Sunset Limited

New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal to Los Angeles. Westbound train 1 and eastbound train 2, 3 days a week. The table below lists the named stretches in westbound order with the direction and season each is in daylight.

Duration

45 h 35 m

Westbound end to end, scheduled

Frequency

3 days a week

Trains

1 westbound, 2 eastbound

22 stations

Shows

Desert and canyon Mountains Big rivers Wildlife National parks Big cities

What you see, in order

Westbound order. Times are the published timetable at the midpoint of each stretch, in Central time unless the station is in another zone. "Dark" means the scheduled time is after sunset or before sunrise in that month; "dawn" and "dusk" are within 30 minutes of them.

Stretch	Westbound 1	Eastbound 2	Stations around it
Huey P. Long BridgeThe Mississippi is crossed on the 4.4-mile Huey P. Long Bridge, opened in 1935, the longest railroad bridge in the U.S.Watch for Mississippi River, Huey P. Long Bridge	Morning, 9:45 a.m.daylight	Night, 8:21 p.m.dusk Jun to Jul; dark Aug to May	New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, Schriever
Bayou countryThrough Terrebonne Parish and Acadiana: slow-moving bayous with alligators and tall cypress trees hung with Spanish moss, the live oaks of New Iberia, and fields of rice and sugarcane toward Lafayette.Watch for Bayous, cypress, Spanish moss	Midday, 11:27 a.m.daylight	Evening, 6:09 p.m.daylight Mar to Sep; dusk Oct; dark Nov to Jan; dusk Feb	Schriever, New Iberia, Lafayette
Big Bend countrySanderson, the cactus capital of Texas and eastern gateway to the Big Bend, to Alpine, where ranches often exceed 200,000 acres.	Morning, 9:29 a.m.daylight	Night, 9:50 p.m.dark	Sanderson, Alpine
Marfa and Paisano PassPaisano Pass and Marfa, between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park, then the Eagle Mountains and Sierra Blanca on the way to El Paso.Watch for Paisano Pass, Davis Mountains, Sierra Blanca	Midday, 12:33 p.m.daylight	Evening, 6:45 p.m.daylight Mar to Oct; dark Nov to Dec; dusk Jan to Feb	Alpine, El Paso
Rio Grande and the Florida MountainsThe Rio Grande marks the border, with the statue-topped Sierra de Cristo Rey where Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico meet. The Florida Mountains and the Three Sisters come close to the track, with Window Peak, a hole through a ridge, and a flat-topped extinct volcano whose lava beds reach nearly to trackside. Jackrabbits, hawks, coyotes, and roadrunners are among the animals of this country.Watch for Sierra de Cristo Rey, Florida Mountains, Window Peak, lava beds	Afternoon, 2:44 p.m.daylight	Midday, 1:54 p.m.daylight	El Paso, Deming
Continental DivideHalfway from Deming to Lordsburg the line crosses the Divide at 4,587 feet.Watch for Continental Divide	Afternoon, 4:05 p.m.daylight	Midday, 12:20 p.m.daylight	Deming, Lordsburg
Peloncillo and Dragoon MountainsThe line passes through the Peloncillo Mountains on the state line, the last homeland of the Chiricahua Apache, and the Dragoon Mountains come into view on the left westbound; Tombstone lies at their southwestern end, 24 miles from Benson.Watch for Peloncillo Mountains, Dragoon Mountains	Evening, 5:35 p.m.daylight Mar to Oct; dusk Nov to Feb	Morning, 10:53 a.m.daylight	Lordsburg, Benson
Davis-Monthan aircraft boneyardBefore Tucson the aircraft storage yard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is on the right westbound, hundreds of stored airplanes preserved by the dry desert. Tucson is ringed by five mountain ranges and is the station for Saguaro National Park.Watch for Davis-Monthan boneyard	Evening, 7:19 p.m.daylight Apr to Aug; dusk Sep to Oct; dark Nov to Feb; dusk Mar	Morning, 9:23 a.m.daylight	Benson, Tucson
Yuma dunes and the Colorado RiverSand dunes at Yuma, on the east bank of the Colorado River where it separates Arizona from California.Watch for Sand dunes, Colorado River	Night, 11:25 p.m.dark	Early morning, 5:11 a.m.dark	Maricopa, Yuma
Palm Springs windmillsWind turbines on both sides of the train west of Palm Springs, driven by the winds off Mount San Jacinto and San Gorgonio Mountain, the highest peak in Southern California.Watch for Windmills, Mount San Jacinto, San Gorgonio Mountain	Night, 2:58 a.m.dark	Night, 11:15 p.m.dark	Palm Springs, Ontario

Computed from the Amtrak GTFS timetable (feed version 20261015, valid 2026-10-16 to 2026-10-22, fetched 2026-10-15) and sunrise and sunset on the 15th of each month at the midpoint of each stretch. Scheduled times only; a late train moves evening stretches into darkness.How this table is computed.

Stations, in westbound order

Station	Arrives	Departs	Zone
New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal		9:00 a.m.	Central time
Schriever	10:30 a.m.	10:30 a.m.	Central time
New Iberia	11:56 a.m.	11:56 a.m.	Central time
Lafayette	12:24 p.m.	12:24 p.m.	Central time
Lake Charles	1:55 p.m.	1:55 p.m.	Central time
Beaumont	3:34 p.m.	3:48 p.m.	Central time
Houston	6:18 p.m.	6:55 p.m.	Central time
San Antonio	12:05 a.m. +1d	1:45 a.m. +1d	Central time
Del Rio	5:52 a.m. +1d	5:52 a.m. +1d	Central time
Sanderson	8:27 a.m. +1d	8:27 a.m. +1d	Central time
Alpine	10:31 a.m. +1d	10:41 a.m. +1d	Central time
El Paso	1:25 p.m. +1d	1:50 p.m. +1d	Mountain time
Deming	3:38 p.m. +1d	3:38 p.m. +1d	Mountain time
Lordsburg	4:33 p.m. +1d	4:33 p.m. +1d	Mountain time
Benson	6:38 p.m. +1d	6:38 p.m. +1d	Mountain time
Tucson	8:00 p.m. +1d	8:15 p.m. +1d	Mountain time
Maricopa	9:32 p.m. +1d	10:02 p.m. +1d	Mountain time
Yuma	12:49 a.m. +2d	12:49 a.m. +2d	Mountain time
Palm Springs	2:02 a.m. +2d	2:02 a.m. +2d	Pacific time
Ontario	3:54 a.m. +2d	3:54 a.m. +2d	Pacific time
Pomona	4:04 a.m. +2d	4:04 a.m. +2d	Pacific time
Los Angeles	5:35 a.m. +2d		Pacific time

Local time at each station; "+1d" is the day after departure from New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal.

Connects with

Route	Shared stations	Side by side
Amtrak Mardi Gras Service	New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal	Sunset Limited or Amtrak Mardi Gras Service
City of New Orleans	New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal	Sunset Limited or City of New Orleans
Coast Starlight	Los Angeles	Sunset Limited or Coast Starlight
Crescent	New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal	Sunset Limited or Crescent
Pacific Surfliner	Los Angeles	Sunset Limited or Pacific Surfliner
Southwest Chief	Los Angeles	Sunset Limited or Southwest Chief
Texas Eagle	San Antonio, Del Rio, Sanderson, Alpine and 11 more	Sunset Limited or Texas Eagle

Routes that stop at a station this train stops at, from the same timetable. Transfer times are not checked.

Sources for this pageAmtrak GTFS timetable (feed, fetched 2026-10-15) · Amtrak Sunset Limited route guide (Amtrak, 2009; PDF mirrored at juckins.net) (copy stored 2026-10-15)Named stretches and their descriptions are paraphrased from the sources above. Daylight, duration, and station times are computed from the timetable. Written description: pending review.This page does not sell tickets, show fares, or report delays.