Rails Midwest
The Midwest has a train network. Most people never look at it.
Pick any two stations. We’ll show you the real trains between them — published times, connections, and local guides.
Ready-made trips
Pick the one that sounds like yours
Each trip is complete — the cities, the train legs, a place to stay and something worth doing in each. Screenshot it, book the flights, and go.
Every trip is open-jaw: land at one airport, fly home from another. Multi-city fares are sometimes close to a round trip — worth pricing both.
5 of 5 trips.
Daily · + Hiawatha finisher
Minneapolis–St. Paul to Chicago
Minneapolis–St. Paul → Chicago
The Borealis and the Empire Builder, Milwaukee's lakefront, and a Chicago finish.
Down the Borealis and Empire Builder corridor: Minneapolis–St. Paul, a pause at Milwaukee's lakefront, and a Chicago finish.
See the itinerary →
Four daily departures
Chicago to St. Louis
Chicago → St. Louis
Down the Lincoln Service: Chicago, Illinois farmland, and the Arch at the end of it.
Chicago, St. Louis, and one Amtrak fare between them. Five hours of Illinois farmland on the Lincoln Service. Fly ORD, fly home from STL.
See the itinerary →
Three daily departures
Chicago to Detroit
Chicago → Detroit
Two American classics, and a reborn 1913 Beaux-Arts train station to walk into.
Chicago, then Detroit. The Wolverine runs three times daily into New Center station, a short hop to Corktown — where the restored Michigan Central, reopened in 2024, is the first thing you go see.
See the itinerary →
Daily · one departure each direction
Chicago to Grand Rapids
Chicago → Grand Rapids → Holland → Chicago
The train curves east out of Chicago and Lake Michigan appears through the window.
Chicago, then the evening Pere Marquette to Grand Rapids — Beer City and Art City. An optional night in Holland for the Dutch windmill and Saugatuck, then the morning train back to Chicago for your flight home.
See the itinerary →
Daily · one departure each direction
Chicago to Kansas City
Chicago → Kansas City → Chicago
A proper long-distance train, a 1914 station, and a city that takes its barbecue and jazz seriously.
Chicago, then the Southwest Chief across Illinois and over the Mississippi to Kansas City — Union Station, the National WWI Museum, barbecue and jazz. Back to Chicago on the same train.
See the itinerary →
Already know your dates? See the real trains for them →
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Plan it yourself
Build a trip on the whole network
Every rail line and station across the Midwest, on one map. Pick any stations and our planner routes the real trains between them — with published times, connections, and overnight warnings. Tap the map to start.
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The cities
Each city has its own guide — airport transit, places to stay within walking distance of the station, the things worth doing. Mix and match to build your own.
St. Louis
MO
Where the rails converge. Four Lincoln Service departures a day from Chicago, and the Arch waiting at the other end.
Chicago
IL
The transit city: L trains overhead, Amtrak beneath, architecture everywhere.
Kansas City
MO
Barbecue smoke, jazz echoes, and the romance of the rails.
Detroit
MI
Rust and renaissance: the city where American industry met music, and is meeting art.
Milwaukee
WI
Beer halls, a lakefront, and an art museum with wings that open. Ninety minutes from Chicago on the Hiawatha.
Grand Rapids
MI
Beer City, Art City — and a Pere Marquette ride from Chicago to Lake Michigan's eastern shore.
Minneapolis–St. Paul
MN
Minneapolis–St. Paul, two personalities — a Beaux-Arts capital and a creative river town, stitched together by one light-rail line.
How you get here
Air Connections
Every Midwest city we cover, with the airport that serves it and the continents that fly there nonstop. Tap a continent below to filter the grid down to airports with direct service from that part of the world — or leave it on All to see the full picture.
Chicago
Domestic — Nonstops to virtually every major US city — the Midwest's busiest connecting hub.
International — Direct to Europe, East Asia, South America and — since June 2026 — Cairo on EgyptAir. Most transatlantic travelers route through here.
MDW — Southwest's Chicago base, closer to the Loop than O'Hare. Mostly domestic, with some Mexico and Canada flights and no Europe — the Orange Line runs downtown in about 25 minutes.
Minneapolis–St. Paul
Domestic — Delta's northern hub — wide domestic reach across the US. Train to St. Paul Union Depot in ~50 min.
International — Year-round nonstops to several European hubs, plus a Tokyo run.
Detroit
Domestic — Delta's eastern hub — strong domestic coverage nationwide.
International — Year-round nonstops to Europe and to Tokyo and Seoul.
St. Louis
Domestic — Broad domestic network anchored by Southwest, plus the legacy carriers.
International — Lufthansa to Frankfurt (up to five days a week in summer) and seasonal British Airways to London Heathrow — Star Alliance and oneworld both one stop away.
Kansas City
Domestic — Broad domestic nonstops from the single terminal that opened in 2023; Southwest is the largest carrier.
International — No scheduled transatlantic nonstops — connect via ORD or DFW.
Milwaukee
Domestic — Solid domestic nonstops, especially to the major hubs.
International — No transatlantic nonstops — most fly into ORD and ride the Hiawatha north, ~90 min downtown to downtown.
Grand Rapids
Domestic — Domestic nonstops on eight carriers, including Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis.
International — No international nonstops despite the name — connect for Europe or Asia via ORD, DTW, or MSP.
Routes reflect the 2026 schedule. Airlines add and drop service — and seasonal routes don’t run year-round — so confirm the current nonstop when you book.