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Are you sick of reading about Amtrak yet?  Sorry, sorry, I just need to get this information out of my system from our recent family trip on Amtrak. 😀

(SEE ALSO: 4 reasons my Amtrak trip was a blast…)

(SEE ALSO: … but I’ll probably never take another Amtrak trip)

One of the things that I realized when planning our $6500 (free) Amtrak train trip was that there are 2 different kinds of train cars that Amtrak runs – the Viewliner and Superliner cars.

train-picture

I have a series of posts coming up about the differences between Amtrak Superliner and Amtrak Viewliner, and why that matters for those of us who are looking to do point redemptions.  First though,  I would compare the different Amtrak routes for which ones are run with the Amtrak Viewliner cars, and which ones are run with the Amtrak Superliner cars.

Amtrak Superliner routes

Here are the Amtrak Superliner routes.

  • Auto Train: Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL
  • California Zephyr: Chicago to Emeryville, CA
  • Capitol Corridor: Auburn, CA to San Jose, CA
  • Capitol Limited: Chicago to Washington DC
  • City of New Orleans: Chicago to New Orleans
  • Coast Starlight: San Diego to Seattle
  • Empire Builder: Chicago to Seattle or Portland
  • Heartland Flyer: Oklahoma City to Fort Worth
  • Pacific Surfliner: San Diego to San Luis Obispo, CA
  • Pere Marquette: Chicago to Grand Rapids, MI
  • San Joaquin: Bakersfield, CA to Oakland or Sacramento
  • Southwest Chief: Chicago to Los Angeles
  • Sunset Limited: Los Angeles to New Orleans
  • Texas Eagle: Chicago to San Antonio

amtrak-zone-map

Amtrak Viewliner routes

Find out if your Amtrak routes will be on a Superliner or a Viewliner, and what's the difference for your train travel

Here is a listing of the Amtrak Viewliner routes.  Typically the Viewliners are used on routes that go through the Northeast Corridor (more or less the routes indicated in red on the Amtrak Zone map pictured above).

(SEE ALSO: Maximizing your route on the Amtrak Zone Map)

The Viewliners are also single-level cars and can go in places where some of the double decker Amtrak Superliner cars can not go.

  • Carolinian: Charlotte to New York City
  • Cardinal: New York to Chicago (via the southern route through Cincinnati, OH)
  • Crescent: New York to New Orleans
  • Lake Shore Limited: New York or Boston to Chicago (via the northern route through Cleveland, OH)
  • Northeast Regional: Boston or Springfield, MA to Richmond, Newport News, Norfolk or Lynchburg, VA
  • Palmetto: New York to Savannah, GA
  • Silver Meteor: New York to Miami
  • Silver Star: New York to Miami

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