Passenger rail service is returning to Fort Madison’s riverfront

FORT MADISON (WGEM) - Passenger rail service is returning to Fort Madison’s riverfront.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Friday to commemorate the improvements done at the historic 1910 Santa Fe train station.

The improvement project took 14 years to complete and allows for Amtrak service at the facility.

Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and former Fort Madison Mayor Brad Randolph, said they hope by bringing the trains back to the riverfront it will also bring more tourism and business, as passengers spend more time downtown.

“I think that this is going to really help with the revitalization of the downtown district,” Rep. Miller-Meeks said. “Fort Madison, the community, the mayor, all their civic leaders, their businesses, and the community as a whole, have really worked to improve Fort Madison, bring people and attract them to the community.”

“You look at this as one of those pieces of a bigger picture where you have a new platform, and Amtrak now stops and it becomes part of the downtown district where it wasn’t before,” Randolph said. “And that’s important because it builds, it’s something you can build on for businesses downtown, for tourism downtown.”

Additionally, crews raised the depot above the Mississippi River floodplain, and made the platform ADA accessible.

This upcoming Wednesday, the Amtrak train out of Fort Madison is set to make a trip to Los Angeles, California.