Amtrak's City of New Orleans

The Amtrak City of New Orleans is a daily Superliner train that connects Chicago, IL, to the vibrant city of New Orleans, LA. This iconic route traverses Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana, providing a scenic and soulful journey spanning 934 miles and 18 stops. Whether you’re heading to the Windy City or the Big Easy, this train offers unique sights and experiences along the way.

Quick Overview:

• Route: Chicago, IL → New Orleans, LA
• Distance: 934 miles
• Key Stops: Chicago, IL; Memphis, TN; Jackson, MS; and New Orleans, LA
• Accommodations: Coach class, roomettes, bedrooms, family room, and accessible rooms.
• Food: A café car for all, and flexible dining for sleeper passengers.

Amtrak offers connecting services to various destinations, allowing travelers to explore beyond the tracks.

This article features the schedule, a printable timetable, and additional information about the train. You can also discover the train’s on-time performance and connections to other Amtrak long-distance trains.

A podcast designed to help you plan your trip to New Orleans

If you’re considering a visit to New Orleans, be sure to explore the Beyond Bourbon Street Podcast and website.

The podcast and website offer numerous insider tips for New Orleans, as well as suggestions for activities beyond Bourbon Street. A travel guide is also available!

About the City of New Orleans Route

The City of New Orleans is not the most scenic Amtrak route, but the destinations make it worth the ride.

When traveling south, the views start after Memphis, where, depending on the time of year, the sun begins to rise. The train takes you through various cities, and you can get off the train in Jackson, MS, for a smoke break.

One of my favorite sights in both directions is the Lake Pontchartrain Bridge, the longest bridge in the world! The upper level of the train offers a stunning view, making it feel as though the train is traveling on water.

When this train started, the Illinois Central operated it, departing from what is now the Millennium Station in Chicago. In the 1970s, Amtrak relocated all its Chicago trains to Union Station, causing the trains to reverse their maneuver to access the old Illinois Central, now CN, tracks.

When arriving at or departing from Union Station, please note that it may take 15-20 minutes to reach the station, which is part of the scheduled time.

In both directions, you mainly see parts of Louisiana and Mississippi; traveling north, you see parts of northern Illinois.

The neatest part of this train is going over the Lake Pontchartrain Bridge! Especially if you are on the top level of the train, it can feel like you are on a boat traveling over the water because that is all you see from both sides.

Route Guide for Amtrak’s City of New Orleans

Over a decade ago, Amtrak produced route guides for many of its trains, and I can go back in time to get them for you. If you’re interested, you can download them to your device or print them out.

The City of New Orleans’ on-time performance and host railroads

Canadian National/Illinois Central hosts most of the City of New Orleans route, and Amtrak owns the tracks around the terminal stations.

• The average on-time performance for Amtrak’s City of New Orleans passengers:
  • In April 2025, the City of New Orleans averaged 71.1%, with an average delay of 61 minutes,
  • From April 2024 to 2025, the train averaged 76.5% with an average delay of 72 minutes.
• The majority of the City of New Orleans route is on Canadian National (CN) tracks.

The information for this section is sourced from the official Amtrak Host Railroad Report, March 2025.

If you transfer to a different train, you can check out other Amtrak long-distance trains’ on-time performances.

Equipment used for the Amtrak City of New Orleans.

The Amtrak City of New Orleans operates with Superliner equipment, featuring bi-level cars designed for comfort and great views. Onboard, you’ll find:

• Coach Class – Spacious reclining seats with leg rests and large windows.
• Sleeping Cars – Private accommodations, including Roomettes, Bedrooms, and Family Bedrooms.
• Sightseer Lounge – A scenic lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows, offering a stunning view of the landscapes along the route.
  • This car is located between the coach cars and the café car.
• Café Car—The café car is the only food car on this train and is available to passengers in both the coach and sleeper cars. It is where sleeper passengers can obtain their flex meals.
  • The café car is situated between the sleeper cars and the Sightseer Lounge.

You can learn more about each of these cars in this article.

Coach Class on Amtrak’s City of New Orleans

The Amtrak City of New Orleans coach class features:

• Comfortable reclining seats with ample legroom
• A fold-down tray
• Seat back pocket
• Leg and footrests
• Individual reading lights
• 120V grounded (three-prong) electric outlets on the wall under the windows
• Upper and lower seating
• Above-seat luggage storage is available, with shelving on the lower level as well.
• The bathrooms are on the lower level.

Coach Class Travel Tips from Kev’s Experience

Over my decade of train travel, I have discovered a few things that make the coach-class trip more enjoyable.

I always bring a water bottle, snacks, and extra money for the café car. I’ll explain more about the café later.

An extension cord is essential! The coach’s outlets are located on the wall; however, there are only two outlets, so you will need to share one with your seatmate. An extension cord allows you to plug in more than one item at a time. Another advantage is that an aisle seat can provide power without bothering your seatmate.

A blow-up pillow, another pillow, and a blanket can make sleeping or napping more comfortable. A bulky hoodie can also work if you don’t need it.

Some entertainment helps, too! While the windows can work, I often bring other things, such as puzzle books and magazines, my iPad for movies and shows, and my iPhone for music and podcasts. If you want more Amtrak entertainment ideas, check out that post.

Coach car layout

Sleeper accommodations on Amtrak’s City of New Orleans

All rooms include:

• Complimentary meals
• Lounge access in Chicago and New Orleans
• Dedicated car attendant
• At least one outlet in the room
• A place to hang garments
• Amtrak supplies:
  • Hangers, pillows, fresh linens, blankets, and towels
• Access to showers: Amtrak provides soap.
• Coffee and juice in the morning with water bottles in your room.
• Seats by day, beds by night.

Amtrak Sleeper Car Tips

Traveling thousands of miles in Amtrak rooms has taught me a few valuable lessons, and I’d like to share these tips with you.

Storage in these rooms is limited, so packing lightly and efficiently is essential. Storage is on the car’s lower level if you need more space. 

While Amtrak often has water bottles in the room and includes meals, I like to have backups. Additionally, I enjoy bringing snacks, and money for the café never hurts.

Amtrak provides pillows and blankets, but consider bringing a blow-up pillow for extra comfort. This small addition can make a big difference in your journey, especially if you are a side sleeper. You can always check to see if they have additional pillows. 

An extension cord is also necessary! In most rooms, there is only one outlet on the wall. If you bring one, you will have power where you need it and can charge more than one thing at a time. 

Types of rooms offered aboard the City of New Orleans

• Roomette
  • Amtrak’s smallest rooms are excellent for one person and cozy for two.
  • Rooms 1-10 are located on the upper level, while rooms 11-14 are situated on the lower level.
• Bedroom
  • Twice the size of a roomette, with an in-room restroom and shower.
  • All rooms are on the upper level.
• Family bedroom
  • Provides seating and berths for two adults and two children
  • Each sleeper car has one of these rooms located on the lower level.
• Accessible room
  • Accommodates passengers with mobility issues and their travel companions
  • You will find the accessible bedrooms on the lower level of the train.

Amtrak City of New Orleans sleeper car layout

Wi-Fi and the City of New Orleans

The City of New Orleans does not have Wi-Fi or entertainment systems outside the windows. Here are some entertainment ideas for Amtrak passengers.

Amtrak City of New Orleans add-ons

You can add a few things to your next adventure on this train!

Bikes

• Space is available for standard full-size bicycles
  • Up to 50 lbs; 70 inches x 41 inches x 8.5 inches.
  • Amtrak stores bikes in designated bike racks or areas inside the baggage car.
  • For more information, check out Amtrak’s bicycle policy.

Pets and service animals

• Amtrak allows dogs and cats.
  • Up to 20 pounds with the combined weight of the pet and the carrier
  • For trips of up to seven hours.
  • You must complete the paperwork for your fluffy friend before boarding the train.
    • Get the paperwork and more information from Amtrak’s pet policy page.

If you have a service or comfort animal, you need to check out Amtrak’s service animal policy to see if your critter qualifies and, if they do, what you need to do for them to ride with you.

Luggage on this train.

Click the station links below to see if they offer checked baggage service. Your departure and destination stations must provide this service so you can check bags.

• The City of New Orleans also allows checked baggage
  • Each passenger is allowed to bring two bags, each weighing up to 50 pounds and measuring up to 75 linear inches, free of charge.
  • Charges apply for additional and oversized luggage.
  • Not all locations can handle checked baggage.

Each passenger may carry on:

• One personal item, up to 25 pounds (12 kg), and 14 x 11 x 7 inches
• Two carry-on pieces of luggage, 50 lbs. (23 kg) and 28 x 22 x 14 inches each

If you transfer to the Pacific Surfliner at some point along your journey, the baggage size limit for that train is 28 x 22 x 11 inches per piece.

Charges apply for additional and oversized luggage; check out Amtrak’s carry-on bag policy for more information.

Accessibility on Amtrak’s City of New Orleans train

A wheelchair ramp is available to assist passengers with a wheeled mobility device during boarding and detraining. The train has lower-level coach seating and accessible bedrooms. If you have a service animal, review Amtrak’s service animal requirements in the “pets” section above.

A look at the City of New Orleans route by the day

This table shows the route, allowing you to see each day’s first and last stops.

Train	1st Day	2nd Day
#58 Northbound	New Orleans, LA – Memphis, TN	Newbern-Dyersburg, TN – Chicago, IL
#59 Southbound	Chicago, IL – Effingham, IL	Centralia, IL – New Orleans, LA

Food on Amtrak’s City of New Orleans

The café is located on the upper level, in the center of the train. Sleeper passengers also get their food from this car.

Café car

• The café features
  • Various hot and cold meals
  • Snacks
  • Hot, cold, and adult beverages
• The café is available for all customers from early morning until late at night.
• It may close during meal prep times and breaks.
• This car is between the coach and the sleeping cars in the middle of the train.

You are allowed to bring food and drinks on board the train. However, due to FDA regulations, you cannot eat any food you brought on the train in the café car.

You may consume your food in your seat, in your room, or the lounge car. If you are traveling in coach class, you are not permitted to drink any alcohol that you brought with you. However, if you have a sleeper room, you may enjoy the alcohol in your room or your travel companion’s room.

Flex dining

• Flex Dining is a complimentary dining option offered to sleeper car passengers.
  • You can eat your meals in your rooms or the café car.
  • Meals are prepared and warmed on the train.
  • Selections for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
  • Complimentary nonalcoholic beverages.
  • Those who are of legal age and wish to can receive a complimentary adult drink with dinner.
  • You can purchase additional adult beverages.

The Amtrak City of New Orleans Scheduled Meals:

This table shows the meals you will receive aboard the City of New Orleans, organized by day. If you head south, you will receive dinner before or after departing from Chicago!

Train	1st Day	2nd Day
#58 Northbound	Dinner	Breakfast
#59 Southbound	Dinner*	Breakfast & Lunch

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Amtrak’s City of New Orleans schedule

Amtrak.com provides this schedule, and Amtrak reserves the right to alter it at any time. Always refer to the “e-ticket” in your app or log into the website to verify the times before leaving for the station.

The most recent verification of these times occurred on August 20, 2024.

Train 59 Southbound Read Down	Communities Served	Miles	Train 58 Northbound Last Stop
8:05p	Chicago, IL Union Station (CHI) B	0	9:15a
8:54p	Homewood, IL (HMW)	24	7:44a
9:23p	Kankakee, IL (KKI) F	57	7:13a
10:34p	Champaign-Urbana, IL (CHM)	129	6:10a
11:13p	Mattoon, IL (Charleston) (MAT) F	173	5:23a
11:37p	Effingham, IL (EFG) F	200	4:57a
12:25a	Centralia, IL (CEN) F	253	4:10a
1:26a	Carbondale, IL (CDL) F B	309	3:16a
3:14a	Fulton, KY (FTN) F	406	1:04a
3:56a	Newbern-Dyersburg, TN (NBN) F	442	12:22a
6:27a | 6:40a	Memphis, TN Central Station (MEM)	528	10:20p | 10:40p
8:01a	Marks, MS (MKS) F	597	8:31p
9:00a	Greenwood, MS (GWD)	654	7:37p
9:51a	Yazoo City, MS (YAZ) F	706	6:42p
11:12a | 11:20a	Jackson, MS (JAN)	751	5:28p | 5:44p
11:55a	Hazlehurst, MS (HAZ) F	784	4:17p
12:16p	Brookhaven, MS (BRH) F	805	3:56p
12:40p	McComb, MS (MCB) F	828	3:32p
1:28p	Hammond, LA (HMD)	881	2:45p
3:47p	New Orleans, LA B Union Passenger Terminal (NOL)	934	1:45p
Final Stop	Stations	Miles	Read Up

Abbreviations

Printable Amtrak City of New Orleans Schedule

You can download this PDF, but you can also print customer schedules. This article helps you print custom-made Amtrak schedules for your trip or entire routes.

Transferring to other Amtrak long-distance trains.

Some Amtrak adventures may include other Amtrak trains; I cover transferring to other long-distance trains.

If you have difficulty connecting between the City of New Orleans and other trains, you may need to spend the night in the area before transferring. If you need to connect with an overnight stay, you may need to book separate one-way or multi-city tickets.

Eastbound Trains

Train	Transfer City	Overnight Stay	Bus Connection
Cardinal	Chicago	No	No
Crescent	New Orleans	Yes	No
Floridian	Chicago	No	No
Lake Shore Limited	Chicago	No	No

Westbound

Train	Transfer City	Overnight Stay	Bus Connection
California Zephyr	Chicago	No	No
Empire Builder	Chicago	No	No
Southwest Chief	Chicago	No	No
Sunset Limited	New Orleans	Yes	No