Minneapolis Star Tribune - Borealis train hits ridership milestone - here is how Amtrak is responding

Borealis train hits ridership milestone. Here is how Amtrak is responding. By Tim Harlow

The Minnesota Star Tribune

October 4, 2026

Amtrak’s Borealis recently hit another milestone in its young life, recording its 500,000th passenger in just over 28 months of the train service.

The Borealis running daily between St. Paul and Chicago has become so popular that a fourth passenger car will be added to trains starting this week, Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari said.

The additional capacity “is reflective of the strong need for Amtrak service nationally that is demonstrated regionally by the response to our Borealis trains,” Magliari said.

Amtrak set a record by providing 34.5 million rides nationally, and at $3.9 billion took in more revenue than ever during the most recent fiscal year, which ended in September 2025. Data for fiscal year 2026 was not yet available.

Borealis debuted May 21, 2024, and projections from the Minnesota Department of Transportation showed the line would serve between 125,000 and 135,000 riders annually. The original Amtrak feasibility study from 2015 put that number at 155,500.

But ridership has gone well beyond that, and the momentum keeps rolling. In fact, Amtrak ridership on the St. Paul-Chicago corridor has been booming, too. A total of 2.2 million passengers have boarded Borealis, the Hiawatha line running between Milwaukee and Chicago, and the Empire Builder between Seattle, Portland, St. Paul and Chicago since May 2024, according to Amtrak.

Borealis operates once a day in each direction. Trains depart St. Paul at 11:49 a.m. daily and arrive in Chicago about 7½ hours later. Trips from the Windy City to Minnesota leave at 11:10 a.m. and arrive in St. Paul about 6:40 p.m.

Both Borealis and the Empire Builder stop in St. Paul, Red Wing and Winona, stations that saw record ridership in 2025, Amtrak figures show.

With the high traffic, “this is great news and a testament to the strong ridership we’ve seen since Borealis launched,” said Brian Nelson with All Aboard Minnesota, a rail advocacy group. “Adding a fourth car shows that Amtrak is listening to high demand and is committed to scaling service where it is most needed.”

Amtrak operates Borealis under contracts with the state transportation departments in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.

“We hope this growth continues to build momentum for additional frequencies and further expansion of the network,” Nelson said.

All Aboard Minnesota supports a second St. Paul-Chicago train and hopes Amtrak will extend Borealis to St. Cloud, Detroit Lakes and the Fargo-Moorhead area.