Milwaukee Intermodal Station


Milwaukee Intermodal Station is an intercity bus and train station in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Amtrak service at Milwaukee includes the daily Empire Builder, the daily Borealis, and the six daily Hiawatha round trips. It is Amtrak's 18th-busiest station nationwide, and the second-busiest in the Midwest, behind only Chicago Union Station. The station is served by bus companies Coach USA - Wisconsin Coach Lines, Greyhound Lines, Jefferson Lines, Indian Trails, Lamers, Badger Bus, Tornado Bus Company, and Megabus. It is also the western terminus of the M-Line service of The Hop streetcar.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation owns the station and platforms. The DOT's Statewide Traffic Operations Center is on the 3rd floor of the station. The station has 2 island platforms and 1 side platform, which serve the two main tracks of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City C&M Subdivision plus three platform sidings.

History

The station opened on August 3, 1965, as Milwaukee Union Station. Operated by the Milwaukee Road, it replaced the previous Everett Street Depot. The depot was built on West St. Paul Avenue in a modernistic style that proved unpopular quickly after it was erected. The Chicago and North Western Railway closed its Milwaukee station and moved its passenger operations to the new Milwaukee Road depot in 1966. Following the formation of Amtrak in 1971, the Chicago and North Western withdrew all of its inter-city trains and commuter service from the station. The Canadian Pacific Railway acquired the trackage within the train shed when it bought the remnants of the Milwaukee Road in 1986. CP merged with the Kansas City Southern Railway on April 14, 2023 to form Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited.
In November 2007, the facility was renamed the Milwaukee Intermodal Station following a $16.9 million renovation. The new facility included a larger waiting area with a glass atrium and improved space for Amtrak ticketing, as well as facilities for intercity buses, a restaurant, and retail space. In 2016, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation completed a rebuild of the train shed and platform to meet federal accessible standards.
The Hop streetcar service began on November 2, 2018, with a stop on Vel R. Phillips Avenue just northeast of the station.