Borealis. Typical five-car car consist heads upriver near Winona at 79 mph. The train is a joint venture of Amtrak and the states of Illinois Minnesota and Wisconsin.
More riders expected over summer, then fall for college
WASHINGTON – Ridership on the new Amtrak train linking Chicago and St. Paul was about 300 a day each way in the first month of service, Amtrak reported. The total: 18,500. Ray Lang, an Amtrak vice president, predicted greater ridership for the Borealis with summer travel. In the fall there will be a further influx when colleges begin a new semester. The 400-mies route includes major college towns: Milwaukee, Madison and LaCrosse, and in Winona there is Winona State and Saint Mary’s. The end points of the Borealis — Chicago and the Twin Cities — also have large college enrollments from towns along the way.
Earlier: New train exceeds Empire Builder city-pair revenue