For the first time in its history, Amtrak Hiawatha Service ridership surpassed 800,000 in 2011.
The Hiawatha is the Amtrak train service between downtown Milwaukee and downtown Chicago, with stops in between at Mitchell International Airport, Sturtevant and Glenview, Ill. The Hiawatha Service began in 1989. It is operated by Amtrak and is jointly funded by Wisconsin and Illinois.
The year-end numbers for the Hiawatha Service put ridership at 823,163, nearly a 4 percent increase from the 2010 ridership of 792,848, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).
The year-end numbers for the Hiawatha Service put ridership at 823,163, nearly a 4 percent increase from the 2010 ridership of 792,848, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).
In addition to the 2011 calendar year record, monthly Hiawatha Service ridership records were set in every month but August of last year.
According to Amtrak’s 2011 fiscal year data, the Hiawatha Service is the busiest Amtrak corridor in the Midwest and the sixth-busiest in the country.
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Amtrak’s Hiawatha Service provides seven round-trips Monday through Saturday and six round-trips on Sunday. A one-way trip from Milwaukee to Chicago, approximately 86 miles, takes about 90 minutes on the train.
