California Zephyr or Texas Eagle

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 ZephyrTexas Eagle
EndpointsChicago Union Station to EmeryvilleChicago Union Station to San Antonio
Duration, end to end52 h 57 m32 h 36 m
FrequencyDailyDaily
Trains5 westbound, 6 eastbound21 southbound, 22 northbound
Named stretches with a cited source148
ShowsBig rivers, Mountains, Desert and canyon, Snow, Big citiesBig rivers, Mountains, Big cities, Prairie
Headline stretchFront Range and Moffat TunnelMississippi River at St. Louis
Headline stretch in daylightwestbound: daylight, 9:47 a.m.; eastbound: daylight Feb to Oct; dusk Nov to Jan, 4:57 p.m.southbound: daylight Apr to Aug; dusk Sep; dark Oct to Feb; dusk Mar, 6:57 p.m.; northbound: daylight, 8:33 a.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