Baldwin hears regional passenger-rail update; commission urges local share for study

Scott Rogers, chair of the Chippewa'0 St. Croix Rail Commission, told the Baldwin Village Board that the commission has completed the federally funded scoping step and is poised to enter a two-year Service Development Plan (SDP) that will determine whether passenger trains can serve Baldwin.

Rogers said the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law created a corridor pipeline and dedicated funding that did not previously exist, and that local entities accepted into the program now receive substantial federal support. "We aren't assuming that Amtrak would be the operator," Rogers said, noting the commission is exploring a range of operators and partnership models to improve efficiency.

Rogers described the SDP as the phase that determines feasibility, proposed station locations, track use costs and ridership projections. The commission's consultant estimated the SDP would cost about $1,960,000; at the typical federal match levels Rogers described, that implies a roughly 10% local share (about $200,000). To fund Baldwin's participation, the commission discussed an intergovernmental cooperative agreement model that would ask counties to contribute approximately $37,000 over two years and member municipalities to contribute about $15,000 over two years.

Board members asked where a Baldwin stop might be sited; Rogers said Creamery Park and nearby trackside locations were under discussion and that shuttles could link nearby communities to stations. He cited examples of other Midwestern corridors where modest public investment generated measurable economic development around stations.

Rogers framed the SDP as a necessary next step rather than a commitment to construction: the study would determine whether Baldwin would be a stop and whether trains would call there. "If we have something or do we not?" he said of the SDP's conclusion, urging that an early local contribution would unlock the 90% federal funding for the study.

Next steps identified in the presentation included waiting for final Federal Railroad Administration approvals tied to the program, considering an intergovernmental agreement to assemble the local match, and budgeting decisions by participating governments in the current cycle so funds would be available if Baldwin opts in.

The board did not vote on a specific intergovernmental agreement at the meeting; members asked for time to consider the proposed municipal share and to discuss budgeting options ahead of the next cycle.