Milwaukee Intermodal Station

Milwaukee Intermodal Station
Glass station building and 6th Street Bridge at sunset
General information
Location	433 West Saint Paul Avenue Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States
Coordinates	43°02′03″N 87°55′02″W
Owned by	Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Operated by	Amtrak
Line(s)	CPKC Watertown/C&M Subdivisions
Platforms	2 island and 1 side platform
Tracks	5
Bus stands	9
Bus operators	Amtrak Thruway Badger Bus Greyhound Lines Indian Trails Jefferson Lines Lamers Bus Lines Megabus Tornado Bus Company Wisconsin Coach Lines
Connections	Milwaukee Streetcar Milwaukee County Transit System: BlueLine, 12, 31, 34, 57
Construction
Parking	425 long term spaces
Bicycle facilities	Bublr Bikes bike-share Outdoor bicycle parking
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: MKE
IATA code	ZML
History
Opened	1965
Rebuilt	2007
Previous names	Milwaukee Union Station (1965–2007)
Passengers
FY 2023	509,107[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Columbus toward St. Paul Borealis Milwaukee Airport toward Chicago Terminus Hiawatha Columbus toward Seattle or Portland Empire Builder Glenview toward Chicago Preceding station The Hop Following station Terminus M-Line St. Paul at Plankinton toward Burns Commons
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Columbus toward Duluth North Star Sturtevant toward Chicago Columbus toward Seattle North Coast Hiawatha Glenview toward Chicago Columbus toward Saint Paul–Midway Twin Cities Hiawatha Preceding station Milwaukee Road Following station Oconomowoc towards Minneapolis Morning Hiawatha Glenview towards Chicago Fast Mail Terminus Chicago – Milwaukee Wauwatosa towards Watertown Suburban Service Watertown – Milwaukee Terminus Preceding station Chicago and North Western Railway Following station Green Bay toward Ashland or Ironwood Flambeau 400 Racine toward Chicago West Bend toward Ishpeming Peninsula 400 Terminus Milwaukee Division
Track layout Borealis to St. Paul Empire Builder to Seattle or Portland I-94 EB freeway ramp I-43 SB I-43 SB/ I-94 WB freeway ramp 6th St. Hiawatha ends Empire Builder, Borealis and Hiawatha to Chicago Plankinton Ave.
Location

Milwaukee Intermodal Station is an intercity bus and train station in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Amtrak service at Milwaukee includes the daily Empire Builder, the daily Borealis, and the six daily Hiawatha round trips. It is Amtrak's 18th-busiest station nationwide, and the second-busiest in the Midwest, behind only Chicago Union Station.^[2] The station is served by 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. It is also the western terminus of the M-Line service of The Hop streetcar.

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. The station has 2 island platforms and 1 side platform, which serve the two main tracks of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City C&M Subdivision plus three platform sidings.

History

The original Milwaukee Union Station, soon after its opening in 1965

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 Railway 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 inter-city trains and commuter service from the station. 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. CP merged with the Kansas City Southern Railway on April 14, 2023 to form Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited.

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 Hop streetcar service began on November 2, 2018, with a stop on Vel R. Phillips Avenue just northeast of the station.

References

1. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Wisconsin" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
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.

External links

Media related to Milwaukee Intermodal Station at Wikimedia Commons

• Milwaukee, WI – Amtrak
• Milwaukee, WI – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)