Amtrak Revives Borealis Service: Trains Return Between St. Paul and Chicago

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Amtrak is resuming rail service on the popular Borealis line On Thursday, utilizing bi-level railcars for the service between St. Paul and Chicago will be implemented.

Trains between the Windy City and the Twin Cities will start operating on Thursday evening, with services running in both directions anticipated to resume fully by Friday morning, according to the railway company.

Passengers holding tickets for Train 1340 traveling from St. Paul to Chicago on Thursday will be transported via bus to their final destination, according to Amtrak.

"Service by Borealis Trains 1333 and 1340 will resume without bus replacements," the railway company stated.

Amtrak employs single-level Horizon railcars on the Borealis route as well as on four additional routes nationwide, such as the Hiawatha service connecting Chicago with Milwaukee.

On Wednesday, the railroad discovered corrosion On "multiple" Horizon trains, they took them out of service. Passengers were transported to their destinations via bus, according to Amtrak.

The Borealis service started operating in May 2024 and utilizes single-story Horizon railway vehicles manufactured by Bombardier from 1988 to 1990. According to reports, this includes a total of 70 carriages—comprising 61 passenger coaches and nine dining cars—that have been impacted. Trains.com .

Bi-level railcars, referred to as Superliners, will be transferred to Borealis and certain routes of the Hiawatha service.

The two-tier railcars lack a business-class section. The railway has stated that passengers who purchased business-class tickets for Borealis will receive a reimbursement covering the price gap between business class and standard economy seats.

This week, Amtrak found signs of corrosion on some of Borealis' railcars when they were being inspected as required by federal guidelines. Upon conducting more thorough examinations, additional issues were identified, leading Amtrak to take these vehicles out of service, according to spokesman Marc Magliari on Wednesday.

The route, which offers a single journey from St. Paul to Chicago in both directions every day, has proven highly popular. According to the railway company’s report in October, over 100,000 travelers boarded since the service began 22 weeks prior.

The service on the Empire Builder, operating between Chicago and the Western coastal cities of Seattle and Portland, remained unaffected. The Empire Builder makes a stop at Union Depot in St. Paul.

©2025 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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