Amtrak Reports 500,000 Passengers on Borealis Service

ST. PAUL, UNITED STATES – Amtrak and transport departments in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois announced that the daily Borealis rail line transported more than 500,000 passengers between St. Paul and Chicago following its launch on May 21, 2024. Total passenger volume on the shared multi-service corridor reached more than 2.2 million trips across the same operating window. Borealis operates daily departures originating at St. Paul at midday and Chicago in the late morning, connecting intermediate stations including Milwaukee.

What Is the Full Scope of This Project?

The Borealis service delivers a dedicated regional frequency on the 418-mile rail corridor connecting the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, and Chicago under tripartite state funding agreements. Operations are jointly administered by Amtrak alongside the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and the Illinois Department of Transportation. The corridor hosts three integrated Amtrak offerings: the newly added Borealis round-trip, multiple daily state-supported Hiawatha Service trains between Milwaukee and Chicago, and the long-distance Empire Builder operating between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. The aggregated ridership of 2.2 million passengers reflects traffic across all three combined operations sharing this common infrastructure alignment.

Key Project Data

How Does This Compare to Similar Projects?

Borealis achieved the 500,000-passenger threshold at a pace exceeding Amtrak’s 2015 planning model projections by more than 33% (Source: Railway Supply, 2024). By contrast, comparable financial contract figures and annual state subsidy allocations across Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin were not made publicly available at the time of reporting. Globally, intercity rail passenger growth has tracked major capital expansions, such as China commissioning 2,862 km of new passenger track in 2025 alone to capture regional travel demand (Source: Geostatista, 2025). Independent verification of comparative state contract expenditures between 2024 and 2025 was not available at time of publication.

Editor’s Analysis

The early ridership volume of the Borealis indicates that incremental frequency additions on existing conventional rail trackage can produce rapid passenger diversion from highway networks. Multi-state cost-sharing compacts provide a practical framework for regional corridors seeking service expansion without committing upfront to high-cost greenfield infrastructure. Ongoing track component demand reinforces this modal expansion, with global track component installations projected to rise steadily through 2035 to support passenger corridor expansions (Source: IndexBox, 2025).

FAQ

Q: When did the Amtrak Borealis passenger service start operations?
A: The service began revenue runs on May 21, 2024, providing daily round trips linking St. Paul, Milwaukee, and Chicago.

Q: What was the capital cost or state contract value for the Borealis service?
A: The precise contract values and state operating subsidy figures were not disclosed by Amtrak or the partner state agencies.

Q: How does the Borealis service interact with existing trains on the corridor?
A: Borealis adds a second daily frequency between St. Paul and Milwaukee alongside the long-distance Empire Builder, while integrating into the commuter schedules of the Hiawatha Service between Milwaukee and Chicago.