MADISON, Wis. — The state of Wisconsin has begun studying the possibility of adding a second daily round trip to the Chicago-Milwaukee-Twin Cities Borealis service, WisBusiness.com reports.
The train’s ridership has been exceeding projections by 10% to 15% each month since its May 21 launch, Lisa Stern, chief of railroads and harbors for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, told the news site. Through Oct. 31, it had carried 109,826 riders, while Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the Empire Builder, which operates on the same route, had not seen any drop in ridership.
The Borealis study is one that received a $500,000 grant under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program in December 2023 [see “Full list of passenger routes in FRA Corridor program …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 8, 2023]. The study, and three others for which Wisconsin DOT received Corridor ID grants, are in their early stages, with consultants working to determine the scope, budget, and timelines for full Service Development Plans. Among issues to be determined are what infrastructure improvements host railroad Canadian Pacific Kansas City might require to permit an additional round trip.
Early Borealis ridership was strong enough that the possibility of an additional trip began being raised within weeks of the train’s debut. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported in July that a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation called such talk “premature” at that time.
Share this article
