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By Nicole Ki, Minnesota Public Radio eb

Over 100,000 people have ridden on Amtrak’s new route between St. Paul and Chicago, according to Amtrak officials.

The Borealis train hit the ridership milestone on Oct. 24, five months since opening the route to riders. The passenger line is Amtrak’s second daily train connecting St. Paul to Milwaukee and Chicago, with some stops in between.

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the excitement and ridership that the new service has created and couldn’t be prouder of our partnership. The number of full trains, even at mid-week on the Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago corridor, is leading Amtrak and our state partners to look at how we can add capacity,” said Amtrak President Roger Harris.

Frequent Amtrak riders like Robbie Young of La Crosse, Wis., usually take the Empire Builder route, which goes from Chicago to Seattle with a stop in St. Paul along the way. But on Sunday, he rode the Borealis Amtrak for the first time with two friends to get back home.

“Just having another travel option during the day was really nice. Coming from La Crosse, the [Empire Builder] leaves at 8 [p.m.] and gets up here around 11 [p.m.], if it’s on time, and arriving to St. Paul and trying to get to Minneapolis that late at night is tricky,” Young said. “So just having another option during the day is kind of what made this trip possible.”

Young regularly makes visits to the Twin Cities with friends on the weekends and prefers taking Amtrak because he doesn’t need a car to get to places when he’s in the Twin Cities.

He also says the Borealis seemed to be more on-time than the Empire Builder.

“We actually had to skip taking the Empire Builder once because it was 10-plus hours late, and ended up driving ourselves to Chicago,” Young said.

Others, like Chicago resident Larry O’Donnell, traveled to the Twin Cities via the Borealis to take a weekend solo trip. For him, the commute is about seven-and-a-half hours.

“It’s not too bad,” he said. “It’s about the same as … driving, but much easier. Much less stressful.”

He says he likes that he can read a book, listen to a podcast and “not have to worry about other people’s road rage.” And he plans to make more trips to the Midwest using the new route.

For rider Ax Delessio, it’s important to prioritize sustainable transportation. “The train is much better than even driving, right? It’s a collective form of public transport, and something we absolutely need in this day and age to make our world more sustainable.”