LAKE CITY, Minn. — Gearing up for the May 21 launch of the Chicago-St. Paul Borealis, Amtrak ran a special test train between the two cities on Tuesday, May 7, using the planned Horizon and Amfleet equipment and operating on the train’s schedule. The trip included all scheduled stops. The special is shown here in Lake City, Minn., near the end of its test run. The train is scheduled to make the return trip today (May 8).
The Borealis is funded by the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois [see “Amtrak to launch Chicago-St. Paul train …,” Trains News Wire, May 1, 2024]. It will provide two daily trains between Chicago and St. Paul for the first time since 1981.
Lovers of all things CMStP&P hang their heads in shame.
CURTIS — If you can bring back MILW ROAD, also try to bring back the double iron west of Forestgrove Avenue, Pewaukee.
If Horizon and Amfleet are combined on the same train (as has regularly occurred for years on the Hiawatha) it’s total bush league.
Has Amtrak improved that much?
I like the colors on the locomotive, but the cars seem bland if not discordant in comparison.