A press release from Amtrak; August 7, 2018:
Easier connections, more pets, bikes & student fares for back-to-school time
CHICAGO – Amtrak and the state sponsors of the Amtrak MidwestSM Network have worked through the summer to make several service improvements in time for back-to-school and other fall travel.
To improve connections and reduce layovers, schedules are now adjusted on Amtrak trains to and from Michigan, Wisconsin, downstate Illinois and Missouri. For example, Amtrak now has service between Milwaukee and Detroit twice daily and Milwaukee and St. Louis three times daily, with easy transfers at Chicago Union Station.
Amtrak Midwest offers convenient and comfortable regional intercity service made possible through partnerships with Amtrak and including the Illinois Department of Transportation, Michigan Department of Transportation, Missouri Department of Transportation and Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Trains in these states are primarily powered by new, low-emissions locomotives with a Midwest-made diesel engine.
Also this summer, a 15-percent student discount specifically designed for Midwest travel has been introduced, pets are now welcomed on a fourth Illinois corridor and carry-on bicycle service has begun on a third Michigan corridor. A similar service for cyclists will begin soon on the Hoosier State trains sponsored by the Indiana Department of Transportation.
The Amtrak Midwest Network carried more than 3 million passengers in the 12 months ending last September, an increase of more than four percent from the previous year. State-sponsored services are the fastest growing Amtrak business sector.