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Welcome aboard the Amtrak Southwest Chief! This daily Superliner train connects the bustling city of Chicago, IL, with the sunny shores of Los Angeles, CA. Spanning 2,265 miles across eight states—Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California—this epic journey takes approximately 43.5 hours and features stops in 32 cities.

The Southwest Chief offers a travel experience with comfortable coach seating, private sleeper accommodations, and freshly prepared traditional dining meals in the dining car. Don’t forget to spend time in the Sightseer Lounge Car, where panoramic windows provide stunning views of the Midwest’s rolling plains and the Southwest’s rugged beauty. Snacks and drinks are also available in the café on the lounge’s lower level.

Before you embark, remember that the Southwest Chief does not offer Wi-Fi, and smoking or vaping is prohibited both on the train and at all stations.

This guide will help you confidently plan your journey, covering everything from accommodations and amenities to the complete schedule. Whether you’re a first-time rider or a seasoned traveler, you’ll find all the information you need here.

A brief look at what you can see while on the Southwest Chief.

From start to finish, you can travel on the Southwest Chief for three days and two nights, passing through eight states. Most of this route follows tracks owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe, aka BNSF.

The scenery includes fields, ranches, missions, pueblos, mountains, deserts, the Painted Desert, and the Red Cliffs of Sedona. You will journey through winding canyon passages only a few feet wider than the train!

As most of the route remains unchanged, you’ll experience some of the same views passengers enjoyed during the old Santa Fe Super Chief route.

The map can provide details about the areas you will see during the day and the locations you will pass through at night based on your direction.

The Amtrak Southwest Chief’s On-Time Performance

No one likes delays, but they happen, and not all are Amtrak’s fault. Amtrak uses tracks owned by freight and passenger railroads, and these railroads cause delays.

• The Southwest Chief’s on-time average performance per passenger is:
  • For December 2024, 56.6% with an average delay of 103 minutes.
  • The year average from December 2023 to 2024 is 33.0%, with an average delay of 128 minutes.

This section contains information from the Amtrak Host Railroad Report for December 2024. You can view on-time performances for other Amtrak long-distance trains.

Here are the top two causes of delays to the Southwest Chief due to host railroads of 15 miles or more

• BNSF
  • 2206 miles
  • The leading two causes of delays by this railroad are freight train interference and slow order delays.
• NMDOT
  • 60 miles
  • This railroad’s leading causes of delays include commuter/passenger train interference.

Coach Class Seating on the Southwest Chief

The Southwest Chief coach seating offers:

• Comfortable reclining seats
• Foot and leg rest
• Ample legroom
• Fold-down tray
• Individual reading lights
• 120v ground (USA three-prong) electric outlets on the wall.
• Showers are not available for coach passengers.
• Those traveling overnight, bring a pillow and blanket.
• Most coach cars offer upper and lower seating
• Restrooms are on the lower level.

The Southwest Chief coach car layout

Sleeper Car (Rooms)

All rooms include:

• Fresh linens and towels
• Traditional Dining
• Lounge access in Chicago and Los Angeles
• Dedicated car attendant
• Curtains are on both sides to block out light and provide privacy.
• There is a table in the room between the chairs
• There are room lights, plus reading and night lights.

The room types are available on the Southwest Chief.

• Roomette
• Bedroom
• Family bedroom
• Accessible room

Southwest Chief Sleeper Car Layout

Luggage on the Southwest Chief.

Avoid surprises on your day of travel by knowing what you can and cannot take aboard the Southwest Chief.

Accessibility on the Southwest Chief

You can enjoy this train in a few ways for those with mobility issues. When boarding or exiting the train, there is a wheelchair ramp onboard that staff can pull out as needed.

Regarding accommodations, there is lower-level seating in coach and an accessible bedroom.

If you have mobility or other issues requiring assistance, please let Amtrak know when booking. There is a box to check on Amtrak.com and in the app, or you can call Amtrak.

There are several unstaffed stations along this route with no station staff to help, but these are often small. Some agents can help you to the best of their ability at staffed stations.

If you need a service or comfort animal, read Amtrak’s service animal policy before booking to ensure your animal qualifies and to see if additional reservations are required.

Southwest Chief Add-ons

You can add a few paid services to your trip aboard this train; make sure

Wi-Fi on the Southwest Chief

This train does not have Wi-Fi, and cell service will be intermittent along the route, so plan accordingly.

Amtrak does not have at-seat entertainment, but you can do a few things for entertainment on Amtrak.

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A Breakdown of the Southwest Chief Schedule by Day

This section shows how each day of the journey breaks down and the first and last stop within that day.

Food Offerings on the Southwest Chief

The cafe is on the lower level of the Sightseer Lounge. It offers various meals, snacks, and beverages for sale and is open from early morning until late at night. This car is located between the coach and the dining cars.

Traditional dining consists of chef-prepared meals with table service, options for kids, and a wide array of wine, beer, and spirits. Sleeping passengers can ask the sleeper car attendant to bring their meals to their rooms or make reservations in the dining car.

Meals are complimentary for customers with sleeping accommodations or at set prices for coach passengers. Amtrak can limit seating for coach passengers based on availability.

The Southwest Chief’s Scheduled Meals

For both legs of your journey, dinner will be your first meal aboard this train. Please refer to the table below for the dinner options in the Southwest Chief dining car.

Do you find this information helpful?

• Join my newsletter list for the latest travel tips, Amtrak insights, and exclusive content delivered to your inbox.
• Join Patreon for more content, and joining at $5 or more, you’ll receive a postcard! There are other ways to help keep Travels with Kev on track.
• Follow Travels with Kev on my Facebook page for updates and travel discussions.

Amtrak Southwest Chief Schedule

The information below comes from Amtrak.com, but remember that they can change anytime.

Abbreviations

R = Receive passengers only; this means you can board the train, but you cannot buy a ticket on this train to this station.

D = Depart only; you can buy a ticket to this station but not from this station.

C = Stations with Amtrak Connecting Services.

Printable Amtrak Southwest Chief Schedule

If interested, you can print routes and custom schedules from Amtrak.com. For instructions, see this post on printing Amtrak schedules.

The following printable schedule is for the Eastbound #4 train from Los Angeles, CA, to Winslow, AZ. I will update the PDF as soon as Amtrak does. Last checked in December 2024.