The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that new Amtrak Hiawatha railcars will raise capacity between Milwaukee and Chicago this fall as nine Siemens Venture cars enter service after testing.

Amtrak Midwest train with Siemens Venture passenger cars
An Amtrak Midwest Lincoln Service train with Siemens Venture coaches near Chicago. Photo: Amy Lohrke / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

New Amtrak Hiawatha railcars restore lost capacity

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel⁠, the Hiawatha service⁠ has operated its two trainsets with only 260 to 280 seats since March 2025. Amtrak removed its Horizon passenger cars because of underframe corrosion, costing each trainset almost 100 seats.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation⁠ said the replacement program includes six Venture coaches and three Venture cab-coaches. The standard coaches match equipment already used in the Midwest, while the cab-coaches are new to the region. Each cab-coach combines train-control equipment with 56 passenger seats.

They will replace older Amtrak-owned F-40 cab cars that provide no passenger seating. Once the fleet is fully introduced, each trainset will normally contain five coaches and one cab-coach, accommodating up to 388 passengers and nine checked bicycles.

The cars will rotate out of service for maintenance, so all nine will not operate simultaneously.

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New Amtrak Hiawatha railcars enter service gradually

The first two coaches are expected to carry passengers by September. The remaining cars should enter service progressively through October and November after commissioning and testing in Chicago, a process expected to take three to four months.

Interior of a Siemens Venture coach on Amtrak Midwest
Passenger seating inside an Amtrak Midwest Siemens Venture coach. Photo: Rckania / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

WisDOT ordered the nine cars from Siemens in 2021, but Wisconsin’s effort to replace aging Hiawatha equipment began much earlier. In 2009, the state awarded Talgo a contract for two trains intended for the Milwaukee–Chicago route and later included equipment for a proposed Milwaukee–Madison high-speed line.

Wisconsin received an $810 million federal grant for that project, but Governor Scott Walker cancelled it following his 2010 election, citing future operating costs. Talgo completed the trains and later sued the state. A 2015 settlement brought Wisconsin’s total payments to $51 million and allowed Talgo to retain the equipment.

The Legislature’s budget committee approved funding for another passenger-car purchase in 2019. Manufacturing lead times and existing order backlogs then extended delivery, leaving the Hiawatha waiting several more years for the additional capacity.

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