​The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is creating a new state rail plan.  Please see the new Wisconsin Rail Plan 2050 webpage for more information.

Wisconsin Rail Plan 2030 is the statewide long-range rail transportation plan. It​ provides a vision for freight rail, intercity passenger rail and commuter rail, and identifies priorities and strategies that will serve as a basis for Wisconsin rail investments. WisDOT officially adopted Wisconsin Rail Plan 2030 on March 19, 2014.

• Wisconsin Rail Plan 2030 Summary
• Cover and front matter
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Development Process and Outreach
• Appendix 2-A: On-line Questionnaire Results
• Appendix 2-B: Environmental Justice Telephone Survey Results
• Appendix 2-C: Tribal Consultation Summary
• Appendix 2-D: Environmental Agency Consultation Summary
• Appendix 2-E: Stakeholder Workshop Summary
• Appendix 2-F: Summary of Outreach with Freight Rail Carriers and Port Operators in Wisconsin
• Chapter 3: System Inventory
• Chapter 4: Economic Development
• Appendix 4-A: Supplementary Documentation
• Chapter 5: Freight Rail
• Chapter 6: Intercity Passenger Rail
• Appendix 6-A: Public Benefits of Intercity Passenger Rail
• Appendix 6-B: Chronology of Amtrak Service in Wisconsin
• Appendix 6-C: Amtrak Hiawatha Ridership Trends
• Appendix 6-D: Rail Station Inventory
• Chapter 7: Commuter Rail
• Chapter 8: Livable and Sustainable Communities
• Chapter 9: Rail Safety and Security
• Chapter 10: Funding Wisconsin's Rail Transportation System
• Appendix 10-A: Long Range Rail Program
• Appendix 10-B: Narrative Spreadsheets (Broken out by: Passenger Rail, Commuter, Freight, other programs) (Original)
• Passenger and Commuter Rail Projects - Addendum #1 (Adopted March 2020)
• Freight Rail Projects - Addendum #1 (Adopted March 2020)
• Rail-Highway Interface - Addendum # 1 (Adopted March 2020)
  
• ​Freight Rail Projects - Addendum #2 (Adopted July 2022)
  
• Chapter 11: System-Plan Environmental Evaluation
• Chapter 12: Environmental Justice

Public involvement

WisDOT develops transportation plans in cooperation with the public, state and federal review agencies. WisDOT offered a variety of statewide public outreach activities ​and options throughout the Wisconsin State Rail Plan 2030 planning process. Activities included consultation meetings, a stakeholder workshop, and statewide surveys. Chapter 2 of the Wisconsin Rail Plan 2030 includes a section on the draft plan outreach efforts. Chapter 12 describes the Environmental Justice Analysis comp​leted during the development of the draft plan.

WisDOT followed the public participation requirements identified under the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act (PRIIA) of 2008, and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), and is consistent with the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) of 2012. In addition, the plan was developed pursuant to the requirements of section 135 of title 23, United States Code.

To help organize the plan development outreach effort, WisDOT developed a public participation plan that describes the public involvement activities WisDOT used during the development of the long-range rail plan.

• Wisconsin Rail Plan 2030 Public Participation Plan​
  

Contact

WisDOT Bureau of Planning and Economic Development
4822 Madison Yards Way, 6th Floor South
P.O. Box 7913
Madison, WI 53705
Fax: (608) 267-0294
Email: bop.dtim@dot.wi.gov

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