St. Paul-to-Chicago Borealis Rail Line Launches

Amtrak’s Borealis passenger rail service between St. Paul, Minnesota, and Chicago launched late last month, marking an effective doubling of service to cities along its route.

According to an article by Daniel C. Vock in Route Fifty, “Before Borealis, those cities were only served by Amtrak’s long-distance Empire Builder train that runs once a day between Chicago and Seattle or Portland. The Empire Builder, though, often arrived at inconvenient times, and the eastbound trains were routinely late, because of delays in Montana and North Dakota.”

The line is the first new passenger rail service in Minnesota since 1975 and the first in Wisconsin in over 20 years, Vock adds. The line runs where existing passenger trains already travel, essentially extending two Hiawatha routes between Chicago and Milwaukee.

Officials say the 12-year process to launch the route reveals the arduous bureaucratic process   that delays the development of new train lines, but also offers lessons for other states and transportation agencies looking to start new rail services. “Brian Nelson, the president of All Aboard Minnesota, is hoping the new route will inspire state officials to pursue plans to deliver service to Duluth and to add more daily trains along the Borealis route.”