Amtrak Borealis ridership has topped 500,000 passengers since the daily St. Paul–Chicago train began running in May 2024, and a fourth passenger car is due within weeks.

Amtrak Borealis train with locomotive 82 at St. Paul Union Depot
An Amtrak Borealis train stands beside the platform at St. Paul Union Depot. Photo: Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) / Amtrak.

Amtrak and the three states that sponsor the service, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois, reported the milestone on September 28, 2026. The Borealis makes one round trip a day, with one train leaving Chicago in the late morning and the other leaving St. Paul around midday. Amtrak runs it under contracts with the Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois departments of transportation, with support from Federal Railroad Administration grants.

A fourth car for the Borealis

Minnesota Transportation Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger said Borealis ridership keeps beating expectations and set out the next step:

“We are thrilled that Amtrak will add a fourth passenger car to the service in just a few weeks, which allows more Minnesotans access to this safe, reliable transportation option.”

The extra car comes after the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) said in May that the train was operating at capacity. In the same second-anniversary announcement, Amtrak Executive Vice President Jennifer Mitchell said the company intended to add seating and more service on the corridor over the coming months and years. The September release gives neither the date the fourth car enters service nor the number of seats it adds.

Ridership across the St. Paul–Chicago corridor

Counting every Amtrak train on the St. Paul–Chicago corridor since May 21, 2024, ridership stands above 2.2 million. That total combines the Borealis, the daily Empire Builder between Chicago and Seattle/Portland via St. Paul and Milwaukee, and the state-sponsored Hiawatha Service, which makes several daily runs on the Milwaukee–Chicago section. Between St. Paul and Chicago, the Borealis and the Empire Builder together offer two departures a day in each direction.

Mitchell said the data point to rising ridership on Amtrak’s Midwest network and across the country, as more people look for a way to travel without facing what she called record-high driving costs.

Map of Amtrak Midwest routes highlighting Borealis between St. Paul and Chicago
The Amtrak Midwest map highlights the Borealis route between St. Paul and Chicago via Milwaukee. Graphic: Amtrak.

Borealis ridership since the May 2024 launch

The half-million mark follows a series of totals Amtrak has published for the train. In its first 11 months, through April 30, 2025, the Borealis carried more than 205,800 passengers, Amtrak’s first-anniversary figures show. By the second anniversary in May 2026, the count had passed 416,000.

Borealis cumulative ridership reported by Amtrak, May 2024 to September 2026
Reported total Passengers (cumulative) Added since previous total Average per month (editorial estimate)
First 11 months, to April 30, 2025 More than 205,800 — About 19,000
Second-anniversary release, May 18, 2026 More than 416,000 About 210,000 About 17,000
Half-million release, September 28, 2026 More than 500,000 About 84,000 About 19,000

The Borealis has added riders at a broadly steady rate of roughly 17,000 to 19,000 a month since its launch. Monthly averages are a Railway Supply estimate: the gain between two published totals divided by the months between them, rounded to the nearest thousand. Because Amtrak gives each total as a minimum and the two later figures carry release dates rather than counting dates, the averages are approximate. Sources: Amtrak, May 21, 2025; Amtrak, May 18, 2026; Amtrak, September 28, 2026.