Search results

Is there any fundemental reason the current Borealis could not operate with a 5th coach? I'm 100% in favor of an additonal local MSP-CHI-MSP trip but that could easily be a handful of years away even if the stars align. Obviously two additional coaches would be needed which might present a...

So today (Weds 6/5 about 10:45am Central) The eastbound Empire Builder is about 6.5 hours late. Borealis MSP-CHI is not sold out with at least 8 seats for sale. So I wonder which of these is true: --Passengers booked on EB at stations MSP and eastward are not readily moving to...

For what it's worth (and what is the internet for if not over-examinine things?) we have a similar situation today with northbound where CHI-(MKE)-MSP is available for sale of up to 5 tickets but CHI-MKE local on Borealis is sold out. Today it remains sold out for CHI-MKE customers but not for...

And now a few hours later CHI-MKE and MKE-CHI on Borealis are not sold out and available for 8+ tickets each, just as CHI-(MKE)-MSP and MSP-(MKE)-CHI both are. So maybe a glitch, or maybe they do "hold" inventory for upline stations but have released it now for local sale between CHI/MKE.

This morning (Friday 5/24) has some interesting availability for today on amtrak.com Northbound Borealis CHI-MKE sold out CHI-MSP 8 or more seats available Southbound Borealis MSP-CHI 8 or more seats available MKE-CHI 1 seat left Are they blocking inventory on the CHI-MKE / MKE-CHI segments...

Local CHI-MKE-CHI passengers tend to book very late because it's something of a commuter service with tons of same-day return trips. You may know you're heading to see a client next Thursday but there's no rush to buy your ticket in advance in case things change, and you might well not buy your...

Over the last few days I've noticed some oddball fares on certain dates in summer where Borealis is really expensive, far more than the Empire Builder. So while watching TV I looked up fares CHI-MSP through summer to see what's going on. Turns out Borealis is nearly always cheaper but there...

Very true! While eagerness leads to all this speculation now, we'll know in a few weeks exactly what they are doing. And hopefully whatever it that turns out to be is reliable enough that this speculative stuff is quickly forgotten. If we're still going through this stuff a month or two from...

Getting the Hiawatha up to 10 trips has been a goal for several years -- if I recall correctly prior to the pandemic the intention was an 8th trip by 2024 and 9 & 10 by 2026. But the big stumbling block was a few years back when Glenview & Lake Forest (IL) successfully stymied the additional...

That seems to work! Had not thought about having the Borealis equipment overnight in MIlwaukee -- that's what I get for trying to solve this puzzle while at work and not focusing more on it. :) Each night a Hiawatha set terms in Chicago and Milwaukee has both a Hiawatha and a Boreais, and...

Here's a visualization on the trainset rotation issue which probably requires deadheading or (far less likely) a third Hiawatha set. Current Hiawatha schedule -- two train sets. We know that Borealis requires two train sets for a total four -- two Hiawatha + two Borealis. The challenge with...

I think MKE has a crew change. There's no extra dwell time in Winona for the crew change like the Emprire Builder has. It would not surprise me if the current Hiawatha crews do their same rotation on the CHI-MKE / MKE-CHI legs and the new extension MKE-MSP has its own set of crews to cover.

Any idea if business class will be 2x1? Or will it be 2x2 like coach but with more legroom? I seem to recall that it's not consistant everyplace but perhaps knowing what cars they are (likely) to use can pin that down. Assuming there's a cafe car I wonder if it will be staffed between CHI and...

Yup, that's exactly what the sort of feedback I was looking for. If the trains ran like clockwork so theres no concern of missing a connection, if you're on a long multi-day trip with a connection is having a handful of hours between trains a nice break or a waste of time? If it helps frame...

For those of you who have done long-disance trips in the US with a connection, is a long connection a welcome break or a boring waste of time? Although there are exceptions (and occasional bad individual experiences) most people are relatively comfortable booking a domestic airline connection...

This may only be a partial history based on some quick combing of timetimes on The Museum of Amtrak Timtables website -- anybody else feel free to jump in :) Empire Builder ran CHI-MSP-HVR-SEA as 7 + 8 North Coast Hiawatha ran CHI-MSP-BIL-SEA as 9 + 10 Arrowhead ran MSP-DLH as 760 + 761 In...

Not too likely in my opinion -- those were North Coast Hiawatha numbers, and given the fairly shot of restoring that I doubt they'd tie those up. Plus low digits are not generally used for state-supported routes. Much more likely, if uninspired, is use of the exiting Hiawatha numbers the TCMC...

Thanks for finding/posting this. Those are some big hurdles which were cleared. Not that any of them were likely to become an impass and kill or jeopardize the TCMC itself, but instead the sorts of nagging issues which can make things drag out. And when seemingly-inevitable things drag out...

Operating reliably will be key in building the MSP-CHI traffic. I pulled stats for the past two years and it's pretty ugly eastbound. If the train departs on time things are pretty good, but if not...well... For this I used arriving Chicago within 30 minutes of schedule as on-time. Overall...

Latest updates posted today on Youtube -- this appears to be a presentation by the Great River Rail Commission. Highlights: --They are close to the final agreement between Amtrak and the three states, including how to incorporate funding from an FRA restoration & enhancement grant made to...