Funding
The City of Racine obtained $5 million in Congressionally Directed Spending to advance passenger rail in the MARK Rail corridor. Racine has contracted with an experienced consulting team led by DB E.C.O. North America (a subsidiary of the German national railroad) and including Kimley-Horn, a leading design engineering firm with extensive experience in passenger rail. The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission is also assisting City staff in managing the project and the City has hired AECOM to analyze the potential for transit‑oriented development (TOD) value capture to contribute to funding a MARK Rail line.
Guidance and Input
An advisory Steering Committee made up of representatives from the three main cities in the corridor (Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha), the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), and the Regional Planning Commission is directing the initial work. A Technical Working Group of individuals with relevant expertise is assisting the Steering Committee by reviewing some of the more detailed analyses. The composition of these advisory groups may change as the effort progresses. An element of the MARK Rail Study also involves examining potential organizational structures that could more permanently guide and implement MARK Rail service.
The MARK Rail team will conduct public and stakeholder engagement to obtain input as the Study works toward a preferred service design. To stay informed, provide your contact information through the
Contact Us page.
Relation to Previous Studies
Passenger rail service has long been planned and desired by the communities along Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and the Illinois State Line. VISION 2050, the long-range regional land use and transportation plan for Southeastern Wisconsin, recommends service in this corridor, which was the focus of previous Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) commuter rail studies.
The current MARK Rail effort is building on all the previous, detailed study and analysis to bring commuter rail to this corridor. It differs in important ways to reflect changes since the previous studies were completed, and is exploring different service designs, station locations, organizational structures, and funding mechanisms, including new grant opportunities through the Federal Railroad Administration.
About the Corridor
The MARK Rail primary study corridor is defined as the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) Kenosha Subdivision extending from Kenosha north to Racine and Milwaukee. The northern end of the corridor also includes a segment of track owned by CPKC. To the south, connection and coordination of the new service with the existing Metra UP-North line between Kenosha and Chicago will be an important element of the MARK Rail effort.
