WKBT La Crosse, WI-NewsChannel 8-La Crosse Wants More Trains to Serve Area

La Crosse Wants More Trains to Serve Area

Twice a day the Amtrak train pulls into the La Crosse Depot to take riders east to Chicago in the morning, and as far west as Washington in the evening, but the single-train isn't enough to serve the entire La Crosse area.  "When you only have one train that goes through our community at any one time, it certainly creates a problem and makes it a difficult time for people," says La Crosse Mayor Mark Johns.
    
Mayor Johns, along with other mayors in Wisconsin and Minnesota are trying to get additional Amtrak train service, which will help meet the need of increased train ridership among travelers.  "By providing this train, it's our hope that more people are going to use the train for transportation between Chicago and Minneapolis," Johnsrud added.
    
Amtrak officials say the increase in ridership is due to the pain people are feeling at the gas pump.  "We believe the largest single reason for all this increase in ridership across the Amtrak system, people simply trying to avoid the higher price of using their truck or car to go somewhere," says Chicago-based Amtrak Spokesman Marc Magliari.
    
Amtrak riders in La Crosse enjoy many features the train provides, features that airlines just can't match.  "We just figure that taking the train would be a more relaxing way to start our trip than going via airlines, and it was definitely less expensive, and yeah we think it's an excellent alternative and I wish there were a lot more train service," says Sher Jasberse from Cedar Rapids, IA, who was in La Crosse to catch a train.

The additional Amtrak initiative could be voted on next month.  If the initiative is approved it will be sent, along with approvals from other communities, to the Federal Government to provide more funding to Amtrak so that they can provide more trains to the area.     

Amtrak officials say they set a record for ridership last year, and they expect to surpass that number this year.  Officials also hope to add trains and routes to double their current ridership totals by the year 2025.