ST. PAUL, Minn. — It was 43 years in the making, but the Chicago-Twin Cities corridor finally has a second Amtrak passenger train.
In ceremonies in Chicago, St. Paul and intermediate points today, Amtrak and state, local, and federal official marked the first run of the Borealis, new daily service between Chicago Union Station and St. Paul Union Depot. It is sponsored by the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
It was Oct. 25, 1981, when Amtrak discontinued the overnight North Star between Chicago and Midway Station in St. Paul due to funding issues (the North Star segment from St. Paul to Duluth lasted until 1985). That left only the Empire Builder on the route over the last 43 years. That train switched from Midway Station to the restored Union Depot in St. Paul in 2014.
In remarks at St. Paul Union Depot this morning, Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner welcomed Minnesota to Amtrak’s 18 state partnerships and said this was the nation’s 29th Amtrak corridor service.
“These services account for half our ridership across the United States,” Gardner said. “People are coming in droves to ride trains across the United States.” He also thanked officials from the various government agencies who cooperated to get the service started, including Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan. “It might not be so easy to get three states to always be on the same page, and it took some time to get all this organized to make this service a success, but we did it,” he said.
Efforts to bring a second train to the route began over 10 years ago, with lobbying from backers such as the Great River Rail Commission and All Aboard Minnesota. Jack Barbier, a founding member of All Aboard Minnesota, recalled that one of their first steps was establishing a relationship with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. “We put together a White Paper discussing how we thought a second train to Milwaukee and Chicago could be put together successfully,” Barbier said. “One thing led to another and we worked up to the legislative level, getting legislators to become supporters who helped get legislation passed to fund this train. All Aboard Minnesota became a grass roots organization that has been a driving force behind increased passenger rail in the Midwest.”
Inauguration of the new train was accelerated thanks to CPKC, which asked Amtrak to back Canadian Pacific’s acquisition of Kansas City Southern Railway in 2021. For that backing, CP agreed to allow service to begin before the route’s capital improvements have been completed.
Most of the improvements will be centered around Winona, Minn., and include rebuilding 2 miles of the existing Winona siding running north of 11th Street, replacing manual switches with two power turnouts, new signals, and making grade crossing improvements at Bierce Street and Prairie Island Road.
The Borealis operates eastbound 3 hours after the Empire Builder, departing St. Paul at 11:50 a.m. Westbound the train departs Chicago three hours before the Builder at 11:05 a.m. It makes all the Empire Builder’s stops, as well as at Milwaukee Airport and Sturtevant, Wis. — stations served by Amtrak’s Hiawathas. The normal consist for the train will be four Horizon coaches and an Amfleet café car, which also has business class seating.
Waiting to take a ride on the first trip was Twin Cities resident Tim Vitelli. “It gives me another option to get to Chicago,” Vitelli said. “I take a lot of trips to Chicago on Amtrak, and this additional train and additional frequency is good news. I think there are a lot of people who get frustrated with the Empire Builder’s timekeeping, so having a train that starts in St. Paul is a big win for everybody.”
Vitelli’s words were prophetic. As crowds began to gather for the Borealis inauguration ceremonies, the eastbound Empire Builder departed for Chicago at 10:08 a.m. – an hour and 18 minutes late.
