Southwest Chief

mtrak’s Southwest Chief is a long-distance passenger train operating between Chicago and Los Angeles, tracing one of the most historic and scenic rail corridors in the western United States. Covering roughly 2,200 miles, the route crosses eight states and showcases dramatic landscapes including the Great Plains, the high desert of New Mexico, and mountain passes in Colorado and Arizona. The train typically features Superliner equipment with sleeping accommodations, a dining car, lounge, and coach seating, serving both major cities and remote communities along the former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe main line. Today most of this route is a part of Burlington Northern-Santa Fe's Southern Transcon network. The Southwest Chief is the successor to the Super Chief, which was inaugurated in 1936 as the flagship train of the Santa Fe. For most of its existence, it was all-Pullman — sleeping cars only. The Santa Fe merged the Super Chief with its all-coach counterpart, the El Capitan, in 1958. The merged train was known as the Super Chief/El Capitan, but retained the train numbers used by the Super Chief, 17 westbound and 18 eastbound. Today Amtrak uses numbers 3 and 4 for its Chiefs. Known for its expansive views, cultural variety, and connections to national parks and tribal lands, the Southwest Chief remains one of Amtrak’s signature western routes.