The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has announced an expansion of Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago Passenger Rail service, which will add a second train per day to the existing rail corridor used by Amtrak's Empire Builder route. While more rail service is needed along this corridor, the current route overlooks Madison, Wisconsin's capital city and the state's fastest-growing metropolitan area. The only nod to the capital city in the plan is a proposed "shuttle service," a bus that would take Madison riders to the nearest station in tiny Columbus, Wisconsin.

Madison needs rail service! The Madison metropolitan area now has a population that tops 650,000, 224% higher than its population in 1971, the last year passenger rail served the city. With an increasingly dense core of high-rise apartments and student housing, Madison affords great opportunities to live car-free. The city is currently implementing a Bus Rapid Transit system to respond to overwhelming demand on its existing transit systems; this could easily be integrated with an intercity rail hub on the city's East side or near the airport. It is time to bring passenger rail back to Madison in the TMC plan!