The Southwest Chief is Amtrak's train from Chicago to Los Angeles, with two nights on board. The scheduled trip from Chicago is 43 h 57 m, and Amtrak's own page shows the train was on time 33 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, or coach if you want to save money. Get off at Flagstaff for northern Arizona and at Lamy for Santa Fe. Do not book a flight for the day you arrive.
The timetable: leave Chicago after lunch, arrive in Los Angeles in the morning
We downloaded Amtrak's route timetable for the Southwest Chief on 13 October 2026. The PDF prints that date at the top. It is the date we downloaded it, not the date the schedule starts, so download it again close to your trip. Times are local and change zone as you go.
Getting there: Train 3, Chicago to Los Angeles, daily. Chicago Union Station 1:30 p.m., Kansas City 9:37 p.m., Dodge City 4:14 a.m. on day two, Raton 9:12 a.m., Lamy 12:53 p.m., Albuquerque 3:14 p.m., Flagstaff 7:55 p.m., Kingman 10:49 p.m., Barstow 3:13 a.m. on day three, Los Angeles Union Station 7:27 a.m. Duration 43 h 57 m (Amtrak's Southwest Chief timetable PDF, downloaded 13 Oct 2026)
Getting there: Train 4, Los Angeles to Chicago, daily. Los Angeles 4:55 p.m., Barstow 8:47 p.m., Flagstaff 3:39 a.m. on day two, Albuquerque 11:31 a.m., Lamy 12:38 p.m., Raton 4:18 p.m., Dodge City 11:15 p.m., Kansas City 7:03 a.m. on day three, Chicago 2:44 p.m. Duration 43 h 49 m (same timetable)
| Stop | Westbound, train 3 | Eastbound, train 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 1:30 p.m., day one | 2:44 p.m. arrive, day three |
| Kansas City | 9:37 p.m., day one | 7:03 a.m., day three |
| Dodge City | 4:14 a.m., day two | 11:15 p.m., day two |
| Raton | 9:12 a.m., day two | 4:18 p.m., day two |
| Lamy | 12:53 p.m., day two | 12:38 p.m., day two |
| Albuquerque | 3:14 p.m., day two | 11:31 a.m., day two |
| Flagstaff | 7:55 p.m., day two | 3:39 a.m., day two |
| Kingman | 10:49 p.m., day two | 12:37 a.m., day two |
| Barstow | 3:13 a.m., day three | 8:47 p.m., day one |
| Los Angeles | 7:27 a.m. arrive, day three | 4:55 p.m., day one |
Amtrak's route page lists 32 stations and a daily departure.
Flagstaff for the Grand Canyon, and what happened to Williams Junction
Getting there: Flagstaff, Amtrak station: 1 East Route 66, between downtown and the Northern Arizona University campus. The station page says overnight parking for Amtrak customers is one and one-half blocks away on Phoenix Ave. It does not mention the Grand Canyon (Amtrak Flagstaff station page, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: Williams Junction: the timetable prints a Williams Junction row between Kingman and Flagstaff, with a dash for both trains. The legend says a dash means no scheduled stop. The route page lists no Williams Junction, and says Amtrak Connection buses run from the train to the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, Arizona. The timetable lists no times for that bus (Amtrak timetable and route page, 13 Oct 2026)
So the answer on Williams Junction is that no stop shows on 13 October 2026. We do not know since when, and Amtrak's pages give no times for the Williams bus.
Getting there: Groome Transportation, Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon: buses call at the Flagstaff Amtrak station at 7:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m., stop at Williams at 8:15 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., and reach Maswik Lodge at the South Rim at 9:30 a.m., 2:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. Buses back reach the Amtrak station at 12:00 p.m., 5:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. Adults from $49, plus an $8 park entry fee and a $2 fuel surcharge. Groome recommends booking at least 24 hours ahead (Groome Grand Canyon page, read 13 Oct 2026, no posting date)
What we can say about timing: westbound, you reach Flagstaff at 7:55 p.m., so you arrive in the evening and sleep in town. Eastbound, you leave at 3:39 a.m., so you board in the middle of the night. The timetable also lists a Phoenix to Flagstaff bus, number 8576, that leaves Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport at 6:00 p.m. and reaches Flagstaff at 9:20 p.m. The bus back, number 8569, leaves Flagstaff at 2:00 p.m. It is run by Groome Transportation. Amtrak's timetable does not list the Grand Canyon buses, so book those with Groome.
Lamy for Santa Fe
Getting there: Lamy, New Mexico: Amtrak calls it the transfer point for passengers heading to Santa Fe. The route page says the Lamy Shuttle Service meets Southwest Chief trains daily to Santa Fe hotels, with a return to Lamy, and that advance reservations are required (Amtrak route and station pages, read 13 Oct 2026)
Getting there: The timetable lists two daily RoadRunneR Shuttle runs from Lamy to Santa Fe and Los Alamos. One leaves Lamy at 1:03 p.m. and reaches central Santa Fe at 1:40 p.m. The other leaves at 1:10 p.m. and reaches central Santa Fe at 1:50 p.m. Going back, runs reach Lamy at 12:12 p.m. and 12:30 p.m., before the train leaves at 12:38 p.m. (Amtrak timetable, 13 Oct 2026)
Westbound train 3 reaches Lamy at 12:53 p.m., so it connects to both runs. Eastbound train 4 leaves Lamy at 12:38 p.m., so the 12:30 p.m. run is a close fit. We did not confirm that the shuttle on the route page is the same service as the RoadRunneR Shuttle in the timetable, and we found no fare.
Albuquerque and Raton Pass
Albuquerque is a stop for the train in the afternoon westbound, at 3:14 p.m., and at 11:31 a.m. eastbound. Both are in daylight. Raton, New Mexico, comes at 9:12 a.m. westbound and 4:18 p.m. eastbound, also in daylight. Trinidad, Colorado, the stop before it going west, is at 8:10 a.m. westbound and 5:17 p.m. eastbound. Raton Pass lies on the state line between those two stops. That is our general geography and not an Amtrak claim, and Amtrak's pages we read do not describe the scenery.
Westbound, the New Mexico stops are in daylight, and the Arizona and California stops fall at night until the morning arrival in Los Angeles. Eastbound, Arizona is mostly at night and New Mexico is in the day. How much light you get depends on the season, which we did not check.
Sleeper or coach: a private room includes the meals
Note: Amtrak's route page lists lower and upper level coach seats, and Superliner rooms: roomette, bedroom, bedroom suite, family room and accessible bedroom. It says accommodations vary by train (Amtrak Southwest Chief 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 sink, restroom and shower. Meals are included when you travel in a private room (Amtrak sleeper car pages, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: The route page lists traditional dining and cafe service. Westbound meals are dinner, breakfast, lunch, dinner and breakfast. Eastbound meals add a lunch at the end. The page says menu items and prices are subject to change (same page and date)
Note: Amtrak's traditional dining page says the dining car is also offered to a limited number of coach passengers on the Southwest Chief. It gives no coach price and does not say how coach passengers book (Amtrak traditional dining page, read 13 Oct 2026)
| 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 |
Two nights is long in a seat. If you can sleep upright, coach is the cheap way to ride. If not, price a roomette for your date and add the cost of food to the coach side. Our private room guide compares the room types, and our Empire Builder page prints the dining car menu that Amtrak uses on this train too. 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 and is for Coach class only, with no upgrade to a private room (read 13 Oct 2026).
How late it runs
Note: Amtrak's on-time page lists the Southwest Chief at 33 percent on time for 2024, on the Los Angeles, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Newton and Chicago route hosted by BNSF. It says no long-distance route met the 80 percent standard 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 a shuttle to catch, leave a day. This matters at Lamy, where the shuttle times are fixed.
What is checked here and what is not
Checked on 13 October 2026: Amtrak's Southwest Chief route page, its timetable PDF (downloaded that day), its sleeper car and room pages, its traditional dining page, its USA Rail Pass page, its Flagstaff and Lamy station pages, its on-time performance page and Groome's Grand Canyon page.
Not confirmed: any fare, the coach price in the dining car, how many rooms are left, when Williams Junction stopped being served, the Amtrak Connection bus times to Williams, whether the Lamy shuttle on the route page is the RoadRunneR Shuttle, the shuttle fare, the scenery on the route and any on-time figure newer than 2024. We did not ride the train for this page.
