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Borealis (train)

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Borealis
The westbound Borealis at Red Wing station in May 2024
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusOperating
LocaleMidwestern United States
PredecessorTwin Cities Hiawatha, Twin Cities 400, Viking Twin Zephyr, Laker
First serviceMay 21, 2024 (2024-05-21)[1]
Current operator(s)Amtrak
Annual ridership88,444 (FY24)[a][b][2]
Route
TerminiChicago, Illinois
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Stops11
Distance travelled411 mi (661 km)[3]
Average journey time7 hours, 20 minutes
Service frequencyOnce daily
Train number(s)1333, 1340
On-board services
Class(es)
  • Coach Class
  • Business Class
Disabled accessYes
Catering facilitiesCafé
Baggage facilitiesOverhead racks
Technical
Rolling stockGE Genesis
Siemens Charger
Horizon coaches
Amfleet café
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed54 mph (87 km/h) (avg.)
79 mph (127 km/h) (top)
Track owner(s)CPKC, Metra

The Borealis, referred to as Twin Cities–Milwaukee–Chicago (TCMC) during planning, is an Amtrak inter-city rail service that operates daily between Chicago, Illinois, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, via Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Service began on May 21, 2024, under the Amtrak Midwest brand.

The train supplements the long-distance Empire Builder, serving the same stations but with higher reliability and complementary departure times. As an extension of an existing Chicago–Milwaukee Hiawatha train, the Borealis doubled Amtrak service frequency between Milwaukee and Saint Paul.

History

[edit]

Previous services

[edit]

Prior to Amtrak, private railroads ran passenger service between the Twin Cities and Chicago on several corridors. The Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) operated Twin Cities–Chicago trains via Madison until the late 1950s, and via Milwaukee until the Twin Cities 400 was discontinued on July 23, 1963.[4]: 163  The Milwaukee Road ran all its Twin Cities–Chicago trains via Milwaukee; by 1971, all that remained of the railroad's Twin Cities service was the daily Morning Hiawatha plus the eastbound Fast Mail. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) operated a more westerly Twin Cities–Chicago route via Savanna, Illinois. It merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) in 1970; by 1971, the BN offered three daily Twin Cities–Chicago round trips on the Morning Zephyr, Afternoon Zephyr, Empire Builder, and North Coast Limited.[5][6]

The North Coast Hiawatha (left) and North Star at Midway station in St. Paul in 1978

Amtrak took over most intercity passenger rail service in the United States on May 1, 1971, keeping only half of existing service. The only Twin Cities–Chicago service that remained was the Empire Builder, which was rerouted over the Milwaukee Road between the Twin Cities and Chicago in order to serve Milwaukee.[4]: 158  The tri-weekly North Coast Hiawatha began operating on June 14, 1971; it was combined with the Empire Builder between Minneapolis and Chicago. The North Coast Hiawatha began operating separately east of Minneapolis on November 14, 1971. A new Minneapolis–Chicago train, the Hiawatha, ran quad-weekly; this provided two daily round trips between Minneapolis and Chicago.[4]: 160 [7]

The Minneapolis–Chicago train was renamed Twin Cities Hiawatha on January 16, 1972, but returned to Hiawatha on October 29, 1972.[8][9] The North Coast Hiawatha ran daily during the summers of 1974 to 1977, and the separate Hiawatha did not operate.[4]: 160  Twin Cities–Chicago service was temporarily reduced to one daily round trip on September 8, 1977, with the Empire Builder operating quad-weekly and the North Coast Hiawatha operating tri-weekly. On October 30, 1977, the two trains were changed to an overnight schedule between Minneapolis and Chicago, with the daily Twin Cities Hiawatha operating on a daytime schedule on the corridor.[4]: 160 

On April 30, 1978, the Empire Builder and North Coast Hiawatha resumed their former schedules. The Twin Cities Hiawatha was moved to the overnight schedule and through-routed with the Twin Cities–Duluth Arrowhead to form the North Star.[4]: 189  The North Coast Hiawatha was discontinued in October 1979, while the Empire Builder became tri-weekly until 1982.[4]: 166  The North Star was discontinued on April 7, 1985; Twin Cities–Chicago service from 1985 to 2024 was only the daily Empire Builder.[4]: 189 

TCMC project

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The TCMC project began in 2015 after the conclusion of a feasibility report by Amtrak.[10] Based on the favorable ridership and revenue projections MnDOT led a Phase 1 study in cooperation with WisDOT, IDOT, the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority and the FRA to analyze service alternatives, infrastructure upgrades and anticipated costs. The Phase 2 study was led by WisDOT to complete the environmental review and prepare a Service Development Plan.[11] Schedule delays from Seattle to St. Paul have been cited as part of the interest in having a reliable departure time from St. Paul.[12][13]

Infrastructure upgrades for the project are required in La Crosse, La Crescent, Winona and St. Paul. The total capital cost is $53.3 million, which has been fully funded by federal grants, WisDOT and MnDOT.[14][15] The project is scheduled to begin construction in 2023 and begin operations with one train in 2023.[16] The TCMC service is anticipated to be the first phase of additional Amtrak service across Wisconsin with eventual extensions to Madison and Eau Claire.

In a public meeting on December 1, 2022, an Amtrak representative stated that the service was expected to start by summer 2023 with the name Great River, after the Mississippi River (Misi-ziibi means "Great River" in Ojibwe).[17] A paper by the Wisconsin Legislature's Legislative Fiscal Bureau, published on June 6, 2023, for the legislature's Joint Committee on Finance, estimated that service would start in September 2023, with related construction to improve service beginning in early 2024 and ending in mid-to-late 2025.[18] However, in fall 2023 the estimated start date of the train slipped to 2024.[19]

In December 2023, the FRA accepted the Chicago–La Crosse–St. Paul route into its Corridor Identification and Development Program. The move grants $500,000 toward studying additional frequency on the route, and prioritizes the corridor for future federal funding.[20]

Ribbon cutting for the Amtrak Borealis in Saint Paul, May 2024

In a February 2024 update, WisDOT announced that the service would be named the Borealis instead of the Great River, and that the train would use refurbished Horizon railcars.[21] However, the new name for the service was retracted within 24-hours of its announcement.[22] Amtrak officially announced the train as the Borealis in its press release introducing the train and announcing ticket sales on April 30, 2024.[23] Service began on May 21, 2024.[24] During its first 11 days of operation, the Borealis averaged 604 daily passengers (329 westbound and 275 eastbound). Early demand for the Borealis prompted Amtrak to consider adding a third daily round trip on the corridor.[25]

Corridor timeline

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Since Amtrak's takeover on May 1, 1971, the Seattle–Twin Cities–Chicago corridor has been consistently served by the daily Empire Builder. Later that year, service frequency on the Twin Cities–Chicago corridor peaked at two daily round trips after the introduction of the long-distance North Coast Hiawatha to Seattle, complimented by the truncated Hiawatha. Service frequency was reduced again to a once daily round trip in October 1981, when the North Star ended sleeper train service to Chicago, remaining a Twin Cities–Duluth daytime train. In May 2024, one Hiawatha round-trip was extended to Saint Paul as the Borealis, restoring two daily round trips to the corridor.

Operation

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A Borealis train in May 2024

The Borealis has eleven intermediate stops between the two terminals. It is scheduled for 7 hours 24 minutes in each direction, including a five-minute stop in Milwaukee.[26] The train was an extension of an existing Chicago–Milwaukee Hiawatha round trip, renumbered from 333/340 to 1333/1340. Train 1333 departs Chicago at 11:05 am and arrives in St. Paul at 6:29 pm, while Train 1340 departs St. Paul at 11:50 am and arrives in Chicago at 7:14 pm.[26] Ridership was projected to be 124,000 passengers per year.[14] On October 24, 2024, Borealis ridership surpassed 100,000 passengers within five months of service.[27]

A typical Borealis consist has four Horizon Fleet coach class cars and one Amfleet cafe/business class car. One or two GE Genesis or Siemens Chargers diesel locomotives are used.[24]

An extension of the route to Target Field station in Minneapolis, Fridley, and St. Cloud has been considered.[28] Through the federal Corridor ID Program, a second Chicago–Twin Cities route that includes Madison and Eau Claire is being studied.[29]

Route and stops

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State Town/City Station Connections
Illinois Chicago Chicago Union Station Amtrak Amtrak: Blue Water, Cardinal, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, California Zephyr, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Floridian, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lake Shore Limited, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Illini and Saluki, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle, Wolverine, Amtrak Thruway
Metra Metra: BNSF Line, Heritage Corridor, Milwaukee District North Line, Milwaukee District West Line, North Central Service, SouthWest Service
Bus transport CTA Buses
Bus transport Intercity bus: Flixbus, Greyhound Lines, Megabus, Van Galder (Coach USA)
Glenview Glenview Amtrak Amtrak: Empire Builder, Hiawatha
Metra Metra: Milwaukee District North Line
Bus transport Pace
Wisconsin Sturtevant Sturtevant Amtrak Amtrak: Hiawatha
Milwaukee Milwaukee Airport Amtrak Amtrak: Hiawatha, Amtrak Thruway
Milwaukee Amtrak Amtrak: Empire Builder, Hiawatha, Amtrak Thruway
Bus transport Intercity bus: Badger Bus, Greyhound Lines, Indian Trails, Jefferson Lines, Lamers Bus Lines, Megabus, Tornado Bus Company, Wisconsin Coach Lines
Tram interchange The Hop: M Line
Bus transport MCTS Buses
Columbus Columbus Amtrak Amtrak: Empire Builder
Bus transport Intercity bus: Van Galder (Coach USA)
Portage Portage Amtrak Amtrak: Empire Builder
Bus transport Intercity bus: Van Galder (Coach USA)
Wisconsin Dells Wisconsin Dells Amtrak Amtrak: Empire Builder
Tomah Tomah Amtrak Amtrak: Empire Builder
La Crosse La Crosse Amtrak Amtrak: Empire Builder
Bus transport Intercity bus: Wisconsin Coach Lines
Bus transport MTU, SMRT
Minnesota Winona Winona Amtrak Amtrak: Empire Builder
Bus transport Winona Transit Service
Red Wing Red Wing Amtrak Amtrak: Empire Builder
Bus transport Hiawathaland Transit
St. Paul St. Paul Amtrak Amtrak: Empire Builder, Amtrak Thruway
Bus transport Intercity bus: Greyhound Lines, Jefferson Lines, Megabus
Metro Transit: Metro Green Line, Bus transport buses
Bus transport Minnesota Valley Transit Authority

References

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  1. ^ @Amtrak (May 1, 2024). "Today's our birthday, but we're giving you a gift — the brand-new Borealis service! Enjoy round-trip daily trips between Saint Paul, MN and Chicago, IL onboard Borealis starting May 21st" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2024 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  3. ^ "Borealis - MnDOT". www.dot.state.mn.us. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
  5. ^ Phillips, Don (July 22, 2011). "The Road to Rescue" (PDF). Classic Trains. pp. 22–31. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 1, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2017 – via Northwestern University Transportation Center.
  6. ^ Edmonson, Harold A. (1972). "Passenger trains operating on the eve of Amtrak" (PDF). Journey to Amtrak. Kalmbach Publishing. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 26, 2012.
  7. ^ Nationwide Schedules of Intercity Passenger Service. Amtrak. November 14, 1971. p. 62 – via Museum of Railway Timetables.
  8. ^ Nationwide Schedules of Intercity Passenger Service. Amtrak. January 16, 1972. p. 63 – via Museum of Railway Timetables.
  9. ^ Nationwide Schedules of Intercity Passenger Service. Amtrak. October 29, 1972. p. 51 – via The Museum of Railway Timetables.
  10. ^ "2nd Train Feasibility Report" (PDF). state.mn.us. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  11. ^ "Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago Intercity Passenger Rail Service - MnDOT". www.dot.state.mn.us.
  12. ^ Sandler, Larry (February 17, 2023). "Expanded Milwaukee-Twin Cities Amtrak service may start later this year". WisBUsiness.
  13. ^ Vinick, Gaby (February 23, 2023). "All aboard: New service line between Milwaukee, St. Paul, Chicago could be available as soon as late 2023". Wisconsin Public Radio.
  14. ^ a b "TCMC Booklet" (PDF). wisconsindot.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  15. ^ Ferraro, Nick (June 28, 2021). "State moves forward with second daily Amtrak train to Chicago. Service could begin in 2024". Twin Cities Pioneer Press.
  16. ^ "Wisconsin Department of Transportation Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago Intercity Passenger Rail Service". wisconsindot.gov.
  17. ^ "Amtrak® Board of Directors Public Meeting – Attendee Q&A" (PDF). Amtrak. December 1, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  18. ^ Horton, Ryan (June 6, 2023). "Paper #778 - Passenger Rail Operations Assistance" (PDF).
  19. ^ "Wisconsin Department of Transportation Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago Intercity Passenger Rail Service". wisconsindot.gov. Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  20. ^ Jannene, Jeramey (December 6, 2023). "Wisconsin Wins Grants To Study Five New or Expanded Rail Routes". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  21. ^ "Quarter 1, 2024 Newsletter". allaboardminnesota.org. All Aboard Minnesota. February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  22. ^ Weisser, Ian (February 29, 2024). "It's still called TCMC for a little longer". Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  23. ^ Magliari, Marc (April 30, 2024). "Introducing Amtrak Borealis trains with Expanded Service between St. Paul and Chicago via Milwaukee". Amtrak Media (Press release). Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  24. ^ a b Glischinski, Steve (May 22, 2024). "Amtrak Borealis makes debut". Trains. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  25. ^ Canizares, Izzy (July 2, 2024). "Early figures show Borealis train carrying 600 daily passengers between St. Paul, Chicago". Bring Me The News. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  26. ^ a b "Twin Cities - Milwaukee - Chicago Intercity Passenger Rail Project Public Presentation". YouTube. Wisconsin DOT. March 18, 2021.
  27. ^ Harlow, Tim (October 24, 2024). "Amtrak's Borealis train ridership reaches 100K in five months". The Minnesota Star Tribune. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  28. ^ "Feasibility Report on Proposed Amtrak Service Chicago-Milwaukee-LaCrosse-Twin Cities-(St. Cloud)" (PDF). Amtrak.
  29. ^ "Gov. Evers, WisDOT Announce Federal Funding Awarded to Study Expansion of Passenger Rail Service in Wisconsin". Office of Governor Tony Evers. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
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