Sunset Limited

The Sunset Limited is a long-distance passenger train run by Amtrak, operating on a 1,995-mile (3,211 km) route between New Orleans and Los Angeles. Major stops include Houston, San Antonio and El Paso in Texas, as well as Tucson, Arizona. Opening in 1894 through the Southern Pacific Railroad, the Sunset Limited is the oldest continuously operating named train in the United States. With three round-trip journeys per week, the Sunset Limited is tied with the Cardinal for the lowest frequency of any regularly scheduled Amtrak route. Each end-to-end journey takes about two days. West of San Antonio, the train runs combined with the Texas Eagle. From 1993 to 2005, the Sunset Limited operated an extended service to Florida, terminating in Miami from 1993 to 1996 and in Orlando for most of 1996 through 2005, and becoming Amtrak's longest and only coast-to-coast train route. Major stops between New Orleans and Miami included Mobile (Alabama), Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Orlando (Florida). However, the route east of New Orleans was permanently halted in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. There have been attempts to re-extend the service back to Florida but have stalled mainly due to administrative and political obstacles. Amtrak restored service from New Orleans to Mobile in the form of the Mardi Gras Service in August 2025.