Sep. 15, 2021 at 5:48 pm

Complete Guide To Amtrak Routes

Robert MarmionNo tags

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There are 43 Amtrak Routes in the United States and they vary greatly by distance and amenities. To help you plan your next vacation we’ve broken down each route to help you know what to expect on your trip.

Contents

1 Map of All Amtrak Routes
2 Amtrak Routes
3 Cross Country Routes
4 West Coast Routes
5 Midwest Routes
6 East Coast Routes
7 Specialty Routes
8 Amtrak Routes With An Observation Car
9 Amtrak Routes With Traditional Dining
10 Amtrak Routes With Business Class
11 Amtrak Routes With Wifi
12 Amtrak Routes With Sleeper Cars

Map of All Amtrak Routes

On our map of the Amtrak Routes each route is a different color to help you see where each one stops and starts. See our Maps Page for highly detailed maps of each region and closer details.

Amtrak Routes

Route	Terminus Stations	Dining	Sleeper Cars	Wifi	Observation Car
Acela	Boston, Washington D.C.	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Adirondack	New York City, Montreal	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Auto Train	Lorton, VA, Sanford, FL	Traditional	Superliner	Yes	No
Blue Water	Chicago, Port Huron	Cafe	No	Yes	No
California Zephyr	Chicago, Emeryville CA	Traditional	Superliner	No	Yes
Capitol Corridor	Auburn, San Jose	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Capitol Limited	Chicago, Washington D.C.	Flexible	Superliner	No	Yes
Cardinal	Chicago, New York City	Flexible	Viewliner	Yes	No
Carl Sandburg	Chicago, Quincy IL	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Carolinian	Charlotte, New York City	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Cascades	Eugene OR, Vancouver BC	Cafe	No	Yes	No
City of New Orleans	Chicago, New Orlenas	Flexible	Superliner	No	Yes
Coast Starlight	Los Angeles, Seattle	Traditional	Superliner	No	Yes
Crescent	New York City, New Orleans	Flexible	Viewliner	No	No
Downeaster	Boston, Brunswick ME	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Empire Builder	Chicago, Seattle, Portland	Traditional	Superliner	No	Yes
Empire Service	New York City, Niagara Falls	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Ethan Allen Express	New York City, Rutland VT	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Heartland Flyer	Oklahoma City, Ft. Worth TX	Cafe	No	No	No
Hiawatha	Chicago, Milwaukee	None	No	Yes	No
Illini	Chicago, Carbondale IL	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Illinois Zephyr	Chicago, Quincy IL	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Keystone Service	New York City, Harrisburg	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Lake Shore Limited	New York, Boston, Chicago	Flexible	Viewliner	Yes	No
Lincoln Service	Chicago, St. Louis	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Maple Leaf	New York City, Toronto	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Missouri River Runner	Kansas City, St. Louis	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Northeast Regional	Multiple	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Pacific Surfliner	San Diego, San Luis Obispo	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Palmetto	New York City, Savannah GA	Flexible	Viewliner	Yes	No
Pennsylvanian	New York City, Pittsburgh	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Pere Marquette	Chicago, Grand Rapids MI	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Piedmont	Raleigh, Charlotte	Cafe	No	No	No
Saluki	Chicago, Carbondale IL	Cafe	No	Yes	No
San Joaquins	Bakersfield, Sacramento	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Silver Meteor	New York City, Miami	Flexible	Viewliner	Yes	No
Silver Star	New York City, Miami	Flexible	Viewliner	Yes	No
Southwest Chief	Chicago, Los Angeles	Traditional	Superliner	No	Yes
Sunset Limited	New Orleans, Los Angeles	Traditional	Superliner	No	Yes
Texas Eagle	Chicago, Los Angeles	Flexible (east), Traditional (west)	Superliner	No	Yes
Valley Flyer	New Haven CT, Greenfield MA	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Vermonter	St. Albans VT, Washington D.C.	Cafe	No	Yes	No
Wolverine	Chicago, Pontiac MI	Cafe	No	Yes	No

Cross Country Routes

There are 9 cross country Amtrak Routes going in the east/west direction that change time zones. All but the Sunset Limited and the Crescent begin or end in Chicago, which serves as the biggest Amtrak hub and connects the coasts. The Texas Eagle and Sunset Limited join in Texas and are the same route going west.

West Coast Routes

The 5 west coast routes serve California, Oregon and Washington. They travel north and south and connect to all of the cross country routes to take you to the east.

Midwest Routes

The Midwest Amtrak routes area mostly centered around Chicago, which is a focal point of the Amtrak system.

East Coast Routes

The East coast Routes almost all go through New York City and travel from Maine to Florida.

Specialty Routes

Amtrak Routes With An Observation Car

Observation cars are found on scenic cross country routes. They are open to all passengers on the train regardless of ticket type. There are regular seats that face the windows and tables for eating or working.

Amtrak Routes With Traditional Dining

Traditional Dining is found on overnight cross country routes. It features an upgraded menu and a white table cloth experience.

Amtrak Routes With Business Class

Business Class seats are available on many trains and feature a few upgraded amenities. Check out our business class review for more information.

Amtrak Routes With Wifi

Wifi is found on most routes with the exception of some cross country routes where cell service is lost for major amounts of time. Don’t expect the wifi to be faster than your cell connection though, it is generally best used on devices with out a connection, like a computer.

Amtrak Routes With Sleeper Cars

Sleeper cars are found on overnight routes and come with meals included. See our sleeper car review for all of your options.

There is a route to fit every need and destination. We’ve compiled a route guide for each route, which you can access by clicking on any route name above.

To book a ticket for any route, use our Amtrak ticket booking guide to purchase tickets at the lowest price in any class. Amtrak also runs sales and discounts on most routes.

For more information on Amtrak trains check out our Amtrak Tips page and for videos check out our YouTube Channel.

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Robert Marmion

Rob is married to Allie and together they have been traveling the world for the past 5 years. Rob is one of the most published photographers in the world, having published over 1 million images in the last 20 years. He enjoys doing landscape and astrophotography while on the road.

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