After its May 21 launch, Amtrak Borealis attracted hundreds of daily passengers for the St. Paul, Minnesota/Milwaukee/Chicago train route and is one of only two state-supported routes to turn a profit.
In its monthly performance report released last week, Amtrak said the St. Paul and Chicago train route dubbed Borealis brought in about 6,600 passengers during the 11 days it was operational in May. The route has eight stops in Wisconsin, including the downtown Milwaukee Intermodal Station.
Recently, the Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers reported figures from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation that confirmed the Borealis train in May carried over 600 passengers daily during that 11-day period. The daily average for westbound travelers, they said, was 329. Meanwhile, the daily average for eastbound travelers was 275.
The twice-daily Borealis was built as an expansion of the current Empire Builder service which connects Chicago with the Twin Cities on its way to Seattle. Borealis’ 411-mile route takes about 7 hours and 20 minutes, compared with Empire’s nearly 8-hour journey.
The route is sponsored by the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. A federal grant was to provide 90% of the first year operating costs. In its brief history, the St. Paul-to-Chicago route is one of only two Amtrak state-supported routes — out of 30 nationwide — to turn an operating profit this year; revenue for May was $600,000, vs. expenses of $500,000.
St. Paul’s Union Depot is working on becoming a destination attraction train travelers. The depot recently welcomed a new restaurant from the owners of Lake Elmo Inn called 1881 by Lake Elmo. St. Paul officials are reportedly hoping the upscale restaurant will become an attraction in its own right for people traveling into St. Paul via train.