NOTES ON AN EXPANDED TIMETABLE.

Validation.  "We've heard that tune before.  'I've invoked that trifecta so many times I should apply for a copyright.'"

Amtrak's Borealis is a second frequency on what used to be the best-served corridor in North America outside the Official Region.  It doesn't connect with much on either end of its run, and its dependability suffers from Amtrak's parlous state.

An additional frequency, though, offers day-trippers travel opportunities that the once-a-day or tri-weekly train does not.  Shortly after Borealis started running, Streetsblog's Igor Studenkov went from Chicago to the Dells and back.

Igor Studenkov photograph retrieved from Streetsblog.

Why the Dells?  Yes, there is a water park across the street from the station, and fudge on the main street.

Rather, the Dells stop is the furthest west one can go on the Borealis and still catch the same train service back to Chicago that day.

When I got on the Borealis in suburban Glenview, IL, it was already full enough that there was simply no way to avoid sitting next to another passenger. And there weren’t even that many open seats available, period. "Don’t be afraid to make a friend," a crew member said over the PA system.

His impression was that local trippers were making use of the train west of Milwaukee in both directions.  The same thing might have been true along the Father of Waters.  A University of Minnesota student journalist had favorable things to say about the new train, which supplements the existing, not always dependable, Empire Builder that a fellow student found deficient.

Amtrak may be a great mode of transportation for vacation travel when people can be more flexible with their schedules and time, but it’s not quite advanced enough to act as a functional and reliable form of transportation year-round.

The train’s infrastructure is another concern, as it may be difficult for wheelchair users and other people with disabilities to navigate.

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed about Amtrak trains, it’s that the unbelievably narrow staircases that take customers up to the top level of the train and the tiny bathrooms that look nearly identical to ones you’d find on an aircraft.

Certain carry-on bags barely fit in the staircase leading to the top-level seating area, let alone necessary medical equipment that people may need.

At the beginning of Amtrak, the Superliners were intended as the long-distance coach and sleeping cars for the western trains, with the Metroliner-inspired Amfleet for the corridor runs.  Those cars are still running today, even as new short-distance coaches on state-funded routes protect the California and Chicago area regional schedules.

A year on, that second frequency is doing what second frequencies often do.

According to data released by Amtrak, combined ridership on Borealis and Amtrak’s existing long-distance Empire Builder, which runs along the same route, was around 293,000 between May 2024 and the end of April 2025. Officials said that’s nearly a 230% increase from the same time period the previous year.

The growth in passengers in having a positive impact for some smaller stops along the route. Portage is one of the smallest stops along the route in terms of passenger volume; however, City of Portage Business Development Director Steve Sobiek said the increase in passengers has been noticeable.

The Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers remarked on the first year's ridership breakdown.  Ridership at LaCrosse, which isn't well-located for day trips in either direction owing to the pathing of the two trains, has increased.  "The La Crosse train station handled 90% of the passenger volume of the La Crosse Airport (38,000 in 2024)"  Give a LaCrosse to Chicago train the ability to sprint like a 1940s Hiawatha and connect with outbound planes at Milwaukee Airport and who knows what sort of intermodal transfers might follow.

A third frequency also has possibilities.  It's too much to ask, probably, for the Morning and Afternoon Hiawathas with their 10.30 am and 1 pm Chicago departures and the Builder emulating an Olympian Hiawatha leaving at 3 pm.  Some sort of third frequency is under study.