City to city

City to city by train

96 popular trips with a direct train, the trains that run them and how long they take.

By USA by Rail editors · Last checked October 2026 · How we research

Every trip listed here has at least one direct train, so you do not need to change. Times are approximate, based on typical schedules as of October 2026, and the fastest train is shown. Many other trips are possible with one change, usually in Chicago, New York, Washington, Toronto or Montreal; use the route guides to plan them.

Trip	Train	Fastest approx. time
Atlanta to New Orleans	Crescent	about 10 hours to 12 hours 30 minutes
Boston to Baltimore	Acela, Northeast Regional	about 5 hours 15 minutes to 6 hours 15 minutes
Boston to Philadelphia	Acela, Northeast Regional	about 4 hours 15 minutes to 5 hours 15 minutes
Boston to Washington, DC	Acela, Northeast Regional	about 6 hours 30 minutes to 7 hours
Chicago to Albuquerque	Southwest Chief	about 26 to 27 hours
Chicago to Austin	Texas Eagle	about 27 to 33 hours
Chicago to Baltimore	Cardinal	about 20 to 25 hours
Chicago to Boston	Lake Shore Limited	about 22 hours
Chicago to Dallas	Texas Eagle	about 22 to 27 hours
Chicago to Denver	California Zephyr	about 18 to 19 hours
Chicago to Detroit	Wolverine	about 5 hours 30 minutes to 6 hours
Chicago to Flagstaff	Southwest Chief	about 31 to 32 hours
Chicago to Glacier National Park (East Glacier)	Empire Builder	about 29 to 30 hours
Chicago to Glenwood Springs	California Zephyr	about 25 to 26 hours
Chicago to Kansas City	Southwest Chief	about 7 to 8 hours
Chicago to Los Angeles	Southwest Chief	about 43 hours
Chicago to Memphis	City of New Orleans	about 10 to 11 hours
Chicago to Miami	Floridian	about 42 to 51 hours
Chicago to Milwaukee	Hiawatha, Borealis	about 1 hour 30 minutes
Chicago to Minneapolis-St. Paul	Borealis	about 7 to 9 hours
Chicago to New Orleans	City of New Orleans	about 19 to 20 hours
Chicago to New York	Lake Shore Limited, Cardinal	about 19 hours
Chicago to Orlando	Floridian	about 34 to 41 hours
Chicago to Philadelphia	Cardinal	about 22 to 27 hours
Chicago to Pittsburgh	Floridian	about 10 hours to 12 hours 30 minutes
Chicago to Portland	Empire Builder	about 45 to 46 hours
Chicago to Raleigh	Floridian	about 21 to 25 hours
Chicago to Sacramento	California Zephyr	about 49 to 50 hours
Chicago to Salt Lake City	California Zephyr	about 33 to 34 hours
Chicago to San Antonio	Texas Eagle	about 29 to 35 hours
Chicago to San Francisco (Emeryville)	California Zephyr	about 51 to 52 hours
Chicago to Savannah	Floridian	about 28 to 34 hours
Chicago to Seattle	Empire Builder	about 45 to 46 hours
Chicago to St. Louis	Lincoln Service	about 5 hours 30 minutes
Chicago to Tampa	Floridian	about 36 to 44 hours
Chicago to Washington, DC	Floridian, Cardinal	about 15 to 18 hours
Denver to Glenwood Springs	Canyon Spirit (formerly Rockies to the Red Rocks)	about 4 hours 45 minutes to 6 hours
Los Angeles to Albuquerque	Southwest Chief	about 16 to 17 hours
Los Angeles to Flagstaff	Southwest Chief	about 10 to 11 hours
Los Angeles to Houston	Sunset Limited	about 35 to 42 hours
Los Angeles to Kansas City	Southwest Chief	about 31 to 37 hours
Los Angeles to New Orleans	Sunset Limited	about 46 to 48 hours
Los Angeles to Portland	Coast Starlight	about 27 to 33 hours
Los Angeles to Sacramento	Coast Starlight	about 12 hours 30 minutes to 15 hours
Los Angeles to San Antonio	Sunset Limited	about 30 to 37 hours
Los Angeles to San Diego	Pacific Surfliner	about 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours
Los Angeles to San Francisco (Emeryville)	Coast Starlight	about 11 to 12 hours
Los Angeles to Santa Barbara	Pacific Surfliner	about 2 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours
Los Angeles to Seattle	Coast Starlight	about 35 hours
Montreal to Halifax	The Ocean	about 22 to 23 hours
Montreal to Ottawa	VIA Rail Quebec City to Montreal and Ottawa	about 1 hour 55 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes
Montreal to Quebec City	VIA Rail Quebec City to Montreal and Ottawa	about 3 hours 10 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes
Montreal to Toronto	VIA Rail Montreal to Toronto	about 5 hours to 5 hours 30 minutes
New York to Albany	Ethan Allen Express, Adirondack, Maple Leaf, Empire Service	about 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 45 minutes
New York to Atlanta	Crescent	about 18 to 19 hours
New York to Baltimore	Carolinian, Acela, Northeast Regional, Vermonter	about 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes
New York to Boston	Acela, Northeast Regional	about 3 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours
New York to Charleston	Silver Meteor, Palmetto	about 12 hours to 14 hours 30 minutes
New York to Charlotte	Carolinian	about 11 hours 30 minutes to 14 hours 30 minutes
New York to Miami	Silver Meteor	about 27 to 28 hours
New York to Montreal	Adirondack	about 10 hours 30 minutes to 11 hours
New York to New Orleans	Crescent	about 30 hours
New York to Orlando	Silver Meteor	about 20 to 25 hours
New York to Philadelphia	Carolinian, Pennsylvanian, Keystone Service, Acela, Northeast Regional, Vermonter	about 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes
New York to Pittsburgh	Pennsylvanian	about 9 hours
New York to Providence	Acela, Northeast Regional	about 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours
New York to Raleigh	Carolinian	about 9 to 11 hours
New York to Savannah	Silver Meteor, Palmetto	about 13 hours 30 minutes to 16 hours 30 minutes
New York to Toronto	Maple Leaf	about 12 to 13 hours
New York to Washington, DC	Carolinian, Acela, Northeast Regional, Vermonter	about 2 hours 50 minutes to 3 hours
Oklahoma City to Fort Worth	Heartland Flyer	about 3 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours 30 minutes
Orlando to Miami	Floridian, Silver Meteor	about 4 hours 45 minutes to 5 hours 45 minutes
Philadelphia to Atlanta	Crescent	about 15 to 19 hours
Philadelphia to Baltimore	Carolinian, Acela, Northeast Regional, Vermonter	about 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes
Philadelphia to New Orleans	Crescent	about 25 to 31 hours
San Francisco (Emeryville) to Denver	California Zephyr	about 33 hours
San Francisco (Emeryville) to Portland	Coast Starlight	about 17 to 21 hours
San Francisco (Emeryville) to Sacramento	Capitol Corridor, Gold Runner (formerly San Joaquins)	about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours
Seattle to Portland	Amtrak Cascades	about 3 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours
Seattle to San Francisco (Emeryville)	Coast Starlight	about 21 to 26 hours
Seattle to Vancouver	Amtrak Cascades	about 4 hours to 4 hours 30 minutes
St. Louis to Kansas City	Missouri River Runner	about 5 hours to 6 hours 15 minutes
Toronto to Jasper	The Canadian	about three days
Toronto to Ottawa	VIA Rail Toronto to Ottawa	about 4 hours 15 minutes to 4 hours 45 minutes
Toronto to Vancouver	The Canadian	about four days
Vancouver to Jasper	The Canadian	about 20 to 22 hours
Vancouver to Portland	Amtrak Cascades	about 6 hours 30 minutes to 8 hours
Washington, DC to Atlanta	Crescent	about 12 hours 30 minutes to 15 hours
Washington, DC to Baltimore	Carolinian, Acela, Northeast Regional, Vermonter	about 30 minutes to 45 minutes
Washington, DC to Charleston	Silver Meteor, Palmetto	about 8 to 10 hours
Washington, DC to Miami	Floridian, Silver Meteor	about 21 to 25 hours
Washington, DC to New Orleans	Crescent	about 22 to 27 hours
Washington, DC to Orlando	Floridian, Silver Meteor	about 16 to 20 hours
Washington, DC to Philadelphia	Carolinian, Acela, Northeast Regional, Vermonter	about 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours
Washington, DC to Providence	Acela, Northeast Regional	about 5 hours to 6 hours 15 minutes
Washington, DC to Savannah	Floridian, Silver Meteor, Palmetto	about 10 to 12 hours