California Zephyr

Introduction

Amtrak service between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area This article is about the modern train operated by Amtrak. For the original train service of the same name, see California Zephyr (1949–1970). For the 1955 song, see California Zephyr (song). California ZephyrThe eastbound California Zephyr near Green River, Utah, in 2023OverviewService typeInter-city railLocaleWestern United StatesPredecessor City of San Francisco (1936–1971) California Zephyr (1949–1970) San Francisco Chief (1954–1971) Rio Grande Zephyr (1970–1983) Denver Zephyr (1971–1973) San Francisco Zephyr (1972–1983) First serviceJuly 16, 1983 (1983-07-16)Current operatorAmtrakAnnual ridership403,142 (FY 25)  14.8%RouteTerminiChicago, IllinoisEmeryville, CaliforniaStops35Distance travelled2,438 miles (3,924 km)Average journey time 52 hours, 14 minutes (eastbound) 52 hours, 57 minutes (westbound) Service frequencyDailyTrain numbers5 (westbound)6 (eastbound)On-board servicesClassesCoach ClassFirst Class Sleeper ServiceDisabled accessTrain lower level, most stationsSleeping arrangementsRoomette (2 beds)Bedroom (2 beds)Bedroom Suite (4 beds)Accessible Bedroom (2 beds)Family Bedroom (4 beds)Catering facilitiesDining car, CaféObservation facilitiesSightseer lounge carBaggage facilitiesOverhead racks, checked baggage available at selected stationsTechnicalRolling stockGE Genesis or Siemens ALC-42 locomotivesSuperliner passenger carsTrack gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gaugeOperating speedAvg.: 55 mph (89 km/h)Top: 79 mph (127 km/h)Track ownersUP, BNSFRoute map Show interactive map  Legend  Empire Builderto Seattle and Portland   Borealis to St. PaulHiawatha to Milwaukee  0 mi Chicago  Other Amtrak routesto east, south, southeast   28 mi45 km  Naperville  38 mi61 km  Aurora  bypassed1983   104 mi167 km  Princeton  162 mi261 km  Galesburg  IL Zephyr & Carl Sandburgto Quincy   Southwest Chiefto Los Angeles   179 mi288 km  Monmouth  closed1984   ILIA  Mississippi River  205 mi330 km  Burlington  233 mi375 km  Mount Pleasant  279 mi449 km  Ottumwa  359 mi578 km  Osceola  392 mi631 km  Creston  IANE  Missouri River  500 mi805 km  Omaha  555 mi893 km  Lincoln  652 mi1049 km  Hastings  706 mi1136 km  Holdrege  783 mi1260 km  McCook  Central TimeMountain Time   NECO   922 mi1484 km  Akron  closed1987   960 mi1545 km  Fort Morgan  1038 mi1670 km  Denver  1100 mi1770 km  Fraser–Winter Park  1113 mi1791 km  Granby  1163 mi1872 km  Bond  closed1983   1223 mi1968 km  Glenwood Springs  1246 mi2005 km  Rifle  closed1983   1311 mi2110 km  Grand Junction  COUT   1387 mi2232 km  Thompson Springs  closed1997   1417 mi2280 km  Green River  1488 mi2395 km  Helper  1563 mi2515 km  Provo  1608 mi2588 km  Salt Lake City  1641 mi2641 km  Ogden  bypassed1983   UTNV   Mountain TimePacific Time   1871 mi3011 km  Elko  1890 mi3042 km  Carlin  closed1983   2013 mi3240 km  Winnemucca  2101 mi3381 km  Lovelock  closed1997   2199 mi3539 km  Sparks  closed2009   2202 mi3544 km  Reno  NVCA   2237 mi3600 km  Truckee  2301 mi3703 km  Colfax  2336 mi3759 km  Roseville  Gold Runner to BakersfieldCoast Starlight to Seattle   2353 mi3787 km  Sacramento  2367 mi3809 km  Davis  2395 mi3854 km  Suisun–Fairfield  bypassed1998   Gold Runnerto Bakersfield   2411 mi3880 km  Martinez  2430 mi3911 km  Richmond  2438 mi3924 km  Emeryville Oakland  closed1994   Oakland–Jack London Square   1995 to1997   Capitol Corridor to San JoseCoast Starlight to Los Angeles  This diagram: viewtalkedit Show route diagram map The California Zephyr is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At 2,438 miles (3,924 km), it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall after the Texas Eagle's triweekly continuation from San Antonio to Los Angeles, with travel time between the termini taking approximately 521⁄2 hours. Amtrak claims the route as one of its most scenic, with views of the upper Colorado River valley in the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada. The modern train is the second iteration of a train named California Zephyr; the original train was privately operated and ran on a different route through Nevada and California. During fiscal year 2023, the California Zephyr carried 328,458 passengers, an increase of 13.1% over FY2022, but down from its pre-COVID-19 pandemic ridership of 410,844 in FY2019. The train had a total revenue of $51,950,998 in FY2016, the last year that route-specific revenue data was given.

History

[edit] Previous service[edit] The eastbound California Zephyr on Altamont Pass in March 1970 Prior to the 1971 creation of Amtrak, three competing trains ran between Chicago and the East Bay, with bus connections to San Francisco:: 136  The original California Zephyr was operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW), and the Western Pacific Railroad (WP). It operated between Chicago and Oakland – along what is today called the Central Corridor and Feather River Route – via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City and Oroville. Amid much fanfare and publicity, the California Zephyr was inaugurated on March 20, 1949. It was discontinued in March 1970 – the only one of the three trains not still operating when Amtrak took over service. The City of San Francisco was operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road), Union Pacific Railroad (UP), and Southern Pacific Railroad (SP). It operated between Chicago and Oakland on the Overland Route via Omaha, Cheyenne, Ogden and Reno. The San Francisco Chief was operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) via the more southerly Southern Transcon. It operated between Chicago and Richmond, California via Kansas City, Amarillo, and Bakersfield. Railpax (renamed Amtrak in late April 1971) originally intended to revive the California Zephyr as part of its original route network, using the Burlington Northern (ex-CB&Q) east of Denver, the DRG&W between Denver and Ogden, Utah, and the WP west of Ogden. The California Zephyr route would serve more populated areas (including Denver and Salt Lake City) than the Overland Route, would run through rural communities that lacked good highway access, and could attract passengers to its scenic routes.: 136  However, since the WP had shed the last of its money-losing passenger service by terminating the California Zephyr, it was not eligible to participate in Amtrak's formation. On April 12, 1971, the WP refused to cooperate with Railpax, and the SP route between Ogden and Oakland was chosen instead.: 136  On April 26, the D&RGW elected not to join Amtrak. The contract specified that Amtrak could later increase service, and D&RGW feared that would crowd its single-track mainline that competed with the UP's double-track route. The D&RGW chose to operate the Denver–Ogden Rio Grande Zephyr. Amtrak scrambled to piece together a Denver–Cheyenne–Ogden routing on the UP.: 137  Amtrak[edit] An EMD FP7 and two EMD SDP40Fs pull the eastbound San Francisco Zephyr through the Yuba Gap in 1975. See also: San Francisco Zephyr and Rio Grande Zephyr Between the spring of 1971 and the summer of 1972, passengers traveling between Chicago and Oakland would have to travel on two different trains: the Denver Zephyr, which operated daily between Chicago and Denver, and the City of San Francisco, which operated three times a week, between Denver and the San Francisco Bay Area. Eventually, however, after several false starts, Amtrak consolidated the two trains into one, dubbed the San Francisco Zephyr, homage to both the California Zephyr and the San Francisco Chief, between Chicago and Oakland. The Rio Grande continued to operate the Rio Grande Zephyr between Denver and Ogden.: 136–137  The San Francisco Zephyr and the Rio Grande Zephyr were scheduled as to facilitate a connection between them in Ogden, but not Denver. San Francisco Zephyr running with the new Superliner I cars in November 1980 In July 1980, the San Francisco Zephyr was outfitted with new bi-level Superliner I passenger cars built by Pullman-Standard – one of the last Amtrak's western long-distance trains to receive them –  (already running with such cars were the Southwest Limited, Desert Wind and Empire Builder),: 144  and began exchanging through cars at Ogden with the Seattle–Chicago Pioneer and the Los Angeles–Chicago Desert Wind. Between Ogden and Chicago, the Zephyr, Desert Wind, and Pioneer operated as a combined train.: 138  The Rio Grande Zephyr arriving at Union Station in Denver, Colorado in 1983. In April of that same year, and after 12 years, the service ceased operations, being replaced by Amtrak's new California Zephyr. In 1983, Rio Grande elected to join Amtrak, citing increasing losses in passenger operations. The company made the last run of its Rio Grande Zephyr on April 24 and delivered most of the rolling stock with which that service was provided, although Amtrak was already replacing with new Superliners to its Heritage Fleet and thus the ex-D&RGW cars did not make it to service on the new California Zephyr. Amtrak re-routed the San Francisco Zephyr over the D&RGW's Moffat Subdivision between Denver and Salt Lake City, its original preference from 1971. The change was scheduled for April 25, but a mudslide at Thistle, Utah, closed the line and delayed the change until July 16. With the change of route, Amtrak renamed the train as the California Zephyr. The modern California Zephyr uses mostly the same route as the original east of Winnemucca, Nevada. The train uses the route of the former City of San Francisco, along the Overland Route (First transcontinental railroad), west of Wells, Nevada. Across central Nevada, the two rail lines have been combined to use directional running. As such, the exact spot the train switches lines depends on the direction of travel. The California Zephyr rounds a curve along the Colorado River near McCoy, Colorado in 2016. For most of the 1980s and 1990s, the California Zephyr operated in tandem with the Seattle-bound Pioneer and Los Angeles-bound Desert Wind. Since 1980, the Pioneer and Desert Wind had exchanged through coaches with the San Francisco Zephyr at Ogden. The exchange point was moved to Salt Lake City when the latter train became the California Zephyr.: 143–144  This created a massive train of 16 Superliner cars running from Chicago to Utah, easily the longest train Amtrak had operated outside of the Auto Train. Amtrak required at least four EMD F40PH locomotives to pull this behemoth over the steep grades of the Moffat subdivision. To ease the load, Amtrak began splitting the Pioneer from the Zephyr and Desert Wind at Denver in 1991, while the Desert Wind continued splitting from the Zephyr at Salt Lake City.: 148–150  The Pioneer and Desert Wind were both discontinued in 1997. The western terminus of the train was cut back to Emeryville station when Oakland Central station closed on August 5, 1994. The California Zephyr was re-extended to Oakland with the opening of the Jack London Square station on May 12, 1995. However, this required a complicated reverse move along street running tracks to reach the wye at West Oakland. The train was cut back again to Emeryville on October 26, 1997. Service between Reno and Denver was suspended for about a month in April 2020, as part of a round of service reduction in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Frequency was reduced to tri-weekly in October 2020, but was restored to daily service on May 24, 2021, after additional Amtrak funding was included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. A resurgence of the virus caused by the Omicron variant and associated staffing and equipment shortages caused Amtrak to reduce the train's service to a five days a week Tuesday through Saturday schedule from January 19 to May 23, 2022. Daily service resumed in June 2022.

Rolling stock

[edit] The California Zephyr uses Superliner equipment like Amtrak's other long-distance trains in the Western United States. As of 2024[update], a typical California Zephyr has: 2 GE Genesis/Siemens ALC-42 locomotives Viewliner II baggage car Superliner transition sleeper 2 Superliner sleepers Superliner diner Superliner Sightseer Lounge 1 Superliner coach 1 Superliner coach/baggage car 1 Superliner coach/cafe car As of March 2025[update], Amtrak plans to add a third coach in May and a third sleeper in June to meet demand. As with the other long-distance routes, Amtrak plans to fully replace the P42DCs with ALC-42 locomotives by 2027, and the Superliner cars with new long-distance cars by 2032.

Route description

[edit] This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) California Zephyr route map The westbound train is Amtrak number 5 (number 6 eastbound). Upon leaving Chicago Union Station, the train travels along the Metra BNSF Line, with an intermediate stop in Naperville, Illinois. After passing through Aurora, Illinois, the train travels across the Illinois prairies, using the Burlington Rail Bridge to cross the Mississippi River in Burlington, Iowa. After running through southern Iowa, the Zephyr reaches the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska. From Omaha, the train travels overnight through southern Nebraska and northeastern Colorado, making a morning arrival in Denver. At Denver, the Zephyr switches over from BNSF to Union Pacific tracks. Westbound, the train is routed over the Central Corridor for the trip through the Tunnel District. The line crosses the Continental Divide via the 6.2 mile-long Moffat Tunnel under James Peak. Leaving the Moffat Tunnel, the tracks then follow the Colorado River from Winter Park Resort to Ruby Canyon, west of Grand Junction, which is also where the train enters Utah. The Colorado River portion of the trip is informally called "moon river", as whitewater rafters pull down their pants and moon the passengers. Between Denver and Fraser–Winter Park station, the Zephyr shares a route with the Winter Park Express, a service that runs only during the peak Winter season (mid-December through March) and is used primarily by tourists heading to the ski resorts located in Winter Park. California Zephyrs eastbound and westbound meeting in the Glenwood Canyon Siding Also between Denver and Crescent Junction, Utah, the Zephyr shares the route with Rocky Mountaineer's Rockies to the Red Rocks passenger service. The westbound Zephyr stops at the station at Glenwood Springs, Colorado. In Utah, the train follows the southern rim of the Book Cliffs to their end near Helper. The Zephyr crosses the Wasatch Mountains, cresting at Soldier Summit before descending into the Wasatch Front to arrive at Salt Lake City. The westbound California Zephyr at Colfax in 2019 From Salt Lake City to Emeryville, the Zephyr route loosely follows Interstate 80, traveling along the south shore of the Great Salt Lake and across the Bonneville Salt Flats towards Nevada. After crossing into Nevada at Wendover, Utah/West Wendover, Nevada, the route passes the Toano Range, via Silver Zone Pass, across the Goshute Valley, tunnels under the Pequop Mountains and then skirts the northern edge of the Ruby Mountains. The line first reaches the Humboldt River near Wells, which it loosely follows until the river's end in the Humboldt Sink near Lovelock. Here, the tracks cross the center of the Forty Mile Desert; on the other side of this desert valley is the Truckee River, which provides the line's path to Reno and up the Sierra Nevada in California. In California, the tracks round Donner Lake, crest the Sierra Nevada at Donner Pass, and descend a high ridge between the American and Yuba Rivers, through Emigrant Gap. The line empties out into the California Central Valley, and then runs along the San Pablo Bay, with stops in Sacramento and Davis. It crosses the Benicia Bridge and has stops in Martinez and Richmond, where BART provides connections to Berkeley and Oakland. The trip ends in Emeryville, where Amtrak Thruway service provides connecting service to San Francisco. Stations[edit] State Municipality Station Connections Illinois Chicago Chicago Union Station Amtrak (long-distance): Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Floridian, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle Amtrak (intercity): Blue Water, Borealis, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine Metra: BNSF, Heritage Corridor, Milwaukee District North, Milwaukee District West, North Central Service, SouthWest Service Chicago "L": Blue (at Clinton) Brown Orange Pink Purple (at Quincy) Local buses: CTA, Pace Intercity buses: Amtrak Thruway, Greyhound, Megabus Naperville Naperville Amtrak: Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Southwest Chief Metra: BNSF Pace Princeton Princeton Amtrak: Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Southwest Chief Galesburg Galesburg Amtrak: Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Southwest Chief Galesburg Transit Iowa Burlington Burlington Burlington Urban Service Mount Pleasant Mount Pleasant Ottumwa Ottumwa Osceola Osceola Creston Creston Nebraska Omaha Omaha Metro (Omaha) Lincoln Lincoln StarTran Hastings Hastings Holdrege Holdrege McCook McCook Colorado Fort Morgan Fort Morgan Denver Denver Union Station Amtrak: Winter Park Express (winter only) Amtrak Thruway Rocky Mountaineer: Rockies to Red Rocks Denver RTD: A Line, B Line, G Line, N Line, E Line, W Line Greyhound Lines Burlington Trailways, Bustang, Express Arrow, RTD Flatiron Flyer RTD Bus Fraser Fraser–Winter Park Amtrak: Winter Park Express Granby Granby Glenwood Springs Glenwood Springs Rocky Mountaineer: Rockies to Red Rocks Greyhound Lines Grand Junction Grand Junction Grand Valley Transit Utah Green River Green River Helper Helper Provo Provo FrontRunner Salt Lake Express UTA Bus Salt Lake City Salt Lake City Amtrak Thruway FrontRunner TRAX: Blue Line Greyhound Lines High Valley Transit, UTA Bus Nevada Elko Elko Winnemucca Winnemucca Reno Reno Amtrak Thruway: 20 California Truckee Truckee Amtrak Thruway: 20 Greyhound Lines Tahoe Truckee Regional Transit Colfax Colfax Amtrak Thruway: 20 Placer County Transit Roseville Roseville Amtrak: Capitol Corridor Amtrak Thruway: 20 Sacramento Sacramento Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor, Gold Runner Amtrak Thruway: 3, 20, 20C SacRT: Gold El Dorado Transit, SacRT Davis Davis Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor Amtrak Thruway: 3 Unitrans Martinez Martinez Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor, Gold Runner Amtrak Thruway: 7 County Connection, Tri Delta Transit, WestCAT Richmond Richmond Amtrak: Capitol Corridor, Gold Runner BART: Orange Line, Red Line Emeryville Emeryville Amtrak: Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor, Gold Runner Amtrak Thruway: 99 AC Transit, Emery Go-Round Rail line subdivisions[edit] From east to west the current route of the Zephyr uses the following rail subdivisions: BNSF Railway Chicago Subdivision Chicago Union Station to Aurora, Illinois Mendota Subdivision Aurora to Galesburg, Illinois Ottumwa Subdivision Galesburg to Creston, Iowa Creston Subdivision Creston to north-northwest of Plattsmouth, Nebraska Omaha Subdivision north-northwest of Plattsmouth to north-northeast of Ashland, Nebraska Creston Subdivision north-northeast of Ashland to Lincoln, Nebraska Hastings Subdivision Lincoln to McCook, Nebraska Akron Subdivision McCook to Brush, Colorado Brush Subdivision Brush to Denver Union Pacific Central Corridor Greeley Subdivision to East Denver Belt Line in Denver just west of Broadway Moffat Tunnel Subdivision Denver (just west of Broadway) to south-southeast of Bond, Colorado between [MP-128] and [MP-129] Glenwood Springs Subdivision Bond to Grand Junction, Colorado Green River Subdivision Grand Junction to Helper, Utah Provo Subdivision Helper to Salt Lake City Lynndyl Subdivision Salt Lake City to Kennecott Smokestack [MP-767] west of Salt Lake City Shafter Subdivision [MP-911] Kennecott Smokestack to Elko, Nevada Elko Subdivision Elko to Weso (switching point east of Winnemucca, Nevada) Nevada Subdivision Weso to Sparks, Nevada Roseville Subdivision Sparks to Roseville, California Martinez Subdivision Roseville to Emeryville

California Zephyr

From Wikipedia

A moving window on the West

Night‑time logistics for the sleeper‑savvy

Comparing the Zephyr to its historic rivals

Introduction

History

Rolling stock

Route description