Total Amtrak St. Paul – Chicago Ridership Up 227 percent
ST. PAUL, Minn., and CHICAGO – Robust ridership demand for the state-sponsored Borealis [1] trains between St. Paul and Chicago continues to exceed expectations in its first full year of service. Operated daily by Amtrak under contracts with Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, Borealis ridership for the 11 months ending April 30 was more than 205,800.
Total Amtrak ridership for the new St. Paul-Chicago corridor, which includes the Borealis and the Amtrak Empire Builder [2] trains daily, was more than 293,000, up 227 percent from May 2024 through April 2025 when compared with May 2023 through April 2024.
“Amtrak is proud to celebrate a successful first year of the Borealis – and it’s only going to improve next year and beyond,” said Amtrak President Roger Harris [3]. “Thanks to strong collaboration with our partners, we have exceeded expectations and provided a reliable, efficient, and safe way to travel between the Twin Cities and Chicago via Milwaukee.”
“One year ago, we introduced a new, state-funded, intercity passenger rail service to Minnesota. Today, we are happy to share that the service has exceeded so many of our expectations, with ridership surpassing projections,” said Minnesota Transportation Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger [4]. “The ridership numbers clearly demonstrate the need to have safe, reliable transportation options for Minnesotans, and we hope to continue building on its early success.”
“WisDOT is proud to celebrate this milestone moment for passenger rail in our state,” said Wisconsin Transportation Secretary Kristina Boardman. [5] “When the Borealis launched in May 2024, it was the first passenger rail service expansion in Wisconsin in more than two decades. The train has since become a resounding success story and the ridership data reflects that. It provides a transportation alternative for people living in smaller Wisconsin communities and a new way for Wisconsinites to explore big cities like Milwaukee, Chicago, and the Twin Cities.
“We will continue to work with our partners to explore more safe and reliable passenger rail options in Wisconsin,” Boardman added.
“The demand for convenient, reliable passenger rail in Illinois always has been strong, but the early success of the Borealis line shows that appetite extends beyond our borders and
throughout the Midwest,” said Acting Illinois Transportation Secretary Gia Biagi. [6] “We look forward to working with our partner states on ways to strengthen service in the years ahead and explore future opportunities to offer more travel options for our residents and visitors.”
The figures below exclude Amtrak Hiawatha Service trains and are preliminary, as ridership is typically reported at the end of the succeeding month. Eleven-month and comparison ridership by station is also shown. Previously, only Hiawatha trains served the Wisconsin stops at Milwaukee Airport and Sturtevant.
| Amtrak Services | Borealis | Empire Builder | 11-month total | Previous 11-month |
| by station | total by station | |||
| St. Paul, Minn. | 106,581 | 45,309 | 151,890 | 44,553 |
| Red Wing | 11,336 | 4,898 | 16,234 | 4,735 |
| Winona | 11,372 | 8,298 | 19,670 | 9,026 |
| La Crosse, Wisc. | 20,716 | 13,749 | 34,465 | 16,263 |
| Tomah | 6,660 | 7,221 | 13,881 | 8,516 |
| Wisconsin Dells | 11,311 | 10,223 | 21,534 | 9,799 |
| Portage | 4,219 | 3,853 | 8,072 | 4,039 |
| Columbus | 10,177 | 8,314 | 18,491 | 6,962 |
| Milwaukee | 70,607 | 13,310 | 83,917 | 14,901 |
| Milwaukee Airport | 11,333 | – | 11,333 | – |
| Sturtevant | 6,300 | – | 6,300 | – |
| Glenview, Ill. | 12,211 | 3,970 | 16,181 | 3,951 |
| Chicago | 128,797 | 55,353 | 184,150 | 56,445 |
Borealis trains originate from St. Paul at midday and Chicago in the late morning with Amtrak everyday discounts [7] for children ages 2-12, students, seniors, veterans, military personnel and families, groups, and others. The trains offer a café car featuring regional items. Customers enjoy wide reclining seats with ample legroom, no middle seats, and views of the Mississippi River between St. Paul and La Crosse, Wisc., in both directions.