Monday, July 8, 2024 Preliminary figures from the first full month of state-sponsored Borealis trains between St. Paul and Chicago show a ridership exceeding 18,500. This averages to about 300 passengers per day on each of the eastbound and westbound trains operated by Amtrak, under contracts with Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois.
“Amtrak and our state partners have always believed the Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago corridor was a great one with tremendous opportunity,” said Ray Lang, Vice President, Amtrak State Supported Service. “The ridership numbers we have seen so far confirm our belief and we expect this trend to continue as the service matures and we head into the peak summer travel season. “With strong college and university markets on this route, we are confident Borealis will continue to perform well when students and staff travel in greater numbers this fall,” said Lang, who added Amtrak ridership nationally is on a trend this year to set a new all-time record.
“Borealis marks the first passenger rail service expansion in Wisconsin in 22 years and people are responding,” said Craig Thompson, Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). “The initial data is promising and reflects the hard work done by WisDOT, our partner states and Amtrak to bring this service to the people of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. We’re hopeful the more people that ride Borealis and like it, the more successful it will be.
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