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The Amtrak Hiawatha is an essential daily service that provides six round trips between Milwaukee, WI, and Chicago, IL. Covering 86 miles in about 90 minutes, it stops at key locations such as General Mitchell International Airport, Sturtevant, WI, and Glenview, IL. Adding the Amtrak Borealis, which continues the route to St. Paul/Minneapolis, brings the total to seven round trips.

As my initial and most frequent Amtrak experience, the Hiawatha has played a crucial role in connecting me to various modes of transportation and for leisurely trips. I have often used it to get to General Mitchell Airport for flights or to transfer to Chicago, seamlessly connecting to the Orange Line for Midway or the Blue Line for O’Hare.

Its intermodal flexibility makes it a preferred choice for travelers connecting to Amtrak’s extensive national and regional networks and those exploring significant cities across the region.

Coach class on the Hiawatha

The Hiawatha train offers only coach-class seating, with two seats on either side and no middle seat. Each seat has at-seat outlets on the wall; new cars have outlets and USB ports between the seats.

Luggage storage is available above each seat and on a dedicated luggage shelf in the car. The seating arrangement is open, and reserving two seats for yourself is prohibited.

Amtrak Hiawatha Quiet Car

The Hiawatha offers a Quiet Car for passengers who want to relax with less noise. The Quiet Car does not require special reservations and has limited seating. Some rules apply; check out the article below to see if the quiet car suits you!

Food Service

This train does not have food service.

Amtrak allows you to bring snacks and beverages aboard the train to enjoy while you ride, but adult beverages must stay in your luggage.

Luggage

The Hiawatha train service no longer provides checked bag service at any stops.

Each passenger may carry on:

• One personal item, 25 lbs. (12 kg) and 14 x 11 x 7 inches
• Two carry-on pieces of luggage, 50 lbs. (23 kg) and 28 x 22 x 14 inches each

If you transfer to the Pacific Surfliner at some point along your journey, the baggage size for that train is up to 28 x 22 x 11 inches each.

Charges apply for additional and oversized luggage; check out Amtrak’s carry-on bag policy for more information.

Hiawatha add-ons

The Hiawatha allows you to bring these add-ons at a cost.

• Golf clubs
• Bikes
• Pets

Amtrak may change what you are allowed to bring at any time. If you cannot add one when booking, your train will be unavailable for that train.

Service or comfort animal owners, check, read, and understand Amtrak’s service animal page before booking to see if your service critter qualifies.

Accessibility and the Hiawatha

A lift is available at all stations to assist passengers with mobility devices board the train. When booking, indicate that you need assistance so conductors are aware and can look for you.

The train also has designated spaces for people in mobility vehicles and those who cannot walk far.

Tickets For The Amtrak Hiawatha

The Hiawatha is a reserved train service, which means your ticket must correspond to the scheduled time of the train you wish to take. In the past, the Hiawatha operated as an unreserved train, so if you are returning to the Hiawatha, take note.

You can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-USA-Rail, on Amtrak.com, or through the app. Alternatively, you can buy tickets in person at Milwaukee Intermodal or Chicago Union Stations or a Quik-track machine at all stations on this route.

Here are the types of Tickets for the Hiawatha:

• One-way and round-trip
• Ten Ride: A ten-ride ticket allows you to buy five round trips on one ticket, which remains valid for 90 days. With these tickets, you can board any Hiawatha train. Each day, this ticket allows one round trip only. It’s important to note that these tickets are only valid for the person whose name is on them.
• Monthly Ticket: The monthly ticket remains valid for one calendar month. With these tickets, you can ride on any Hiawatha train. Like the ten-ride ticket, it allows one round trip per day and is only valid for the person named on the ticket.

Amtrak Hiawatha one-way fares

I have a guide for Hiawatha train ticket prices that you might find helpful. Amtrak and the Wisconsin DOT set the prices and can change them anytime. Therefore, your prices could differ from those in this guide. Know that I try to keep this as updated as I can.

Amtrak Hiawatha station updates

Improvements are being made at the Milwaukee Airport (MKA) and outside Chicago Union Station that could impact your trip. If your trip involves either or both stops, please click the buttons below to get the latest information from Amtrak.

Limited access to the passenger drop-off loop and the current platform in Milwaukee could occasionally occur.

The Amtrak Hiawatha on-time performance and host railroads

Amtrak’s Hiawatha train often operates on tracks owned by freight and commuter railroads. Unfortunately, these railroads sometimes prioritize their trains over Amtrak’s, which can cause delays for passengers. While it is occasionally necessary to dispatch freight trains ahead of passenger trains for safety reasons or due to first-come, first-served situations, this is not always justified.

Between July 2023 and 2024, the Hiawatha train had an average passenger on-time performance of 86.2%, with an average delay of 33 minutes. In July 2024, the average passenger on-time performance was 86.2%, with an average delay of 35 minutes.

The top two reasons for delays caused by host railroads were:

1. CPKC (53 miles): Delays due to slow orders and routing issues.
2. Metra (29 miles): Delays due to slow orders and interference from commuter trains.

The information in this section comes from the July 2024 Amtrak Host Railroad Report.

Amtrak Hiawatha Schedule/Timetable

The Hiawatha route typically takes about an hour and a half from end to end, with train 339 taking an hour and thirty-seven minutes. The schedules on this page come from the official Hiawatha page, and Amtrak, Wisconsin DOT, or Illinois DOT can change them anytime.

The times listed below are departure times.

Amtrak Hiawatha Schedule Southbound Trains

*All trains are daily, but train 330 does not run on Sunday!

Train 1340 is now the Borealis and runs past Milwaukee to the Twin Cities.

Amtrak Hiawatha Schedule Northbound Trains

*All trains are daily, but train 329 does not run on Sunday!

**Friday Only

+Take note that “train” 8307 is a late-night bus with no intermediate stops.

Train 1333 is now a Borealis train coming from the Twin Cities.

Printable Amtrak Hiawatha Schedule/Timetable

If you are connecting with another train or service, you could benefit from printing a custom Amtrak schedule.

Amtrak’s I-41 Connecting Service Schedule

The Amtrak Thruway bus service operates two daily round-trip buses between Green Bay and Milwaukee, with stops in Appleton, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, and other locations.

These buses offer convenient connections to and from Chicago via the Amtrak Hiawatha Service trains. Additionally, Lamers bus service expands the options to three round-trip buses daily.

You can purchase tickets for these buses like you do Amtrak train tickets through Amtrak.com, the Amtrak mobile app, self-service kiosks at stations, or by calling 800-USA-RAIL.

All buses offer direct service to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport and provide several amenities similar to those on Amtrak trains, including discounted fares (such as Student, Senior, and Veterans discounts), at-seat plug-ins, Wi-Fi service, bicycle reservations, reclining seats with seatbelts, extra legroom, tables, cup holders, and location tracking through Amtrak.com.