USA
The United States is as big as a continent, and its railways run to the same scale. The network is overwhelmingly a freight one, so the passenger train here is rarely the fastest way to travel — it is something better, a way of watching the country go past that no highway or airline offers.
Three journeys carry that between them. The Grand Canyon Railway climbs from the Route 66 town of Williams through the Arizona high country to the South Rim; the Canyon Spirit runs glass-domed carriages from Denver through the Colorado Rockies to the red rock of Utah; and in the far north the state-owned Alaska Railroad takes its mainline some 470 miles from the ice-free port of Seward, past the flank of Denali, to Fairbanks — one of the last great wilderness railways, crossing country with no roads, where the train still stops for anyone who flags it down.
Rail journeys in USA
Alaska Railroad
A wilderness railway on the grandest scale — glass-domed carriages past Denali, through roadless country where the train still stops if you flag it down.
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Canyon Spirit
An elevated daylight rail journey through the American Southwest — from the Colorado Rockies to Utah's red-rock canyons, by the team behind Rocky Mountaineer.
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Grand Canyon Railway
A vintage train through the Arizona high country to the rim of a natural wonder.
View journey →Good to know
Can you get around the USA by train?
The network is overwhelmingly freight, so passenger rail is sparse and slow compared with flying or driving. Amtrak runs long-distance and corridor trains — best treated as scenic journeys in their own right — with the busy Northeast Corridor (Boston–New York–Washington) the main exception where the train really is the fastest way. Alaska is the outlier: there the railway is genuinely the practical way into country the road network never reached.
Do I need to book, and are there rail passes?
Amtrak long-distance trains are reserved, so book ahead — well ahead in summer, and early for sleeper cabins. A USA Rail Pass covers a set number of journeys within a period. Scenic excursion lines are booked by class of service instead, and the glass-domed cars — GoldStar on the Alaska Railroad, the dome classes on the Grand Canyon Railway and the Canyon Spirit — are the first things to sell out.
When is the best time for US rail travel?
It depends on the region, but spring through autumn suits most routes. The Grand Canyon Railway runs year-round except 25 December, with steam on the first Saturday of the month and the Polar Express taking over in November–December. Alaska is far more seasonal: mid-May to mid-September is the main season, after which service drops back to the weekend Aurora Winter Train, which is its own reason to go.
What are the USA's best scenic railways?
Amtrak's western routes — the California Zephyr, Coast Starlight and Southwest Chief — are the long-distance classics. For shorter and more spectacular rides, the Grand Canyon Railway runs to the South Rim, the Canyon Spirit crosses the Rockies to Moab and Salt Lake City, and the Alaska Railroad links Seward, Anchorage, Denali and Fairbanks. The Durango & Silverton and the Cass Scenic are worth adding too.