What is the proposed Amtrak expansion that would run across Wisconsin? Basically, it is a plan to connect Chicago, Oshkosh, Appleton, and Green Bay by rail, taking just four hours to get from Chicago to Green Bay. As part of Stage Two, it would also connect Stevens Point to the rest of Amtrak’s network, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

A 2021 bipartisan law signed by President Joe Biden resuscitated the idea and set aside $102 billion in federal funding for rail lines that would pay for a majority of the project with a subsequent increase in taxes. The plan would start with 10 trains per day.

The trains would emit less carbon than cars, a positive amongst environmentalists. It would reduce traffic on I-41 and it would add another way to get to Green Bay with a corresponding rise in tourism. The proposed expansion would increase ridership on all Amtrak lines in Wisconsin by 100 percent, attracting about 250,000 passengers per year.

A couple of ways to help make the Amtrak expansion happen is by voting pro trains and paying attention to which politicians want to support these projects so what happened a couple of years ago won’t happen again. In 2010, a high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee was proposed  but it was stopped by former Governor Scott Walker even after Wisconsin had already paid $80 million on the train cars according to NBC 26.