Illinois 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

Illinois ZephyrTexas Eagle
EndpointsQuincy to Chicago Union StationChicago Union Station to San Antonio
Duration, end to end4 h 21 m32 h 36 m
FrequencyDailyDaily
Trains380 eastbound, 383 westbound21 southbound, 22 northbound
Named stretches with a cited source38
ShowsBig citiesBig rivers, Mountains, Big cities, Prairie
Headline stretchSouth Branch of the Chicago RiverMississippi River at St. Louis
Headline stretch in daylighteastbound: daylight, 10:23 a.m.; westbound: daylight Mar to Sep; dusk Oct; dark Nov to Feb, 6:04 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 Illinois Zephyr reaches them. Transfer times are not checked.

Route pages