The Empire Builder is Amtrak's train from Chicago to Seattle and Portland, with two nights on board. The scheduled trip from Chicago is 46 h 24 m, and Amtrak's own page shows the train was on time 55 percent of the time in 2024, so plan for a late arrival. Take a private room if you want a bed and your meals included. Take coach if you want to save money and can sleep in a seat. Do not book a flight for the day you arrive.
The timetable: leave Chicago in the afternoon, arrive in Seattle on day three
We downloaded Amtrak's route timetable for the Empire Builder on 13 October 2026. The PDF prints that date at the top. It is the date we downloaded it, not a date when the schedule starts, so download it again close to your trip. Times are local and change zone as you go.
Getting there: Train 7, Chicago to Seattle, daily. Chicago Union Station 3:05 p.m., Milwaukee 4:45 p.m., St. Paul-Minneapolis 11:13 p.m., Fargo 4:13 a.m. on day two, Whitefish 10:21 p.m. on day two, Spokane 3:19 a.m. on day three, Seattle King Street 11:29 a.m. on day three. Duration 46 h 24 m (Amtrak's Empire Builder timetable PDF, downloaded 13 Oct 2026)
Getting there: Train 8, Seattle to Chicago, daily. Seattle 4:55 p.m., Spokane 1:15 a.m. on day two, Whitefish 7:26 a.m., St. Paul-Minneapolis 8:50 a.m. on day three, Milwaukee 3:05 p.m., Chicago 4:45 p.m. Duration 45 h 50 m (same timetable)
Getting there: Portland trains: train 27 reaches Portland at 11:17 a.m. on day three, 46 h 12 m from Chicago. Train 28 leaves Portland at 4:45 p.m., 46 h 0 m to Chicago. They run with the Seattle trains between Chicago and Spokane (same timetable)
| Stop | Westbound, train 7 | Eastbound, train 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 3:05 p.m., day one | 4:45 p.m. arrive, day three |
| Milwaukee | 4:45 p.m., day one | 3:05 p.m., day three |
| St. Paul-Minneapolis | 11:13 p.m., day one | 8:50 a.m., day three |
| Fargo | 4:13 a.m., day two | 3:29 a.m., day three |
| Havre | 4:15 p.m., day two | 1:24 p.m., day two |
| Essex | 8:44 p.m., day two | 8:37 a.m., day two |
| West Glacier | 9:27 p.m., day two | 7:57 a.m., day two |
| Whitefish | 10:21 p.m., day two | 7:26 a.m., day two |
| Spokane | 3:19 a.m., day three | 1:15 a.m., day two |
| Leavenworth | 7:18 a.m., day three | 8:17 p.m., day one |
| Seattle | 11:29 a.m. arrive, day three | 4:55 p.m., day one |
Amtrak's route page lists 46 stations and a daily departure. The timetable also lists the connecting Thruway buses. One of them, number 3518, runs from Portland to Seattle at 2:10 p.m., arriving at 5:37 p.m.
Glacier National Park: three stops, and only two run all year
The train passes along the south edge of Glacier National Park in Montana. The timetable lists three stops there.
Note: The National Park Service says the Empire Builder stops year-round at West Glacier (Belton) and at the Izaak Walton Inn at Essex, and seasonally at East Glacier Park. In summer, Glacier National Park Lodges runs a shuttle for West Glacier train passengers between the depot, Apgar Village and Lake McDonald Lodge. It costs a fee and needs a reservation (NPS directions page, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: Amtrak's East Glacier Park station page calls it a seasonal stop open from mid-spring until mid-fall, and gives no months. The station is next to the historic Glacier Park Lodge. The West Glacier page lists a platform with no shelter (Amtrak station pages, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: In the timetable we downloaded on 13 October 2026, East Glacier Park shows a dash for both directions. The timetable's legend says a dash means no scheduled stop. West Glacier and Essex show times
Westbound, the Glacier stops come at night. Train 7 reaches Essex at 8:44 p.m. and West Glacier at 9:27 p.m. Eastbound, train 8 reaches Whitefish at 7:26 a.m., West Glacier at 7:57 a.m. and Essex at 8:37 a.m. How much light you get depends on the season, which we did not check. This is our reading of the timetable, not an Amtrak claim. If you want to see the park from the train, check the season before you pick a direction.
If you plan to visit the park, a stop at West Glacier is the plan to build around. Train 7 arrives late in the evening, so book a place to sleep that night and check how late the shuttle runs.
Sleeper or coach: a private room includes the meals
Note: Amtrak's route page lists lower and upper level coach seats, and Superliner private rooms: roomette, bedroom, bedroom suite, family bedroom and accessible bedroom. It says accommodations vary by train (Amtrak Empire Builder page, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: Amtrak's room pages say a roomette has two seats that become upper and lower beds, with a shared restroom and shower. A bedroom has a private restroom and shower in the room. Meals are included when you travel in a private room (Amtrak sleeper car pages, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: The route page says trainside checked bicycles are offered on trains 7 and 8 only, not on trains 27 and 28 (same date)
| Coach | Roomette | Bedroom | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleeping | In your seat | Two seats become two beds | Sofa and chair become two beds |
| Meals in the dining car | You pay, limited seats | Included | Included |
| Restroom and shower | Shared | Shared | In the room |
| Fare | By demand, check Amtrak.com | By demand, check Amtrak.com | By demand, check Amtrak.com |
How to choose: two nights is long in a seat. If you can sleep upright, coach is the cheap way to ride the route. If you cannot, price a roomette for your date and add the cost of food to the coach side. Our sleeper car guide compares the room types. Amtrak prices by demand, like an airline, so the fare rises as a date fills. For scale, the one-night Coast Starlight from Seattle to Los Angeles is about $120 in coach and about $526 for a roomette (about $1,062 for a bedroom) on a weekday. Amtrak.com has the price for your date.
Rail Pass holders: Amtrak's pass page says the USA Rail Pass is $499 for 10 segments, valid for 120 days from purchase with 30 days to finish after the first ride. It says the pass is for Coach class and that upgrades to private rooms are not available (read 13 Oct 2026).
The dining car and its menu
Note: Amtrak's dining page lists traditional dining on the Empire Builder, with table service, free for customers in private rooms. It says the service is also offered to a limited number of coach passengers on this train, with no coach price shown. The route page lists cafe service as well. Between Spokane and Portland, on trains 27 and 28, the route page says the dining car is not offered and a cold catered meal is served. The dining page says hand-crafted dinner dishes or continental breakfast items are offered there instead (Amtrak pages, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: Meals on the route page: train 8 serves dinner, breakfast, lunch, dinner, breakfast and lunch. Train 7 serves dinner, breakfast, lunch, dinner and breakfast. Dining hours on the dining page are breakfast 6:30 to 9:30 a.m., lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Lunch and dinner can be reserved
People search for the menu, so here is what Amtrak's own traditional dining menu lists. The same PDF is linked for the California Zephyr, Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle. It carries the code LDS 1125, and the file was last saved on 20 January 2026. The route page says menu items and prices are subject to change.
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Breakfast: continental breakfast, railroad French toast, three egg omelet, scrambled eggs and a breakfast quesadilla.
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Lunch: Caesar salad with grilled chicken, artisan grilled cheese, Angus burger, patty melt, a Beyond burger, baked potato with chili and a chili bowl.
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Dinner: coconut crusted shrimp or a green salad with brie to start. Main dishes are a flat iron steak, pan roasted chicken breast, Atlantic salmon and pasta primavera. Desserts are a chocolate spoon cake and a blueberry cobbler cheesecake.
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Drinks: coffee, tea, milk, orange juice, water and soft drinks are listed as free at all meals. Dinner comes with one free alcoholic drink. The bar list shows beer at $8.00, wine at $7.50 a glass and spirits at $9.00.
The menu prints no price for the food. Amtrak's dining page says a limited number of coach passengers can eat in the dining car, but it does not say what they pay or how they book. Ask about a table early in the trip, and plan to buy food from the cafe car if the tables are full.
How late it runs
Note: Amtrak's on-time page lists the Empire Builder at 55 percent on time for 2024, on the Portland and Seattle to Chicago route. It says no long-distance route met the 80 percent standard of the Federal Railroad Administration in 2024. The page was updated June 2025 (Amtrak on-time performance page, read 13 Oct 2026)
That is the latest figure on Amtrak's page, and it is from 2024. A long-distance train can run hours late. If you have a flight, a hotel you cannot move or an event, leave a day.
What is checked here and what is not
Checked on 13 October 2026: Amtrak's Empire Builder route page, its timetable PDF (downloaded that day), its sleeper car and room pages, its traditional dining page and menu PDF, its USA Rail Pass page, its East Glacier Park and West Glacier station pages, its on-time performance page and the National Park Service directions page for Glacier.
Not confirmed: any fare, how many rooms are left, what a coach passenger pays in the dining car and how they book, the cold meal on trains 27 and 28, why East Glacier Park shows no stop on 13 October, the shuttle times at West Glacier, and any on-time figure newer than 2024. We did not ride the train for this page.
