Amtrak's St. Paul to Chicago service hits 100K riders in 5 months, exceeding expectations

Amtrak 's Borealis line, running between St. Paul and Chicago, has hit 100,000 riders in its first 22 weeks of service, Amtrak announced this week.

The train only began service in late May and has now blown past initial ridership projections that suggested it might serve just north of 100,000 travelers each year.

The Borealis runs once per day in each direction from St. Paul's Union Depot to Chicago with stops in Red Wing, Winona, La Crosse, Wisconsin Dells, and Milwaukee, among other cities, along the way.

The train, operated by Amtrak under contracts with transportation departments in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, has surpassed expectations, prompting Amtrak to explore expanding service.

"We've been pleasantly surprised by the excitement and ridership that the new service has created," Amtrak president Roger Harris says. "The number of full trains, even at mid-week on the Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago corridor, is leading Amtrak and our state partners to look at how we can add capacity."

The rapid uptake on the Borealis comes as Amtrak announces it's on track to set ridership records in 2024.