Amtrak Midwest is a brand name applied by Amtrak to its state-supported routes in the Midwest states of Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Missouri. The routes form a hub-and-spoke network around Chicago Union Station, with all trains terminating there except for one Missouri River Runner round trip. , Amtrak Midwest consists of eleven named trains:
Illinois Service: , Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, and Illini and Saluki Michigan Services: , , and
Other routes in development include the and .
Operations Services
, Amtrak Midwest consists of eleven named trains operating in ten service patterns. The Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg share identical routes, as do the Illini and Saluki. The Lincoln Service and Missouri River Runner operate separately except for one daily round trip (trains 318 and 319) in which they are combined. There are 22 Amtrak Midwest round trips each weekday, with the Hiawatha running slightly different frequencies on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
RouteTerminusViaTerminusRidership FY 2025Weekday round tripsSupporting statesMNWIILMIMO212,9091 ● ● ● 631,9906 ● ● Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg146,0492 ● Illini and Saluki319,1142 ● Pontiac438,427 3 ● 177,7391 ● 97,1771 ● 592,7353 ● Lincoln Service / Missouri River RunnerN/A1 ● ●196,9891 ● Total22
Indiana is not part of Amtrak Midwest as the state does not sponsor any Amtrak routes, although two Wolverine trips stop at Hammond–Whiting station. Indiana discontinued its only state-supported train, the Hoosier State, in 2019.
State-supported service in the Midwest is supplemented by a number of long-distance Amtrak routes, such as the Empire Builder, California Zephyr and City of New Orleans. These are federally-funded, have separate equipment, and do not fall under the Amtrak Midwest brand.
Rolling stock
Amtrak Midwest routes generally share a pool of rolling stock, though certain equipment is exclusive to certain routes. In 2017, 33 Siemens Charger locomotives were delivered for Amtrak Midwest. Siemens Venture coaches debuted in 2022, and will continue to be deployed in the coming years. Both the Chargers and the Ventures are owned by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
History
The Amtrak Midwest logo and brand were unveiled in 2017 alongside the debut of Siemens Charger locomotives on the Hiawatha.
Partial restoration of Amtrak's between Chicago and , Illinois, was funded in 2019 and would have been part of the Amtrak Midwest network. In 2023, Metra was chosen as the operator instead of Amtrak. Metra service is expected to start in 2027 as the Rockford Intercity Passenger Rail. Restoration of the full Black Hawk beyond Rockford to Dubuque, Iowa, has yet to be determined.
Future
Amtrak Midwest is slated for expansion in the coming years, with several new routes and frequencies in various stages of development. In December 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration accepted a number of Midwest routes into its Corridor Identification and Development Program. Each route in the program is granted $500,000 for service studies and is prioritized for future federal funding.
Planned and proposed services
RouteTerminusViaTerminusWeekday round tripsCorridor ID ProgramStatus2●Service is funded and expected to start in 2027.Prairie Marksman successorPeoria5●Feasibility study complete.Hiawatha extensionGreen Bay3●Planning phaseVarsity successorMadison4●Planning phaseJanesvilleTBDProposed, unfundedTwin Cities 400 successorEau Claire2●Planning phaseIllinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg extensionHannibal2●Planning phaseKentucky Cardinal4UnfundedCardinal supplement4UnfundedIndianapolis–Chicago trunk8 (combined)●Planning phaseTwin Zephyr successorTBDProposedCleveland-Chicago trunkTBDProposed, would supplement the Lake Shore Limited and Floridian.Minneapolis4●Local funding met, awaiting federal funding.Alexandrian successor1Feasibility study is funded. Would supplement the Empire Builder.Wolverine extensionDetroitTBDProposedIllinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg - Hiawatha combinedTBDProposed Total31
Additional frequencies
RouteNew weekday round tripsCorridor ID ProgramStatus3●Planning phaseBorealis1●3●1●2●1●1● Total12
See also Chicago Hub Network
References