Twin Cities - Chicago
Overview
The Twin Cities to Chicago is the busiest corridor in the state for rail, air, and highway travel. Approximately 10 million highway trips occur annually along this route. It is unique among Midwest routes in that half of trips are by motor vehicle and half are by plane. In contrast, most Midwest corridors, such as Chicago to St. Louis or Chicago to Detroit, see 80-90% by car.
Current Borealis and Empire Builder Service
Amtrak operates two trains in this corridor – the Borealis and Empire Builder. Both operate through the Chicago-Twin Cities corridor via La Crosse and Milwaukee. The CPKC freight railroad owns most of the track on which the trains operate. The Borealis operates a midday service between the two cities in each direction once daily using two locomotives and three bi-level Superliner coaches with a café per train.
The Empire Builder operates through the same corridor once daily in each direction but continues west to Seattle and Portland via Fargo, splitting in Spokane. This train also uses Superliner coaches but also includes sleeper cars, a sightseer lounge, and a full-service dining car.
Planning For Additional Services
All Aboard Minnesota believes this route merits more service - through the addition of more coach cars on the Borealis and additional frequencies.
In April of 2026, Amtrak and WisDOT announced a proposal for the Hiawatha West project. Phase I would add service from Chicago to Madison with a full extension to the Twin Cities via Eau Claire planned in the final phase (Phase III). We hope and strongly support this third Twin Cities to Chicago frequency.
In addition to the Hiawatha West project, WisDOT in conjunction with MnDOT, is studying a second daily Borealis service on the existing route. WisDOT has a Corridor ID grant through the Federal Railroad Administration to study this corridor.