California Zephyr or Lincoln Service

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 ZephyrLincoln Service
EndpointsChicago Union Station to EmeryvilleSt. Louis to Chicago Union Station
Duration, end to end52 h 57 m5 h 5 m
FrequencyDailyDaily
Trains5 westbound, 6 eastbound302 northbound, 305 southbound
Named stretches with a cited source146
ShowsBig rivers, Mountains, Desert and canyon, Snow, Big citiesBig cities, Big rivers, Wildlife
Headline stretchFront Range and Moffat TunnelMississippi River, Eads Bridge, and the Gateway Arch
Headline stretch in daylightwestbound: daylight, 9:47 a.m.; eastbound: daylight Feb to Oct; dusk Nov to Jan, 4:57 p.m.northbound: daylight Apr to Aug; dawn Sep to Mar, 6:57 a.m.; southbound: dark, 10:00 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