Texas Eagle

Route map
	Legend
	Borealis, Empire Builder, and
	Hiawatha
	37 mi
	60 km
	92 mi
	148 km
	124 mi
	200 km
	156 mi
	251 km
	185 mi
	298 km
	237 mi
	381 km
	257 mi
	414 km
	IL
	MO
	284 mi
	457 km
	Missouri River Runner
	to Kansas City
	376 mi
	605 km
	453 mi
	729 km
	MO
	AR
	523 mi
	842 km
	560 mi
	901 km
	closed
	1996
	634 mi
	1020 km
	677 mi
	1090 km
	694 mi
	1117 km
	741 mi
	1193 km
	774 mi
	1246 km
	AR
	TX
	Crescent
	to New York
	840 mi
	1352 km
	864 mi
	1390 km
	912 mi
	1468 km
	991 mi
	1595 km
	Heartland Flyer
	to Oklahoma City
	1022 mi
	1645 km
	1051 mi
	1691 km
	1125 mi
	1811 km
	1036 mi
	1667 km
	1150 mi
	1851 km
	1152 mi
	1854 km
	1188 mi
	1912 km
	1223 mi
	1968 km
	1247 mi
	2007 km
	1253 mi
	2017 km
	Sunset Limited
	to New Orleans
	1306 mi
	2102 km
	daily
	tri-weekly
	1475 mi
	2374 km
	1601 mi
	2577 km
	1692 mi
	2723 km
	Central Time
	Mountain Time
	1910 mi
	3074 km
	TX
	NM
	1998 mi
	3215 km
	2058 mi
	3312 km
	NM
	AZ
	Mountain Time
	Arizona Time
	2176 mi
	3502 km
	2226 mi
	3582 km
	2312 mi
	3721 km
	discontinued
	1996
	2477 mi
	3986 km
	AZ
	CA
	Arizona Time
	Pacific Time
	closed
	1998
	2622 mi
	4220 km
	Southwest Chief
	to Chicago
	2689 mi
	4328 km
	2696 mi
	4339 km
	Coast Starlight to Seattle
	Pacific Surfliner
	2728 mi

*Texas Eagle*
	Texas Eagle in Austin, 2011
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail, higher-speed rail
Locale	Midwest and Southwestern United States (daily)
Predecessor	Inter-American
First service	October 2, 1981
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Annual ridership	325,709 (FY24) 10.6%
Route
Termini	Chicago, Illinois; San Antonio, Texas or ; Los Angeles, California
Stops	43
Distance travelled	1,306 mi (2,102 km) (to San Antonio); 2,728 mi (4,390 km) (to Los Angeles);
Average journey time	30 3⁄4 hours (San Antonio to Chicago); 32 1⁄4 hours (Chicago to San Antonio); 61 3⁄4 hours (Los Angeles to Chicago); 65 3⁄4 hours (Chicago to Los Angeles);
Service frequency	Daily (tri-weekly to Los Angeles)
Train number(s)	21, 22 (to San Antonio); 321, 322 (to St. Louis); 421, 422 (to Los Angeles)
On-board services
Class(es)	Coach Class; Sleeper Service
Disabled access	Train lower level, all stations
Sleeping arrangements	Roomette (2 beds); Bedroom (2 beds); Bedroom Suite (4 beds); Accessible Bedroom (2 beds); Family Bedroom (4 beds);
Catering facilities	Dining car (San Antonio-Los Angeles only), Café
Observation facilities	Sightseer lounge car (San Antonio-Los Angeles only)
Baggage facilities	Overhead racks, checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Rolling stock	GE Genesis; Superliner
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed	55 mph (89 km/h) (avg.); 100 mph (161 km/h) (top)
Track owner(s)	UP, BNSF, CN
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	Borealis, Empire Builder, and
	Hiawatha
	37 mi
	60 km
	92 mi
	148 km
	124 mi
	200 km
	156 mi
	251 km
	185 mi
	298 km
	237 mi
	381 km
	257 mi
	414 km
	IL
	MO
	284 mi
	457 km
	Missouri River Runner
	to Kansas City
	376 mi
	605 km
	453 mi
	729 km
	MO
	AR
	523 mi
	842 km
	560 mi
	901 km
	closed
	1996
	634 mi
	1020 km
	677 mi
	1090 km
	694 mi
	1117 km
	741 mi
	1193 km
	774 mi
	1246 km
	AR
	TX
	Crescent
	to New York
	840 mi
	1352 km
	864 mi
	1390 km
	912 mi
	1468 km
	991 mi
	1595 km
	Heartland Flyer
	to Oklahoma City
	1022 mi
	1645 km
	1051 mi
	1691 km
	1125 mi
	1811 km
	1036 mi
	1667 km
	1150 mi
	1851 km
	1152 mi
	1854 km
	1188 mi
	1912 km
	1223 mi
	1968 km
	1247 mi
	2007 km
	1253 mi
	2017 km
	Sunset Limited
	to New Orleans
	1306 mi
	2102 km
	daily
	tri-weekly
	1475 mi
	2374 km
	1601 mi
	2577 km
	1692 mi
	2723 km
	Central Time
	Mountain Time
	1910 mi
	3074 km
	TX
	NM
	1998 mi
	3215 km
	2058 mi
	3312 km
	NM
	AZ
	Mountain Time
	Arizona Time
	2176 mi
	3502 km
	2226 mi
	3582 km
	2312 mi
	3721 km
	discontinued
	1996

The Texas Eagle is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a 1,306-mile (2,102 km) route between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, with major stops in St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin. Three days per week, the train joins the Sunset Limited in San Antonio and continues to Los Angeles via El Paso and Tucson. The combined 2,728-mile (4,390 km) route is the longest in the United States and the second-longest in the Americas, after the Canadian.

Prior to 1988, the train was known simply as the Eagle.

History

Amtrak's Texas Eagle is the direct successor of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and Texas and Pacific Railway train of the same name, which was inaugurated in 1948 and ultimately discontinued in 1971. The route of Amtrak's Texas Eagle is longer (Chicago to San Antonio versus St. Louis to San Antonio), but much of today's route is historically a part of the original Texas Eagle route. St. Louis to Texarkana and Taylor, Texas, to San Antonio travels over former Missouri Pacific Railroad trackage, while the Texarkana to Fort Worth segment traverses the former Texas and Pacific Railway. The T&P merged with MoPac in 1982; in turn MoPac was acquired by Union Pacific in 1986.

The Eagle began on October 2, 1981, as a restructuring of the Inter-American, which had operated a daily schedule from Chicago to Laredo, Texas, via San Antonio since 1973. From 1979 onward, it operated a section to Houston, Texas, which diverged at Temple, Texas. The new Eagle dropped the Houston section, while its southern terminus was cut back from Laredo to San Antonio. The new train carried Superliner equipment, replacing the Amfleet coaches on the Inter-American. In addition, the new train ran on a thrice-weekly schedule with a through car on the Sunset Limited to Los Angeles, although the latter was not announced until the April 1982 timetable.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

On November 15, 1988, Amtrak revived a Houston section, this time diverging at Dallas and running over the route of the Southern Pacific's Sunbeam. It was the first time passenger traffic had served that route since 1958. Amtrak had intended to operate the Lone Star over this route back in the 1970s, but dropped the plan in the face of obstruction from the Southern Pacific.^[8]^[9] With the change, Amtrak revived the name Texas Eagle for the thrice-weekly Chicago-San Antonio/Houston train, while the off-day Chicago–St. Louis train remained the Eagle. This section would be discontinued on September 10, 1995.^[10] On April 4, 2013, Amtrak opened a new station in Hope, Arkansas, the hometown of former U.S. president Bill Clinton.^[11] Arcadia Valley was added on November 17, 2016, serving Iron County, Missouri.^[12]

In August 2023, Amtrak approved construction of a new station in De Soto, Missouri for trains to stop at between St. Louis and Arcadia Valley.^[13]

COVID-19 pandemic

As part of Amtrak's response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in greatly depressed ridership, service was reduced to tri-weekly throughout the corridor October 11, 2020.^[14] In March 2021, Amtrak announced plans to return the Texas Eagle to its pre-pandemic schedule on May 24, 2021.^[15] However, the train began operating on a five days per week schedule in January 2022 due to a resurgence of the virus caused by the Omicron variant and remained so until March 2022.^[15]^[16]

Proposed changes

In the August 2009 issue of Trains, Brian Rosenwald, Amtrak's chief of product management, noted that the Sunset Limited might be replaced by an extension of the Texas Eagle to Los Angeles: "We projected the revenue and looked at the logistics, and with a little bit of rescheduling came to the conclusion that we can make this happen with the equipment we have, and the additional revenue the train earns will more than cover the increased operating costs". The move would restore a connection to the Coast Starlight in both directions, and move boarding in Maricopa and Tucson, Arizona, to civilized times. "We are putting a stake in the ground: Triweekly needs to disappear," Rosenwald said.^[17] While the route of the Sunset Limited would not be entirely replaced, the performance improvements listed explain what will happen:

Conversion to daily Chicago–Los Angeles train
Shortening of the schedule by 9 hours
San Antonio–New Orleans stub service on a daily basis to connect with this train
Use of the Diner-Lounge on the stub service

These changes would, in turn, create a through-car change similar to that of the Empire Builder. Such service would originate from Los Angeles and split at San Antonio, and vice versa from New Orleans.^[18]

Operation

Route

As of July 2022^[update],^[19] the southbound Texas Eagle (train 21) departs Chicago 1:45 pm, running between Chicago and its first station stop in Joliet, parallel to the Illinois and Michigan Canal, along first the Canadian National's Freeport Subdivision and then Joliet Subdivision, which is also used by Metra's Heritage Corridor and Amtrak's Lincoln Service. From Joliet, the train travels along Union Pacific rails, often parallel to Interstate 55, making station stops in Pontiac, Bloomington–Normal, Lincoln, Springfield, Carlinville (a flag stop), and Alton before crossing the Mississippi River to make its stop at St. Louis' Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center, scheduled for 7:13 pm. After St. Louis, the train skirts the Ozark Mountains, stopping in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, before crossing the state line into Arkansas. In Arkansas, the train stops in Walnut Ridge, the state capital of Little Rock, and the stations at Malvern, Arkadelphia, Hope, and Texarkana, on the Arkansas–Texas border.

Continuing into Texas, the train makes station stops in Marshall, Longview (bus connection with Houston), Mineola, Dallas and Fort Worth, which has connections to Oklahoma City via Amtrak's Heartland Flyer, and from there the train travels on BNSF trackage. The train continues on, making stops in Cleburne, McGregor, Temple (where the train resumes traveling on the Union Pacific), Taylor, the state capital of Austin, and San Marcos, with a scheduled arrival into San Antonio at 9:55 pm (the next day). A sleeping car and a coach (designated internally as train 421) are conveyed to the Sunset Limited on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, departing San Antonio at 2:45 am.

The northbound Texas Eagle (train 22) leaves San Antonio at 7 am, splitting from the eastbound Sunset Limited (train 422) on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The train arrives in Chicago at 1:44 pm the next day.

Amtrak Texas Eagle route

Stations

Amtrak *Texas Eagle* stations
State/Province	City	Station
Illinois	Chicago	Chicago Union
	Joliet	Joliet
	Pontiac	Pontiac
	Normal	Bloomington–Normal
	Lincoln	Lincoln
	Springfield	Springfield
	Carlinville	Carlinville
	Alton	Alton
Missouri	St. Louis	St. Louis Gateway
	Ironton	Arcadia Valley
	Poplar Bluff	Poplar Bluff
Arkansas	Walnut Ridge	Walnut Ridge
	Little Rock	Little Rock
	Malvern	Malvern
	Arkadelphia	Arkadelphia
	Hope	Hope
	Texarkana	Texarkana
Texas	Marshall	Marshall
	Longview	Longview
	Mineola	Mineola
	Dallas	Dallas
	Fort Worth	Fort Worth
	Cleburne	Cleburne
	McGregor	McGregor
	Temple	Temple
	Taylor	Taylor
	Austin	Austin
	San Marcos	San Marcos
	San Antonio	San Antonio
	Del Rio	Del Rio
	Sanderson	Sanderson
	Alpine	Alpine
	El Paso	El Paso
New Mexico	Deming	Deming
New Mexico	Lordsburg	Lordsburg
Arizona	Benson	Benson
	Tucson	Tucson
	Maricopa	Maricopa
	Yuma	Yuma
California	Palm Springs	Palm Springs
	Ontario	Ontario
	Pomona	Pomona
	Los Angeles	Los Angeles Union

Equipment

The normally assigned consist on the Texas Eagle includes:^[20]

Three times a week, one coach and one sleeping car operate between Los Angeles and Chicago on the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle as train 421/422. To provide extra capacity, an additional Superliner coach operates between Chicago and St. Louis.^[20]

The Texas Eagle formerly carried a Superliner Sightseer Lounge car. It was removed from the train in October 2020 in response to reduced demand from the COVID-19 pandemic but is expected to return in March 2025.^[21]^[22] Amtrak plans to replace the P42DCs with modern Siemens ALC-42 locomotives by 2027, and the Superliner cars with new long-distance cars by 2032.^[23]

References

^ "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2024 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
^ "Amtrak Timetable Results". www.amtrak.com. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
^ Johnston, Bob (May 3, 2023). "110 mph Schedules Coming for Amtrak Chicago-St. Louis Corridor". Trains. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
^ "Amtrak To Eliminate Unprofitable Routes". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press. August 26, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
^ "National Train Timetables". Amtrak. October 25, 1981. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
^ Versaggi, Joe M. (January 17, 1982). "No headline". The New York Times. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
^ "National Train Timetables". Amtrak. April 25, 1982. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
^ Smith, Griffin (August 1974). "Waiting For The Train". Texas Monthly. 2 (8): 79–83, 89–99.
^ Reifenberg, Anne (September 29, 1988). "Amtrak Will Link Dallas, Houston". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
^ Johnston, Bob (June 6, 2017). "Getting the most from the 'Texas Eagle' detour". Trains Magazine. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
^ "Amtrak Texas Eagle Adds Stop in Hope, Ark" (PDF). Amtrak. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
^ Jenkins, Kevin R. (November 19, 2016). "Arcadia Valley welcomes Amtrak". Daily Journal. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
^ Schneider, Joey; Thomas, Mallory (August 22, 2023). "Amtrak Adding New Stop in De Soto, Missouri". KTVI. St. Louis, Missouri. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
^ Davis, Vincent (October 11, 2020). "Amtrak is cutting the schedule to three days a week". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Amtrak to decrease service on most routes Jan. 24 to March 27". Trains. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
^ "With Increased Demand and Congressional Funding, Amtrak Restores 12 Long Distance Routes to Daily Service". March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
^ Johnson, Bob (August 2009). "Amtrak's Southwest Expansion". Trains. p. 20.
^ "Sunset Limited Marketing Meeting". RailPAC. June 11, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
^ "Texas Eagle and Heartland Flyer effective July 18, 2022" (PDF). Retrieved July 18, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Johnston, Bob (July 29, 2024). "Amtrak adds to Texas Eagle capacity with dedicated Sunset through cars: Special report". Trains News Wire. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
^ FY24-29 Five-Year Plans (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. p. 45.
^ Johnston, Bob (December 4, 2024). "Amtrak public board meeting addresses equipment timelines". Trains News Wire. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
^ "FY 2022-2027 Service and Asset Line Plans" (PDF). Amtrak. 2021. p. 133.

Goen, Steve Allen (1997). Texas and Pacific Color Pictorial. La Mirada, California: Four Ways West Publications. ISBN 1-885614-17-9.
Runte, Alfred (2006). Allies of the Earth, Railroads and the Soul of Preservation. Kirksville, Missouri: Truman State University Press. ISBN 1-931112-52-5.
Stout, Greg (1995). Route of the Eagles: Missouri Pacific in the Streamlined Era. Bucklin, Missouri: White River Productions. ISBN 0-9659040-3-2.

Notes

^ Amtrak's Fiscal Year (FY) runs from October 1 of the prior year to September 30 of the named year.

External links

[AmtrakRouteRidership-2] "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2024 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.

[3] "Amtrak Timetable Results". www.amtrak.com. Retrieved December 20, 2021.

[4] Johnston, Bob (May 3, 2023). "110 mph Schedules Coming for Amtrak Chicago-St. Louis Corridor". Trains. Retrieved May 6, 2023.

[5] "Amtrak To Eliminate Unprofitable Routes". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press. August 26, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved August 6, 2010.

[6] "National Train Timetables". Amtrak. October 25, 1981. Retrieved August 8, 2010.

[7] Versaggi, Joe M. (January 17, 1982). "No headline". The New York Times. Retrieved August 8, 2010.

[8] "National Train Timetables". Amtrak. April 25, 1982. Retrieved August 8, 2010.

[9] Smith, Griffin (August 1974). "Waiting For The Train". Texas Monthly. 2 (8): 79–83, 89–99.

[10] Reifenberg, Anne (September 29, 1988). "Amtrak Will Link Dallas, Houston". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 8, 2010.

[11] Johnston, Bob (June 6, 2017). "Getting the most from the 'Texas Eagle' detour". Trains Magazine. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2019.

[12] "Amtrak Texas Eagle Adds Stop in Hope, Ark" (PDF). Amtrak. Retrieved April 16, 2013.

[13] Jenkins, Kevin R. (November 19, 2016). "Arcadia Valley welcomes Amtrak". Daily Journal. Retrieved November 19, 2016.

[14] Schneider, Joey; Thomas, Mallory (August 22, 2023). "Amtrak Adding New Stop in De Soto, Missouri". KTVI. St. Louis, Missouri. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.

[15] Davis, Vincent (October 11, 2020). "Amtrak is cutting the schedule to three days a week". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

[resuspend-16] "Amtrak to decrease service on most routes Jan. 24 to March 27". Trains. Retrieved January 26, 2022.

[17] "With Increased Demand and Congressional Funding, Amtrak Restores 12 Long Distance Routes to Daily Service". March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.

[18] Johnson, Bob (August 2009). "Amtrak's Southwest Expansion". Trains. p. 20.

[19] "Sunset Limited Marketing Meeting". RailPAC. June 11, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2014.

[20] "Texas Eagle and Heartland Flyer effective July 18, 2022" (PDF). Retrieved July 18, 2022.

[2024capacity-21] Johnston, Bob (July 29, 2024). "Amtrak adds to Texas Eagle capacity with dedicated Sunset through cars: Special report". Trains News Wire. Retrieved November 21, 2024.

[22] FY24-29 Five-Year Plans (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. p. 45.

[23] Johnston, Bob (December 4, 2024). "Amtrak public board meeting addresses equipment timelines". Trains News Wire. Retrieved December 8, 2024.

[24] "FY 2022-2027 Service and Asset Line Plans" (PDF). Amtrak. 2021. p. 133.

[FY_Note-1] Amtrak's Fiscal Year (FY) runs from October 1 of the prior year to September 30 of the named year.

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Texas Eagle

History

COVID-19 pandemic

Proposed changes

Operation

Route

Stations

Equipment

References

Notes

External links

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