01
What the journey is like
Observation car: Sightseer Lounge is offered. Sleeper cabin: Superliner sleeping accommodation is offered. Dining car: Traditional Dining is offered.
United States · Scenic
Southwest Chief
Southwest Chief runs daily between Chicago and Los Angeles through Kansas, New Mexico and Arizona, crossing plains, mountain passes, canyons and high desert with Superliner sleepers and a Sightseer Lounge.
Chicago Union Station → Los Angeles Union Station
Scenic
- Experience
- Rail enthusiasts · Slow travellers
- Route
- Chicago Union Station → Los Angeles Union Station
- Time aboard
- 41h
Why this route
The landscape is the journey
It is the best Amtrak choice when Southwest geography is the purpose of the trip: some landscapes are visible only from the railway, not the interstate.
From the train
A view made for the railway
Dining car
Traditional Dining is offered.
Verified
Observation car
Sightseer Lounge is offered.
Verified
Sleeper cabin
Superliner sleeping accommodation is offered.
Verified
Across the map
The route, stop by stop
The published route runs from Chicago Union Station to Los Angeles Union Station via Kansas City Union Station, Alvarado Transportation Center, Flagstaff Amtrak Station.
Key stops
Chicago Union StationKansas City Union StationAlvarado Transportation CenterFlagstaff Amtrak StationLos Angeles Union Station
Chicago Union Station
United States
Kansas City Union Station
United States
Alvarado Transportation Center
United States
Flagstaff Amtrak Station
United States
Los Angeles Union Station
United States
Along the line
New Mexico mountain and canyon country
The route crosses high-elevation Southwest terrain and tight canyon passages.
Arizona high desert
Desert, mesas and broad horizons dominate the western portion of the trip.
Scenic / panoramic
What to know before you choose
02
What defines the route
New Mexico mountain and canyon country: The route crosses high-elevation Southwest terrain and tight canyon passages. Arizona high desert: Desert, mesas and broad horizons dominate the western portion of the trip.
03
Before you book
Reservation: required. Direct online booking is recorded. Pricing is recorded as dynamic. Reserve coach or Superliner accommodation through Amtrak; sleepers are recommended well ahead.
Verified 2026-09-28
Plan the ride
Plan the ride
Use the verified journey, booking, season and onboard facts below to decide how to take this experience. Unknowns stay explicit.
- Time aboard
- 41h 00m
- Reservation
- Required
- Booking
- Direct online booking recorded
- Rail pass
- Not verified
- Price context
- Dynamic; check the live departure
- Timing
- Check the current operating calendar
- On board
- Observation car: Sightseer Lounge is offered. Sleeper cabin: Superliner sleeping accommodation is offered. Dining car: Traditional Dining is offered.
This guide does not imply a product variant unless a separate comparison decision is published.
Evidence on demand
Practical reality
Route, onboard, season, fit and booking detail remain available without interrupting the journey above. Unknowns stay visible.
Time & itinerary
41h
View route map and verified stops
Chicago → Los Angeles
The published route runs from Chicago Union Station to Los Angeles Union Station via Kansas City Union Station, Alvarado Transportation Center, Flagstaff Amtrak Station.
Key stops
Chicago Union StationKansas City Union StationAlvarado Transportation CenterFlagstaff Amtrak StationLos Angeles Union Station
Chicago Union Station
United States
Kansas City Union Station
United States
Alvarado Transportation Center
United States
Flagstaff Amtrak Station
United States
Los Angeles Union Station
United States
On board
This is a daytime scenic service rather than a sleeper, so the ride reads more like moving through a viewpoint than getting from A to B. Spread over more than a day between Chicago Union Station and Los Angeles Union Station, the landscape has time to change completely, so the run reads as a cross-section of the region rather than a single sightseeing moment. Passing Kansas City Union Station and Alvarado Transportation Center gives the journey its midpoint, and the character either side of it is noticeably different.
Views & seating
Observation car
Sightseer Lounge is offered.
Food & drink
Dining car
Traditional Dining is offered.
Also onboard
Sleeper cabin
Superliner sleeping accommodation is offered.
3 onboard details are confirmed against a source. Anything not listed here has not been researched yet; treat it as unknown, not absent.
When to go
- JanRuns
- FebRuns
- MarRuns
- AprRuns
- MayRuns
- JunRuns
- JulRuns
- AugRuns
- SepRuns
- OctRuns
- NovRuns
- DecRuns
- Runs
- Year-round
- Runs
Jan: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
These months show when the train runs, which is a service fact. How good each month is for the experience has not been rated yet, so no month is presented as better than another.
Month-by-month notes
- Jan: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
- Feb: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
- Mar: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
- Apr: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
- May: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
- Jun: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
- Jul: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
- Aug: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
- Sep: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
- Oct: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
- Nov: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
- Dec: Daily year-round Amtrak service; verify date-specific timetable and advisories.
Good for
Good fit for
Rail enthusiasts
Especially good
Classic Superliner long-distance operation across a major historic route.
Slow travellers
Especially good
Two-night transcontinental journey is built around time onboard.
Photographers
Especially good
High desert, canyons and Southwest landscapes provide sustained scenic interest.
Think twice if
It is a multi-day commitment
41h on board.
You cannot just turn up
A reservation is required for this journey.
How it scores
Our current editorial assessment, for comparing journeys, a considered judgement, not a measurement.
SceneryExceptional
ComfortStrong
Value for moneyStrong
Food & drinkStrong
Character of the trainExceptional
Show the full editorial profile
More subjective
UniquenessExceptional
Iconic statusExceptional
PhotographyExceptional
RomanceStrong
Travelling with childrenStrong
Not rated yet: seat quality, onboard service, slow travel quality, remoteness.
Step-free access and assistance are set out with the practical detail further down rather than reduced to a score.
Reservation & booking
- Reservation
- Required
- Price
- Dynamic pricing
- Booking difficulty
- Easy
Prices quoted Amtrak uses dynamic pricing by date and accommodation; verify live booking.
Not yet verified: rail pass validity. We leave these blank rather than guess.
- Reserve coach or Superliner accommodation through Amtrak; sleepers are recommended well ahead.
We link to the operator's own journey page. No direct booking channel has been verified for this service, so availability and fares must be checked there. Journey length: 41h. Checked 30 Oct 2026 · Amtrak.
Sources & freshness
The detailed source record remains at the end of this guide. Review the evidence.
Your next step
Plan the route, then confirm it with the operator.
Reserve coach or Superliner accommodation through Amtrak; sleepers are recommended well ahead.
Official journey information, Amtrak (opens in a new tab)We link to the operator's own journey page. No direct booking channel has been verified for this service, so availability and fares must be checked there.
Far by Rail is a discovery guide, not a live timetable or booking service. Confirm times, fares and availability with the operator.
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Sources & freshness
Journey information is reviewed against published material and maintained as sources change.
Last reviewed 30 Oct 2026.
Official sources
- Amtrakamtrak.com
Checked 30 Oct 2026