CHICAGO — Amtrak will launch a second daily train between Chicago and St. Paul, Minn., the state-sponsored Borealis, on May 21, the passenger operator announced today.
The train, using Horizon coaches and a café car, will offer Business Class service. It will substitute for one of the current Hiawatha round trips on the Chicago-Milwaukee portion of its trip, and will stop in all cities served by the Empire Builder between Chicago and St. Paul. Tickets are now on sale on the Amtrak website.
The westbound Borealis, train No. 1333, is slated to depart Chicago at 11:05 a.m., arriving in St. Paul at 6:39 p.m. Its eastbound counterpart, train No. 1340, departs St. Paul at 11:50 a.m. and arrives in Chicago at 7:14 p.m. Full schedules are below. Full-route coach fares start at $41, with Business Class starting at $98.
The service is sponsored by the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.
“We appreciate our partnerships with communities, federal, state and local governments, host railroad CPKC, and Amtrak that were needed to get this service on track, and to provide another safe, reliable transportation option,” Nancy Daudenberger, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said in a press release. “We look forward to continuing these partnerships as we work toward further building out passenger rail options in the Midwest.”
Said Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson, “This expansion is thanks to the work WisDOT was able to do together with Minnesota, Illinois and Amtrak, as well as the opportunities provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. We will continue to work with federal and state partners to explore more passenger rail options in Wisconsin.”
