a favorite,” says transportation director Tom Lynch. With service still years away, Lynch says the city may need to keep its options open. “It’s possible that we would have multiple recommendations.”
Federal funding has been set aside to expand passenger rail service around the country, potentially including an extension of an existing Chicago-Milwaukee route to Madison. While the route is not guaranteed, the city says making a recommendation for a rail station location will make it easier for that extension to advance.
The rail study looked at four possible downtown and isthmus locations on tracks that run along Wilson Street: Monona Terrace, Blair Street, Livingston Street and Baldwin Street. The First Street area has two possible locations: one near the future Madison Public Market and Burr Jones Park and another across Johnson Street from the future market. The Oscar Mayer area has options at Commercial Avenue and the former North Transfer Point on Aberg Avenue.
With much of the funding coming from federal sources, the final recommendation of a site will have to weigh both local preferences and the wishes of Amtrak, which may lean toward a downtown location. “Amtrak often has a city-center to city-center philosophy,” says Lynch. “But they’re also willing to consider other options.”
Some station features preferred by Amtrak include a 700-foot platform, short- and long-term parking, space for intercity buses to stop, and the ability to service trains on-site. Lynch says that a downtown location would be more attractive to business travelers and tourists, while residents driving to the station would find parking easier and cheaper at a more outlying location.
Liz Callin, the city’s project manager for the study, says balancing the desires of residents who want to use the station to travel out of Madison with visitors who seek the convenience of a downtown stop is one of the challenges in selecting a location for the station.
“We will seek to balance both, yet ultimately one type of traveler may be favored in the selected site,” Callin tells Isthmus in an email. “We will work with our existing transportation system and Metro to make whatever site is selected accessible to all.”
The study notes that about 80% of Amtrak stations in cities with more than 130,000 residents are downtown and new stations in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Springfield, Illinois, are also being built in their cities’ downtowns.
At a kick-off meeting in December 2022 where the train station study was announced, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway emphasized that Amtrak would have to be on board for the station location. “At the end of the day, we have to pick a station that works for Amtrak, and that works for the Federal Railroad Administration. That’s sort of the bottom line.”
Generally, the study noted rail operations would be easier at the more outlying sites at Johnson Street, Commercial Avenue and Aberg Avenue, though there were downsides to those sites as well, including being farther from people, jobs and visitor destinations. Downtown sites had higher ridership potential, better access for more people, and connections to other modes of transit, but questions about space for rail operations and drop-offs, and parking.
The Monona Terrace and Blair Street locations were the two sites that met all of the study’s evaluation criteria at least “moderately” well. When Madison was considering high-speed rail in 2010, the station was planned for Monona Terrace. Historically, Madison also had two passenger rail stations at Blair Street.
If the station were located at Monona Terrace, the study says parking and drop-offs could be tough. Long-term parking would have to be located in existing city ramps and passengers getting dropped off would have to exit into the road on the one-way Wilson Street. An agreement with the state of Wisconsin would also be needed.
At Blair Street, the study envisions a station as part of a redeveloped Gateway Mall that could also add long-term parking. Trains stopping short of Blair Street would prevent some traffic disruptions compared to the Monona Terrace option, but might block Blount Street while at the station. The Capital City Trail may also need re-routing.
Blocks on the isthmus are shorter than the 700-foot platform desired by Amtrak, so locating the station on Livingston Street would also mean trains blocking Livingston Street or the need to adjust or close the intersection. The Livingston Street site is also being marketed for redevelopment, so “the site may not be available within the city’s timeframe for station development,” according to the study.
At Baldwin Street, trains would stop in an expansion of McPike Park and the city would consider building parking at the nearby Metro Transit facility. But that location would add delays with the train stopping on a track switch and needing to back out before continuing on, while only being moderately close to downtown attractions.
Like Baldwin Street, the First Street site has the advantage of being owned by the city. The station would be in a new building nearby but separate from the future Madison Public Market. But the train would have to stop on a curve — something not favored by Amtrak — and there is only room for a 400-foot platform. New parking could be built in a currently vacant area along Johnson Street between the future public market and the Yahara River.
Across Johnson Street from the future public market, the city evaluated another site currently for sale, envisioning a public-private partnership for a larger development incorporating the station and a shared-use parking garage. This Johnson Street site and the two Oscar Mayer sites scored the best marks for train operations and site configuration.
One of those Oscar Mayer area sites is on Commercial Avenue near the Hartmeyer Ice Arena. All of the needed areas for parking, drop-offs, intercity buses, and a full platform could be accommodated, but other developments are currently being proposed for the site, which is privately owned. The location is about a quarter-mile walk from a future bus rapid transit route along Packers Avenue.
The Aberg Avenue location at the former North Transfer Point has similar pros and cons to the Commercial Avenue location, with plenty of space for trains, buses and parking, but located farther from downtown attractions, jobs and west-side residents. The site is privately owned, but leased by the city.
Callin says the city has heard “a huge amount of support” for bringing passenger rail back to Madison — “and lots of different opinions about the best place for a station.”
After Madison residents have a chance to weigh in, she says, the next phase of the study will rate each location “based on how well each balances the logistical needs of a station and other priorities of the community.”
