Over 1,000 show support for Talgo trains during open house

MILWAUKEE -- Over 1,000 visitors got a chance to take a look at Talgo trains during an open house event held Sunday, May 20th. 

The visitors got a chance to see Talgo’s Series 8 trains, built for use on Amtrak’s Milwaukee-to-Chicago’s Hiawatha line. These train sets offer numerous improvements over the existing, aged Horizon Fleet sets, including WiFi, a café car for upgraded food service, ADA-compliant lavatories and bike racks.

Antonio Perez, president and CEO of Talgo said in a statement: “We are very excited at the turnout and support we received from the greater Milwaukee community at our open house on Sunday. This was a very successful event for us – it is clear that citizens of Milwaukee are on our side and enthused about putting these new trains into service and keeping these jobs in Wisconsin.”

Sunday’s open house was the first time Talgo’s Milwaukee manufacturing facility was open to the public. Visitors from throughout the state of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee-to-Chicago corridor, along with local, elected officials, attended the three-hour open house.

The Series 8 trains were ordered by the Doyle administration for use on the Amtrak Hiawatha line, but the project was scrapped by the Walker administration, due to cost.

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