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The ''Texas Eagle'' is a daily
passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...
route operated by
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
between
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
and
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...
in the central and western
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Prior to 1988, the train was known as the ''Eagle''. Trains #21 (southbound) and 22 (northbound) also convey a sleeping car and a coach (designated internally as Trains #421 and 422) to/from the ''
Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betwe ...
'' between San Antonio and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
on the days that tri-weekly train operates. However, the Texas Eagle itself was reduced to tri-weekly service from October 2020 to March 2021 and again from January 2022 until March 2022 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. When operating in conjunction with the ''Sunset Limited,'' the westbound continuing cars join with the ''Sunset Limited'' in San Antonio; the eastbound continuing cars split off in San Antonio for the journey to Chicago. These cars traverse a total of , the longest route in the Amtrak system. During
fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
2019, the ''Texas Eagle'' carried 321,694 passengers, a 4.2% decrease over FY2018. In FY2016, the train had a total revenue of $22,323,171, an 8.5% decrease from FY2015.


History

Amtrak's ''Texas Eagle'' is the direct successor of the
Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...
and
Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. History Under the influence of ...
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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
to
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...
versus
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
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 Taylor is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,575 at the 2000 census; it was 15,191 at the 2010 census; it was 16,267 at the 2020 census. History In 1876, the Texas Land Company auctioned lots in anticipati ...
, to San Antonio travels over former Missouri Pacific Railroad trackage, while the Texarkana to
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
segment traverses the former Texas and Pacific Railway. The T&P merged with MoPac in 1982; in turn MoPac was acquired by
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
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 Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of t ...
, via San Antonio since 1973. From 1979 onward, it operated a section to
Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, which diverged at
Temple, Texas Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the city has a population of 82,073 according to the U.S. census, and is one of the two principal cities in Bell County. Located near the county seat of Belton, Temple lies in t ...
. 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 Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Metroliner electric multiple unit. An in ...
coaches on the ''Inter-American''. In addition, the new train ran on a thrice-weekly schedule with a
through car In rail terminology, a through coach is a passenger car (coach) that is re-marshalled during the course of its journey. It begins the journey attached to one train, and arrives at its destination attached to another train. Through coaches save th ...
on the ''
Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betwe ...
'' to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, although the latter was not announced until the April 1982 timetable. On November 15, 1988, Amtrak revived a Houston section, this time diverging at Dallas and running over the route of the
Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
'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. 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. On April 4, 2013 Amtrak opened a new station in
Hope, Arkansas Hope is a city in Hempstead County in southwestern Arkansas, United States. Hope is the county seat of Hempstead County and the principal city of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Hempstead and Nevada counties. As of ...
, the hometown of former U.S. president
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
. was added on November 17, 2016, serving
Iron County, Missouri Iron County is a County (United States), county located in the Lead Belt, Lead Belt region in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 9,537. The largest city and county seat is Ironton, Mi ...
. As part of Amtrak's response to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
resulting in greatly depressed ridership, service was reduced to tri-weekly throughout the corridor October 11, 2020. In March 2021, Amtrak announced plans to return the ''Texas Eagle'' to its pre-pandemic schedule on May 24, 2021. 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 Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...
and remained so until March 2022.


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 The ''Coast Starlight'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, which has operated continuously since Amtrak's formati ...
'' 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. While the route of the ''Sunset Limited'' would not be entirely replaced, the performance improvements listed explain what will happen: *Conversion to daily
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
train *Shortening of the schedule by 9 hours *
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
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 The ''Empire Builder'' is an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that operates daily between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Northe ...
''. Such service would originate from Los Angeles and split at San Antonio, and vice versa from New Orleans.


Route description

As of the July 2022 timetable, train 21 departs Chicago 1:45 pm, running between Chicago and its first station stop in , parallel to the
Illinois and Michigan Canal The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Po ...
, along first the
Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...
's
Freeport Subdivision The Freeport Subdivision is a railroad line in Illinois which runs from 16th Street in downtown Chicago to Freeport, Illinois. It is owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway (CN). the line is almost exclusively freight-only, with only ...
and then Joliet Subdivision, which is also used by
Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. I ...
's
Heritage Corridor The Heritage Corridor (HC) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois, and its southwestern suburbs, terminating in Joliet, Illinois. While Metra does not refer to its lines by colors, the Heritage Corridor appears on Metra timetables as ...
and Amtrak's ''
Lincoln Service The ''Lincoln Service'' is a higher-speed rail service operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The train is a part of the ''Illinois Service'' and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transp ...
''. From Joliet, the train travels along Union Pacific rails, often parallel to
Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...
, making station stops in ,
Bloomington–Normal Bloomington–Normal, officially known as the Bloomington, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in Central Illinois anchored by the twin municipalities of Bloomington and Normal. At the 2010 census, the municipaliti ...
,
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...
,
Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...
, (a flag stop), and before crossing the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
to make its stop at
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
'
Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center The Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center, also known as Gateway Station, is a rail and bus terminal station in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Opened in 2008 and operating 24 hours a day, it serves Amtrak trains and Greyhound and Burlington ...
, scheduled for 7:13 pm. After St. Louis, the train skirts the
Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...
, stopping in
Poplar Bluff, Missouri Poplar Bluff is a medium city in Butler County in Southeast Missouri, United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. The population was 16,225 at the 2020 census. The Poplar B ...
, before crossing the state line into Arkansas. In Arkansas, the train stops in , the state capital of , and the stations at , , , and , on the Arkansas–Texas border. Continuing into Texas, the train makes station stops in , (bus connection with
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
), , and , which has connections to via Amtrak's ''
Heartland Flyer The ''Heartland Flyer'' is a daily passenger train that follows a route between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas. It is operated by Amtrak and jointly funded by the states of Oklahoma and Texas. The train's daily round-trip begins ...
'', and from there the train travels on BNSF trackage. The train continues on, making stops in , , (where the train resumes traveling on the Union Pacific), , the state capital of , and , with a scheduled arrival into at 9:55 pm (the next day) and a connection to the ''Sunset Limited'' on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, to Los Angeles at 2:45 am. The northbound ''Texas Eagle'' leaves San Antonio at 7 am (splitting from the eastbound ''Sunset Limited'' on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays) and arrives at Chicago at 1:44 pm the next day.


Rolling stock

The normally assigned
consist In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...
on the ''Texas Eagle'' includes: *
GE Genesis General Electric Genesis (officially trademarked GENESIS) is a series of passenger diesel locomotives produced by GE Transportation, then a subsidiary of General Electric. Between 1992 and 2001, a total of 321 units were built for Amtrak, Metro- ...
locomotive * Superliner Sleeper * Superliner Diner-Lounge (Cross Country Café) * Superliner Coach * Superliner Coach The train once featured a Superliner Sightseer Lounge. That car has been removed since October 2020. The decision concerning whether or not it will return remains in question. Three times a week, one coach and one sleeping car from the Texas Eagle are connected to the ''Sunset Limited'' and travel between San Antonio and Los Angeles as Train #421/422.Amtrak National Consist Book, May 1, 2008 Additionally, to provide extra capacity, an additional Superliner coach operates between Chicago and St. Louis as Train #321/322.


References

* * *


Notes


External links

* *
Texas Eagle timetable – July 18, 2022
{{Amtrak routes Amtrak routes Railway services introduced in 1988 Passenger rail transportation in Illinois Passenger rail transportation in Missouri Passenger rail transportation in Arkansas Passenger rail transportation in Texas Passenger rail transportation in New Mexico Passenger rail transportation in Arizona Passenger rail transportation in California Night trains of the United States Railway services discontinued in 1988 Long distance Amtrak routes