The City of Madison held a neighborhood information meeting Tuesday evening to discuss the construction of a future passenger rail station which will extend Amtrak’s Hiawatha Train service, according to the City of Madison website.

The Hiawatha Train currently connects Milwaukee and Chicago, but the extension will add a Madison stop in between and further terminals in Eau Claire and the Twin Cities, City of Madison transportation planner Elizabeth Callin said.

Callin said she hopes the station will provide more public transportation options to residents.

“The big reason that Madison is supportive of this [station] is that additional transportation options that are less stressful, more accessible and provide an opportunity to work or relax during travel are a good thing for Madisonians and people coming here to visit,” Callin said.

The rail service will also add a more sustainable transportation option for Madison residents, Callin said. Amtrak trains produce about 83% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than cars and up to 72% less than flying, according to the Amtrak website.

Due to overwhelming community support, the City of Madison has been attempting to reintroduce a passenger train since the last rail service was terminated in 1971, City of Madison Director of Transportation Tom Lynch said.

“For the last 18 months, we have experienced the most interest in our public meetings when it has to do with passenger rail — that’s higher than any of our other meetings that we have,” Lynch said.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is still in the early stages of planning, but they are starting to scope potential station locations, Callin said. City planners are assessing multiple potential station sites in the Isthmus, First Street corridor and Oscar Mayer corridor areas, Callin said.

The train is not a high speed rail, so it will only run up to 79 miles per hour, Callin said. But, the train will not reach anywhere near its maximum speed within Madison or other urbanized areas, Callin said.

The City of Madison hopes to share a draft of station location recommendations this summer and the train will be ready for service by approximately 2031, Callin said.