Amtrak’s new passenger train, which will add more service from Chicago to Milwaukee to the Twin Cities, is underway.
Part of the talk on the first day of the Borealis train was how that train might affect other possible rail expansions in Wisconsin.
Amtrak still offers the daily Empire Builder in the Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul corridor, and on to the West Coast. But the eastbound version of that train is often hours late when it reaches eastern Minnesota and Wisconsin. So, Amtrak and the states of Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin are teaming up to offer a daily ride on Borealis, which only goes as far as St. Paul and back east.
Borealis heads west from Milwaukee in midday, about four hours before the Empire Builder.
At the Milwaukee depot Tuesday, Minneapolis resident Sam Weiss was happy to have a train that gets him to Minnesota in early evening.
"Getting into Minneapolis at 10 or 11 p.m., it’s always hard to get a friend to take you back home. So, I love that timing. And, I think it’s going to be better for the views. Like, we’ll be able to drive past some really nice rivers and things like that and actually be able to see it," Weiss tells WUWM.
A rider from Vietnam, Linh Phan, also likes the schedule.
“We can have lunch in Milwaukee, then have dinner in Minneapolis. It’s wonderful,” she says.
Then, off they went on the train—at times, rolling at 79 miles per hour. The clickety-clack of metal wheels on the metal track was especially noticeable in the walkway between the passenger cars.
You don’t have to take the Borealis all the way to the Twin Cities. There are some stops in central and Western Wisconsin and southeast Minnesota, as on the Empire Builder, plus a stop at the Milwaukee Airport station.
WUWM got off the westbound train in Portage, as did Milwaukee rider Joyce Tang Boyland, who says she likes riding the train better than flying or driving.
“And I can do work on this train. There is the internet, unlike the Empire Builder. So, that’s a plus as well," she says.
The mayor of Wisconsin Dells recently told a Madison television station that he’s unenthusiastic about Borealis, contending that 99.9% of visitors to that community arrive by car.
But Portage was one of several communities that held a celebration Tuesday, complete with cookies and a ribbon cutting. Mayor Mitchel Craig promises to hop on the Borealis train and visit Milwaukee more often.
“Much easier, much safer than driving on the interstate. And it’s a beautiful ride. We’ve gone back and forth between Milwaukee and Portage numerous times. My wife and I, our grandkids," Craig says.
State and federal transportation officials are promising a close evaluation of Borealis.
After arriving in Portage on the eastbound train, Wisconsin Transportation Sec. Craig Thompson talked with us about the federal funds that have improved the track on the Borealis route, and that will reduce the state payment to Amtrak to an estimated $135,000 for the first year. The three states are trying to hold down ticket prices to about $41 for Chicago to the Twin Cities.
Thompson says he believes ridership can grow and keep prices low.
“Well, we’ve had the Hiawatha running between Milwaukee and Chicago for years, and we’ve been able to sustain that. It’s been one of the most successful (routes.) I think this is going to be a really popular route, too. So, I’m very hopeful it will be sustainable," Thompson says.
Thompson praises the freight railroads that own the track, saying they’ve been willing to make Borealis work.
Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner, in a one-on-one interview with WUWM, says his team will be scrutinizing Borealis ridership and financial performance. But he says the billions of dollars given to Amtrak under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are much needed.
“When you look at American mobility and the challenges ahead as we continue to grow as a nation, and thinking about how we connect people, and create economic opportunity, rail has to play a much bigger role. We’re done with the era of big interstate expansion. We’re not adding runways or airports," Gardner says.
Amtrak recently chose five Wisconsin corridors for the study of new or additional rail service. Those corridors include Milwaukee to Madison. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway says her residents are hungry for a passenger train that could take them places, including Milwaukee.
“You know, if they have business in Milwaukee and want to take the train from Madison to Milwaukee, right now, people are taking buses, which is great. But it will be more efficient to take the train," Rhodes-Conway says.
Another corridor up for study is Milwaukee to Green Bay, through the Fox Cities. Fond du Lac resident Jeff Reese says as a member of the Wisconsin Association of Rail Passengers, his expansion hopes are for the benefit of the next generations.
“Let’s put it this way. I’m 72. I’m really doing this for people who are younger," Reese says.
And who, he adds, are going to want, or possibly need, more transportation options.
