The Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Commuter Rail’s goal is to “help our economy grow and improve our quality of life.”
– Rosemary Potter, executive director of Transit NOW

A newly proposed commuter rail that would connect Milwaukee to Chicago could bring more students to Milwaukee universities for a practical fare, project officials said.

The proposed Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) Commuter Rail would start at the Amtrak station in downtown Milwaukee and continue 33 miles south following Lake Michigan to Kenosha. In Kenosha it would meet up with the existing Chicago rail system, the Metra, to continue to Chicago.

Project officials say the rail would help the local economy grow by providing those without transportation a means to get to work.

The main goal of the KRM is to “help our economy grow and improve our quality of life,” said Rosemary Potter, executive director of Transit NOW.

“To compete in a global economy we need access,” said Roundy’s Chairman and CEO Robert Mariano, a key endorser of the proposed rail. “This (the KRM) allows someone to get to their job without a car.”

Commutes, fares comparable

The commute would take two hours and 15 minutes to get from Milwaukee to Chicago. Commuters going all the way into Chicago would have to change trains in Kenosha, because the Chicago Metra would not make a direct track connection to the KRM.

Between Milwaukee and Kenosha there would be six stops. The first station out of Milwaukee would be near Mitchell International Airport in Cudahy. The next stops would be in South Milwaukee, Oak Creek, Caledonia, Racine and Somers.

The one-way fare for the KRM would be “similar to bus fares,” Mariano said.

Mariano also said that there is a slight possibility of the KRM instituting something similar to the Milwaukee County Transit System’s UPass for frequent rail riders.

“I don’t think they are that far yet,” he said. “I mean I think they’ll probably look at that, but I don’t know if they got to that level of regularity in terms of free ridership.”

“It will probably be down the road on decision making,” he said.

Potter noted that the Chicago Metra offers discounts for frequent riders and was more certain that the KRM would do something similar.

“Metra does offer discounts when you buy multiple tickets and Metra often works with communities on boosting up their ridership … I bet they’ll be some sort of discount for people who ride the train often,” Potter said.

If students attending Milwaukee universities use the KRM to get to school, Mariano said that the universities would probably have to provide their own shuttles from the downtown Milwaukee Amtrak station to their campuses.

To serve over 1 million annually

According to Transit NOW, the rail is projected to have 1.1 million passengers annually. It is also projected to produce a combined 360,000 jobs within three miles of the Wisconsin stations.

Both Potter and Mariano said the KRM would help attract “young professionals” to the region, and younger professionals are looking for communities that have convenient rail systems.

“Those regions that have young talent win,” Potter said. “Those regions that don’t have young talent lose, and study after study shows that young talent wants to take public transportation.”

Mariano said commuters who ride the train have the ability to multitask during their commute, unlike those who drive.

“You can actually work on a train instead of sitting in traffic and kind of being numbed while you’re driving,” he said. “So you can actually do things on a computer, you can read a book, you can do homework, you can get prepared for your day’s activities at the office.… You can actually be productive.”

Similar cities have successful systems

Potter used Denver, Minneapolis, Portland and the state of Massachusetts as anecdotal examples of successful commuter rail systems in action. In addition, she said that the population density around Wisconsin’s projected six stations is higher than most successful commuter station areas.

The benefits to Wisconsin suburbs would be what Potter described as a “second renaissance.” She said that at one time, the city of Kenosha was struggling economically, until Chicago extended its Metra across the border.

According to Transit NOW, a piece of land near the Kenosha Metra station that was previously worth close to nothing was redeveloped into a 250-unit residential area and is now valued at about $100 million. That piece of land alone will create over $2.5 million in annual taxes for Kenosha.

Rail would bring in money for suburbs

The projected capital cost of the KRM, which includes the cars and the tracks, is $152 million, while the projected operating cost is $15.3 million annually, said Potter.

The KRM would use mostly preexisting rails and have smaller cars than the Chicago Metra.

Eighty percent of the capital cost — 50 percent from “new starts” and 30 percent from other federal programs — would be paid by federal dollars, Potter said.

“We would have infusion of $121 million in this area,” she added.

Potter was unsure of how the rest of the costs would be paid, but said there is support in the legislature for finding money.

“The Regional Transit Authority that was established in the state legislature at the last budget … one of their main focuses will be to identify a sustainable funding source for a commuter rail,” Potter said.

Potter added that local sources of revenue may be an option.

“There are lots of creative financing options out there,” she said, but added that officials “are not at that stage in the project yet.”

Mariano said the best way to create local sources of revenue is to establish “economic development areas” within three miles of the future rail stations. Ideally, the municipalities would be able to charge more for the land surrounding the stations to help fund the KRM.

“That earth is worth more now,” Mariano said. “So if a developer comes in or someone to build something, the citizenry ought to benefit because the residents, the citizens of the state of Wisconsin, did the investment. They ought to benefit from the investment.”

According to Potter, the next step for the KRM is to wait for the Environmental Impact Study to finish. The study’s consultants are elected officials that try to refine and reduce costs as much as possible for projects similar to the KRM.

Potter said a final price is coming soon.

“In August, the EIS consultants will talk to us about their refined costs,” she said.

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