The Man in Seat 61... A beginner's guide to Train travel in the USA . Ho m e A bo ut C o ntact Guestbo o k USA coast to coast from $186... Yo u'll see no thing o f A m erica at 35,000 feet, so co m e do w n to Earth and see w o rld class scenery fro m an A m trak train acro ss the U nited States. Yo u can travel co ast to co ast fro m as little as $186 (aro und £153 o r €174) if yo u bo o k w ell in advance, o ne o f the w o rld's great travel bargains. The U SA has an ex cellent rail netw o rk fo r visito rs, and altho ugh o nly a skeleto n netw o rk by Euro pean standards it'll take yo u to alm o st all the to w ns & cities a visito r w ants to see, in co m fo rt at affo rdable prices. Lo ng- distance trains in the U SA are o perated by the Natio nal Railro ad Passenger C o rpo ratio n, better kno w n as A m trak, w w w .am trak.co m . This page ex plains w hat yo u need to kno w to plan and bo o k a m em o rable trip acro ss A m erica by train... On this page... Train service in the U SA , at a glance Ho w to buy A m trak tickets C ro ssing the U SA by train via C hicago C ro ssing the U SA by train via New O rleans New Yo rk to Flo rida Bo sto n - New Yo rk - W ashingto n DC New Yo rk to M o ntreal & To ro nto O ther A m trak ro utes W hat are A m trak trains like? A m trak's U SA Railpass Ho lidays & to urs by train acro ss the U SA Ho tels & acco m m o datio n in the U SA Flights to the U SA Euro pe to the U SA by Q ueen M ary 2 Train services in the USA, at a glance... Click for detailed map This ro ute m ap sho w s w here A m trak trains run. Each o f the very lo ng-distance transco ntinental ro utes sho w n in blue has o ne daily train, ex cept fo r New Yo rk to Flo rida w ith 2 trains a day and the Sunset Lim ited (New O rleans-San A nto nio -Lo s A ngeles) w hich runs 3 tim es a w eek. Im po rtant sho rt distance ro utes (fo r ex am ple, W ashingto n-New Yo rk-Bo sto n o r Lo s A ngeles-San Diego ) have regular intercity services and are sho w n in red. It's easy to check A m trak train tim es at w w w .am trak.co m , just use their o nline bo o king system . C lick here fo r a m o re detailed A m trak ro ute m ap. Sponsored links... New Yo rk Pass - o ne card, o ne price, free entry to all New Yo rk's m ajo r attractio ns. Useful country information Train o perato r in U SA : A m trak, see w w w .am trak.co m fo r U S train tim es, fares & o nline bo o king. Trans-A tlantic sea travel: See the Q ueen M ary 2 page. U SA rail pass: A m trak U SA rail pass Flights to U SA : Flights to U SA Travel to the U SA by sea o n C unard's Q ueen M ary 2 Tim e zo nes: New Yo rk: GM T-5 C hicago : GM T-6 Lo s A ngeles: GM T-8 C lo cks go fo rw ard 1 ho ur fro m 2nd Sunday in M arch to 1st Sunday in No vem ber. C urrency: £1 = appro x $1.23 C heck current ex change rates Dialling co de + 1 To urist info rm atio n: Each State has a to urist agency, see w w w .usato urist.co m /english/traveltips/state-to urist- o ffices.htm l. Reco m m ended guidebo o ks Ho tels: Scan m ultiple ho tel pro viders to find cheapest ho tel rates Backpacker ho stels in U SA Page last updated: 22 A pril 2017 Crossing the USA by train The 3,000 m ile jo urney acro ss the U nited States by train is o ne o f the w o rld's greatest travel ex periences. It's easy, co m fo rtable, safe, and an affo rdable alternative to flying. Free ro ute guides are available o n bo ard each train, telling yo u w hat to lo o k o ut fo r fro m the w indo w , and the scenery o n m any ro utes is w o rld class. In a nutshell... The 3,000 m ile co ast-to -co ast train ride takes 3 nights, w itho ut sto po vers. C ho o se fro m 4 o r 5 different ro utes, each w ith their o w n character - I ex plain the m o st scenic ro utes belo w w ith train tim es & descriptio n. By all m eans sto p o ff o n the w ay, but rem em ber that a separate ticket/reservatio n is needed fo r each leg. It takes o ne night fro m New Yo rk, Bo sto n o r W ashingto n DC to C hicago w here yo u change trains, then tw o nights fro m C hicago to Lo s A ngeles, San Francisco o r Seattle o n a superb do uble-deck Superliner train. Yo u can also travel co ast to co ast via New O rleans, this takes an ex tra night as yo u need to spend a night in New O rleans. M o st o f the trains run daily all year ro und, altho ugh the New O rleans-LA train o nly o perates three tim es a w eek. If yo u bo o k o nline at w w w .am trak.co m , fares fro m New Yo rk to Lo s A ngeles, San Francisco o r Seattle start at just $186 in a spacio us reclining seat, surely o ne o f the w o rld's greatest travel bargains. A private sleeper fo r 1 o r 2 peo ple can be added to yo ur bo o king, the ex tra co st is o ften quite hefty but the sleeper ro o m charge includes all m eals in the dining-car as w ell as tea, co ffee & fruit juice thro ugho ut the trip. A m trak's spacio us trains also have dining-cars and lo unge cars, o pen to bo th seat and sleeper passengers. See descriptio ns o f the trains here. A lso check o ut the co ast to co ast packages at w w w .am trakvacatio ns.co m . O n-tim e perfo rm ance... Bear in m ind that these trains run fo r o ver 2,000 m iles, altho ugh they o ften arrive o n tim e o r perhaps half an ho ur late, they can so m etim es arrive an ho ur o r tw o late o r m o re, so do n't bo o k any tight co nnectio ns. Yo u can see ho w yo ur cho sen trains have perfo rm ed the last few w eeks using w w w .am trak.co m /histo rical-o n-tim e- perfo rm ance and yo u can also see real-tim e train po sitio ns & perfo rm ance at w w w .asm .transitdo cs.co m . C lick here to see a co ast-to -co ast train ride in pictures Which is the best train route across America? Each o f A m trak's trans-co ntinental ro utes has its o w n distinctive character, even if the trains them selves are the sam e. But if yo u have a cho ice, o ne ro ute stands o ut as the m o st spectacular fo r bo th scenery & histo rical significance. This is the C alifo rnia Zephyr fro m C hicago to San Francisco , w hich yo u can take in co nnectio n w ith the Lake Sho re Lim ited fro m New Yo rk o r Bo sto n to C hicago , o r the C apito l Lim ited fro m W ashingto n DC to C hicago . The C alifo rnia Zephyr is o ne o f w o rld's greatest train jo urneys, and in aro und 48 ho urs yo u w ill cro ss the farm lands o f Nebraska, scale the Ro ckies beyo nd Denver w hile yo u eat egg & baco n fo r breakfast in the diner, snake thro ugh ro cky river valleys in C o lo rado and pass thro ugh the Sierra Nevada m o untains to reach Sacram ento and the San Francisco Bay area.