In 1935, the Milwaukee Road introduced the Hiawatha passenger train, which ran at high speed between St. Paul and Chicago.

CP amalgamated with the Kansas City Southern Railway on April 14, 2023 to form CPKC.

Today, Amtrak's Empire Builder and Borealis service use the CPKC between Chicago and St. Paul, but speed is limited to 79 miles per hour (127 km/h).

Along this segment they stop in La Crosse, Tomah, Wisconsin Dells, and Portage.

The Union Pacific Railroad has trackage rights from Tunnel City, WI through La Crosse.