Amtrak began busing passengers between Chicago and St. Paul, Minnesota and Milwaukee on Wednesday after discovering corrosion issues on several of its passenger cars, raising the prospect of long-term service disruptions.
The passenger rail service said it is running buses in place of trains on its Borealis route, which runs one train a day to and from Chicago and St. Paul, Minnesota. Half of Amtrak’s six daily Hiawatha service trains to and from Milwaukee are also running on buses.
Amtrak, in a statement Wednesday, said it removed several of its single-level Horizon railcars from service after discovering corrosion issues. Amtrak did not say how many cars it removed from service
Several routes other have also been affected, including the Downeaster in New England and Amtrak Cascades on the West Coast. Amtrak did not say how long the bus substitutions could last.
Amtrak alerted passengers by email Wednesday that their trains would be running as buses instead.
Amtrak created the Borealis line last May, doubling its service to St. Paul.