Blue Water or Borealis

The two routes share one station, Chicago Union Station. The table lists what each shows and how long each takes; the route pages carry the full stretch tables.

Side by side

Blue WaterBorealis
EndpointsChicago Union Station to Port HuronChicago Union Station to St. Paul-Minneapolis
Duration, end to end6 h 31 m7 h 31 m
Frequency5 days a weekDaily
Trains364 eastbound, 365 westbound1333 westbound, 1340 eastbound
Named stretches with a cited source37
ShowsBig citiesBig rivers, Big cities, Wildlife
Headline stretchIndiana DunesUpper Mississippi River
Headline stretch in daylighteastbound: daylight Feb to Oct; dusk Nov to Jan, 4:34 p.m.; westbound: daylight, 11:04 a.m.westbound: daylight Mar to Oct; dark Nov to Jan; dusk Feb, 5:26 p.m.; eastbound: daylight, 1:03 p.m.

Duration, frequency, and daylight are computed from the Amtrak GTFS timetable (fetched 2026-10-15) for the representative trip in each direction; daylight is the phrase for the headline stretch, the highlighted row of each route page. Named stretches are counted from the cited route guides. How these are computed.

Stations both routes serve

Chicago Union Station

In the order the Blue Water reaches them. Transfer times are not checked.

Route pages