New Chicago-to-St. Paul Amtrak Line Makes Profit in First Months

The Borealis line provided more than 18,500 rides since its first trips in May.

1 minute read

July 11, 2024, 6:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Amtrak Borealis train passing by green forest in Hastings, Minnesota.

A Borealis train in Hastings, Minnesota. | Jerry Huddleston from Hampton, Minnesota, US, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons

A new Amtrak passenger rail line linking St. Paul, Minnesota and Chicago turned a profit in its first month of service, a rare feat for the agency. 

The Borealis line served over 18,500 passengers since it launched in May and took in $600,000 in revenue, writes Tim Harlow in the Star Tribune. The agency spent $500,000 on operations, making the Borealis one of two state-sponsored Amtrak lines (of a total of 30) to make a profit.

“Westbound trips out of Chicago saw slightly higher ridership with an average of 330 riders while eastbound trips carried about 288 passengers, according to Amtrak,” adds Harlow. “Officials say the Twin Cities-to-Milwaukee-to-Chicago route has high potential and could see even more passengers as the service matures. The line also serves several markets with colleges and universities, which could also attract students this fall, said Ray Lang, Amtrak's vice president of state-supported services.”

Other Amtrak routes also saw increases in ridership. “The Empire Builder, the other Amtrak route serving the Twin Cities, saw a 15% ridership growth from fiscal year 2022 to 2023. The train running from Chicago to the Twin Cities to Fargo-Moorhead and then to the Pacific Northwest cities of Portland and Seattle saw ridership rise from 303,500 to nearly 349,000 from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023, Amtrak figures show.”

Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Star Tribune

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Concrete Brutalism building with slanted walls and light visible through an atrium.

What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities

How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.

February 28, 2025 - Justin Hollander

Complete Street

‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge

Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.

February 27, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Aerial view of single-family homes with swimming pools in San Diego, California.

San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule

The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.

March 9, 2025 - Axios

Cars driving on the American Legion Bridge in Maryland

U.S. Miles Driven Rose by 1 Percent in 2024

Americans drove a total of 3.279 trillion miles in 2024, but per capita VMT stayed the same.

March 10 - Eno Center for Transportation

An adult man, stopped on a Seattle, Washington street corner, preparing for a rainy morning bike commute.

Seattle Recorded Zero Bike Deaths in 2024, per Early Data

The city halved the number of pedestrian deaths compared to 2021.

March 10 - Seattle Bike Blog

Close-up of green ULEZ sign in London, UK.

Study: London ULEZ Rapidly Cleaning up Air Pollution

Expanding the city’s ultra low-emission zone has resulted in dramatic drops in particle emissions in inner and outer London.

March 10 - Smart Cities World