Being able to ride the train from Green Bay to Chicago, just took one step closer to becoming a reality.
Right now, train service runs back-and-forth from Chicago to Milwaukee.
But the idea to extend the train route north to Green Bay, won $500,000 in federal money for planning efforts in what is called the Corridor ID program, according to U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's application for the program, the train would stop in
Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Appleton on the way to Green Bay.
Brown County Planning Director Cole Runge said discussions like this have been going on for around two decades.
"There are benefits and drawbacks," he said after the Brown County Planning Commission meeting Wednesday. "One of the benefits could be opportunities to develop a station up in Green Bay and develop around that station, and use at as a catalyst for redevelopment in the downtown."
He said questions remain about pricing and ridership.
We've been reporting since January on the possibility, and in November, Jon Erickson followed up with what the train service could mean to some people in northeast Wisconsin.
