Amtrak: Amtrak restores full Hiawatha train service to Milwaukee

<p>Amtrak has restored its Hiawatha train service between Chicago and Milwaukee after busing passengers for nearly two weeks while "corrosion" issues caused a shortage of railcars.</p><p>The rail agency began running the Hiawatha line without bus substitution on Friday after redeploying passenger railcars from elsewhere in its network, Amtrak said in a statement Sunday evening. Trains are running with less cars than usual, Amtrak said, so customers should book tickets early.</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center> <div class="RelatedList-title">Related</div> <ul class="RelatedList-items"> <li class="RelatedList-items-item"> <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/transportation/2025/03/26/amtrak-bus-borealis-hiawatha-corrosion" target="_blank" >Amtrak busing some travelers to St. Paul, Milwaukee after canceling trains for 'corrosion' issues</a> </li> </ul> </div> <p>Daily train service between Chicago and St. Paul, Minnesota on Amtrak's Borealis line was <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/transportation/2025/03/26/amtrak-bus-borealis-hiawatha-corrosion" target="_blank" >restored a week earlier</a>.</p><p>Amtrak resorted to chartering buses to and from Chicago Union Station on March 27, when the agency said several of its single-level Horizon passenger cars were removed from service due to "corrosion" discovered during inspections.</p><p>It made for a chaotic scene outside the station as passengers lined up on Jackson Boulevard to board buses and retrieve their luggage. Shuttle buses had replaced half of Amtrak's six daily Hiawatha trains.</p>