California Zephyr or Floridian

The two routes share one station, Chicago Union Station. The table lists what each shows and how long each takes; the route pages carry the full stretch tables.

Side by side

California ZephyrFloridian
EndpointsChicago Union Station to EmeryvilleMiami to Chicago Union Station
Duration, end to end52 h 57 m46 h 40 m
FrequencyDailyDaily
Trains5 westbound, 6 eastbound40 northbound, 41 southbound
Named stretches with a cited source143
ShowsBig rivers, Mountains, Desert and canyon, Snow, Big citiesMountains, Big rivers
Headline stretchFront Range and Moffat TunnelPotomac Valley on the B&O line
Headline stretch in daylightwestbound: daylight, 9:47 a.m.; eastbound: daylight Feb to Oct; dusk Nov to Jan, 4:57 p.m.northbound: daylight Jan to Oct; dusk Nov to Dec, 4:32 p.m.; southbound: daylight, 12:23 p.m.

Duration, frequency, and daylight are computed from the Amtrak GTFS timetable (fetched 2026-10-15) for the representative trip in each direction; daylight is the phrase for the headline stretch, the highlighted row of each route page. Named stretches are counted from the cited route guides. How these are computed.

Stations both routes serve

Chicago Union Station

In the order the California Zephyr reaches them. Transfer times are not checked.

Route pages