Empire Builder

TheEmpire Builder atMaple Springs, Minnesota, in September 2018
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Locale	Midwestern andNorthwestern United States
First service	June 10, 1929 (1929-06-10)
Current operator	Amtrak
Former operators	Great Northern (1929–1970) Burlington Northern (1970–1971)
Annual ridership	364,495 (FY 25)  -6%[a][1]
Route
Termini	Chicago, Illinois Seattle, Washington orPortland, Oregon
Stops	38 (Seattle–Chicago) 37 (Portland–Chicago)
Distance travelled	2,206 miles (3,550 km) (Seattle–Chicago) 2,257 miles (3,632 km) (Portland–Chicago)
Average journey time	45 hours, 10 minutes (Portland to Chicago) 45 hours, 15 minutes (Seattle to Chicago) 45 hours, 55 minutes (Chicago to Portland) 46 hours, 10 minutes (Chicago to Seattle)[2]
Service frequency	Daily
Train numbers	7, 8 (Seattle–Chicago) 27, 28 (Portland–Chicago)
On-board services
Classes	Coach Class First Class Sleeper Service
Disabled access	Train lower level, all stations
Sleeping arrangements	Roomette (2 beds) Bedroom (2 beds) Bedroom Suite (4 beds) Accessible Bedroom (2 beds) Family Bedroom (4 beds)
Catering facilities	Dining car,Café
Observation facilities	Sightseer lounge car
Baggage facilities	Overhead racks, checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Rolling stock	Superliner
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge
Operating speed	50 mph (80 km/h) (avg.) 79 mph (127 km/h) (top)
Track owners	BNSF,CPKC,Metra,MNNR
Route map Show interactive map Legend Cascades toEugene Coast Starlight toLos Angeles 2257 mi 3632 km Portland Columbia River OR WA 2247 mi 3616 km Vancouver, Washington Cascades,Coast Starlight 2182 mi 3512 km Bingen-White Salmon 2151 mi 3462 km Wishram                   Route 1971–1981             Route 1971–1981 toSeattle East Auburn Ellensburg Yakima 2025 mi 3259 km Pasco 2206 mi 3550 km Seattle 2188 mi 3521 km Edmonds 2173 mi 3497 km Everett Cascades toVancouver,BC Cascade Tunnel 2072 mi 3335 km Leavenworth 2050 mi 3299 km Wenatchee 1996 mi 3212 km Ephrata Traindivides at Spokane 1877 mi 3021 km Spokane WA ID 1807 mi 2908 km Sandpoint ID MT Pacific Time Mountain Time Troy Closed 1973 1723 mi 2773 km Libby Flathead Tunnel 1620 mi 2607 km Whitefish 1599 mi 2573 km West Glacier 1573 mi 2531 km Essex 1542 mi 2482 km East Glacier Park Summer only 1528 mi 2459 km Browning Winter only 1495 mi 2406 km Cut Bank 1471 mi 2367 km Shelby 1366 mi 2198 km Havre 1277 mi 2055 km Malta 1211 mi 1949 km Glasgow 1162 mi 1870 km Wolf Point MT ND Mountain Time Central Time 1055 mi 1698 km Williston 989 mi 1592 km Stanley 935 mi 1505 km Minot 874 mi 1407 km Rugby 817 mi 1315 km Devils Lake 732 mi 1178 km Grand Forks 658 mi 1059 km Fargo Red River of the North ND MN                Route prior to 1979                Route prior to 1979 Breckenridge Morris Willmar Minneapolis Closed 1978 610 mi 982 km Detroit Lakes 548 mi 882 km Staples 482 mi 776 km St. Cloud Midway 1978–2014 411 mi 661 km Saint Paul 371 mi 597 km Red Wing 308 mi 496 km Winona Mississippi River MN WI 281 mi 452 km La Crosse 240 mi 386 km Tomah 195 mi 314 km Wisconsin Dells 178 mi 286 km Portage 150 mi 241 km Columbus 86 mi 138 km Milwaukee WI IL 17 mi 27 km Glenview 0mi Chicago otherAmtrak services otherAmtrak services California Zephyr,Illinois Zephyr, andSouthwest Chief Lincoln Service andTexas Eagle City of New Orleans, Illini andSaluki Floridian,Lake Shore Limited andMichigan Services Cardinal All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram map

TheEmpire Builder is a dailylong-distancepassenger train operated byAmtrak betweenChicago and eitherSeattle orPortland via twosections west ofSpokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of theGreat Northern Railway and was retained by Amtrak when it took over intercity rail service in 1971.

The end-to-end travel time of the route is 45–46 hours for an average speed of about 50 mph (80 km/h), though the train travels as fast as 79 mph (127 km/h) over the majority of the route. It is Amtrak's busiest long-distance route.

Duringfiscal year 2023, theEmpire Builder carried 338,993 passengers, an increase of 15.0% from FY2022^[3] but 21.8% below pre-COVID-19 levels (433,372 passengers during FY2019^[4]). During FY2022, the train had a total revenue of$49,600,000.

TheGreat Northern Railway inaugurated theEmpire Builder on June 10, 1929. It was named in honor of the company's founder,James J. Hill, who had reorganized several failing railroads into the only successful attempt at a privately fundedtranscontinental railroad. It reached the Pacific Northwest in the late 19th century, and for this feat, he was nicknamed "The Empire Builder".^[5] FollowingWorld War II, Great Northern placed newstreamlined and diesel-powered trains in service that cut the scheduled 2,211-mile trip between Chicago and Seattle from 58.5 hours to 45 hours.^[6]

The schedule allowed riders views of theCascade Mountains andGlacier National Park, a park established through the lobbying efforts of the Great Northern. Re-equipped withdomes in 1955, theEmpire Builder offered passengers sweeping views of the route through three dome coaches and one full-lengthGreat Dome car for first class passengers.^[7]

In March 1970, the Great Northern, along with three other closely affiliated railroads (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q),Northern Pacific andSpokane, Portland & Seattle) merged to formBurlington Northern, which assumed operation of theBuilder.^[8] Amtrak took over the train when it began operating most intercity routes in May 1971. To improve itsfarebox recovery ratio, Amtrak shifted the Chicago–St. Paul leg to run through Milwaukee via theMilwaukee Road.^[9] Before 1971, the Chicago–St. Paul leg used the CB&Q's mainline along the Mississippi River through Wisconsin. The service also used to operate west from the Twin Cities before turning northwest inWillmar, to reach Fargo. When Amtrak assumed operation of the service, it also rerouted theBuilder over the route between Fargo and Minot viaGrand Forks, which until that time was covered by theBuilder's companion service, theWestern Star.^[10][11] While theBuilder running through the direct route between Fargo and Minot, theWestern Star continued from Fargo north to Grand Forks, where it turning west to reach Minot.

Between 1971 and 1979, on the parallel route of the former Northern Pacific between Twin Cities andSpokane viaStaples, Fargo, Bismarck, Missoula and Helena run theNorth Coast Hiawatha, descendant of NP's flagship service, theNorth Coast Limited, which also served stops such asSt. Cloud, Staples andDetroit Lakes.^[12][13] Between Chicago and Minneapolis, and between Spokane and Seattle, theNorth Coast Hiawatha run combined with theBuilder three days a week.^{[14][15][16][17]}

When Amtrak cancelled theNorth Coast Hiawatha, it rerouted theBuilder over the former NP mainline between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Fargo to continue to serve St. Cloud, Staples and Detroit Lakes, which otherwise would have lost service when theNorth Coast Hiawatha was suspended.^[12] The realignment of theBuilder from the former GN mainline to the NP mainline however resulted in the loss of the stops at Willmar,Breckenridge andMorris.

In October 1979, theBuilder was the first of Amtrak's western long-distance services to receive the newSuperliner I cars built byPullman-Standard. Due to the harsh winter weather of the Upper Midwest plains, and the mountainous areas of Montana, Idaho and Washington, withblizzards and cold temperatures, traditional steam-heated equipment frequently broke down, often forcing Amtrak to cancel service. The Superliners, with their electrical head-end power, were far better suited for the conditions.^[18] Amtrak's new national timetable depicted a Superliner coach on the front cover, and the listing for theEmpire Builder carried a heading which read "Amtrak's Superliner is Somethin' Special."^[19]

Amtrak added a Portland section in 1981, with the train splitting in Spokane. This restored service to the line previously operated by theSpokane, Portland and Seattle Railway.^[20] It was not the first time that the train had operated Seattle and Portland sections; Great Northern had split theBuilder in Spokane for much of the 1940s and 1950s.^[21][22]

In 2005, Amtrak upgraded service to include a wine and cheese tasting in the dining car for sleeping car passengers and free newspapers in the morning.^[23] Amtrak's inspector general eliminated some of these services in 2013 as part of a cost-saving measure.^[24]

During summer months, on portions of the route, "Trails and Rails" volunteer tour guides in the lounge car give commentary on points of visual and historic interest that can be viewed from the train.^[25]

After running daily for the better part of a century, theEmpire Builder was cut back to tri-weekly operation along with most of Amtrak's other long-distance routes on October 12, 2020, as part of a round of service reductions due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. For most of the fall and winter of 2020–21, trains departed Chicago on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays and departed Seattle or Portland on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.^[26] However, in March 2021, Amtrak announced the train would return to its pre-pandemic daily schedule on May 24, 2021.^[27]

On May 27, 1931, the eastboundEmpire Builder was struck by a tornado in Clay County, Minnesota.^[28] The train, carrying 117 passengers, had all of its cars, minus the locomotive and coal tender, thrown off the tracks by the tornado, with one car being thrown 80 feet (24 m) off the track. One passenger died, with 57 others injured.^[29]

Due to heavy patronage during World War II theEmpire Builder ran in two sections, known as First 1 and Second 1. On August 9, 1945, at Michigan, North Dakota, First 1 was stopped to address an overheated journal. It was struck from behind by Second 1 at a speed of 45 mph. The rear car of First 1, a “bobtail” – part observation car and part sleeping berths, was telescoped along practically its entire length by the engine of Second 1, and was demolished. It remains the worst rail disaster in both North Dakota and Great Northern Railway history.^[30] Thirty-four passengers died and 303 were injured.^[31]

On March 7, 1966, the eastboundEmpire Builder collided head-on with theWestern Star mail and passenger train going in the opposite direction.^[32] This occurred betweenChester, Montana andJoplin, Montana, at the west end of the Buelow siding, while Great Northern's then-presidentJohn M. Budd was aboard.^[33][34] The two engineers both died in the collision and 79 were injured; 29 of those were hospitalized in what came to be known at theGreat Northern Buelow wreck.^[35]

The westboundEmpire Builderderailed between Joplin, Montana and Chester, Montana (at the east end of the Buelow siding) on September 25, 2021, with three fatalities.^[36] The train was at the east end of Buelow siding.^[37]

TheEmpire Builder is Amtrak's most popular long-distance train. Over fiscal years 2007–2016,Empire Builder annual ridership averaged 500,000, with a high of 554,266 in FY 2008. Revenue peaked in FY 2013 at $67,394,779.^[b] About 65% of the cost of operating the train is covered by fare revenue, a rate among Amtrak's long-distance trains second only to the specialized East CoastAuto Train.^[47]

Traffic by Fiscal Year (October–September)

	Ridership	Change over previous year	Ticket Revenue	Change over previous year
2007[48]	504,977	-	$53,177,760	-
2008[48]	554,266	09.76%	$59,461,168	011.81%
2009[48]	515,444	07.0%	$54,064,861	09.07%
2010[49]	533,493	03.5%	$58,497,143	08.19%
2011[49]	469,167	012.05%	$53,773,711	08.07%
2012[50]	543,072	015.75%	$66,655,153	023.95%
2013[50]	536,391	01.23%	$67,394,779	01.1%
2014[51]	450,932	015.93%	$54,545,844	019.06%
2015[51]	438,376	02.78%	$50,541,140	07.34%
2016[52]	454,625	03.7%	$51,798,583	02.48%
2017[53]	454,000	00.13%	$59,000,000	013.9%
2018[54]	428,854	05.53%	$57,600,000	02.37%
2019[54]	433,372	01.05%	$57,500,000	00.17%
2020[55]	253,486	041.5%	$32,400,000	043.65%
2021[56]	220,681	012.94%	$38,400,000	018.52%
2022[57]	303,568	037.56%	$49,600,000	029.17%
2023[58][59]	348,993	015%	$61,100,000	023.19%
2024[60][61]	387,953	011.2%	$63,700,000	04.26%

The current AmtrakEmpire Builder passes throughOregon,Washington,Idaho,Montana,North Dakota,Minnesota,Wisconsin, andIllinois. It makes service stops inSpokane, Washington;Havre, Montana;Minot, North Dakota; andSaint Paul, Minnesota. Its other major stops includeVancouver, Washington;Whitefish, Montana;Williston, North Dakota;Fargo, North Dakota; andMilwaukee, Wisconsin. It usesBNSF Railway'sNorthern Transcon from Seattle to Minneapolis,Minnesota Commercial Railway from Minneapolis to St. Paul,Canadian Pacific Kansas City (formerMilwaukee Road) from St. Paul toRondout, Illinois, andMetra'sMilwaukee District North Line (former Milwaukee Road) from Rondout to Chicago. The St. Paul to Chicago portion currently follows the route of the formerTwin Cities Hiawatha, and beginning in May 2024 has been supplemented by theBorealis. In pre-Amtrak days it used theTwin Zephyrs routing.

The Seattle section followsPuget Sound and uses theCascade Tunnel andStevens Pass as it traverses theCascade Range to reachSpokane. The Portland section runs along the Washington side of theColumbia River Gorge. The cars from the two sections are combined at Spokane; the Seattle train has thedining car, while the Portland train has theobservation car.^[62] The combined train then traverses the mountains of northeasternWashington, northernIdaho and northwesternMontana, arriving in Whitefish in the morning. The schedule is timed so that the train passes through the Rocky Mountains (andGlacier National Park) during daylight – an occurrence that is more likely on the eastbound train during summer. Passengers can see sweeping views as theBuilder travels along the middle fork of theFlathead River, crossing theContinental Divide atMarias Pass. After crossing Marias Pass, theEmpire Builder leaves Glacier National Park and enters theNorthern Plains of easternMontana andNorth Dakota.

The land changes fromprairie to forest as it travels throughMinnesota. FromMinneapolis-St. Paul, theEmpire Builder crosses theMississippi River atHastings, Minnesota and passes throughsoutheastern Minnesota cities on or nearLake Pepin before crossing the Mississippi again atLa Crosse, Wisconsin. The service travels southeast through rural south-central Wisconsin, turns due south at Milwaukee, and ends atChicago Union Station.

The westboundEmpire Builder leaves Chicago in early afternoon, arriving in Milwaukee just before the afternoon rush and in St. Paul in the evening. After traveling overnight through Minnesota, it spends most of the following day traveling through North Dakota and Montana, arriving at Glacier National Park in the early evening and splitting late at night in Spokane. The Seattle section travels through the Cascades overnight, arriving in Seattle in mid-morning. The Portland section arrives in the Tri-Cities just before breakfast and in Portland in mid-morning. The eastbound Seattle and Portland sections leave within five minutes of each other just before the afternoon rush, combining in Spokane and traveling through Montana overnight before arriving at Glacier National Park in mid-morning and Williston at dinner time. After traveling overnight through North Dakota and Minnesota, it arrives in St. Paul at breakfast time, Columbus/Madison at lunch time, Milwaukee in early afternoon and Chicago just before the afternoon rush.

Stops at Milwaukee Airport and Sturtevant were added beginning March 21, 2020, to replaceHiawatha trains suspended due to theCOVID-19-related drastic drop in demand.^[63] Additionally, local travel was allowed between Chicago and Milwaukee. These adjustments lasted until the train resumed its normal schedule in May 2021.

The line has come under threat from flooding from the Missouri, Souris, Red, and Mississippi Rivers, and has occasionally had to suspend or alter service. Most service gets restored in days or weeks, butDevils Lake inNorth Dakota, which has no natural outlet, is a long-standing threat. The lowest top-of-rail elevation in the lake crossing is 1,455.7 ft (443.70 m).^[64] In spring 2011, the lake reached 1,454.3 ft (443.27 m),^[65] causing service interruptions on windy days whenhigh waves threatened the tracks.

BNSF, which owns the track, suspended freight operations through Devils Lake in 2009 and threatened to allow the rising waters to cover the line unless Amtrak could provide $100 million to raise the track. BNSF also offered Amtrak, during that time, to accommodate theBuilder on the segment of the Transcon between Fargo and Minot, but that would have meant the loss of theGrand Forks,Devils Lake andRugby station stops. To compensate for the loss of station stops at Grand Forks, Devils Lake, and Rugby that would have been caused by the shift, BNSF suggested that Amtrak add a station stop atNew Rockford, North Dakota. However, Amtrak said that they would continue using the line by the lake. In 2010, analysts estimated that Amtrak would soon either have to rebuild the bridge that crosses the lake at Churchs Ferry, or reroute its passenger trains.^[66] In June 2011 agreement was reached that Amtrak and BNSF would each cover 1/3 of the cost with the rest to come from the federal and state governments.^[67]

In December 2011, North Dakota was awarded a $10 millionTIGER grant from theUS Department of Transportation to assist with the state portion of the cost.^[68] Work began in June 2012, and the track is being raised in two stages: 5 feet (1.5 m) in 2012, and another 5 feet in 2013. Two bridges and their abutments are also being raised. When the track raise is complete, the top-of-rail elevation will be 1,466 ft (446.84 m).^[69] This is 10 feet above the level at which the lake will naturally overflow and will thus be a permanent solution to the Devils Lake flooding.

In the spring and summer of 2011 flooding of the Souris River near Minot, North Dakota blocked the route in the latter part of June and for most of July. For some of that time theEmpire Builder (with a typical consist of only four cars) ran from Chicago and terminated in Minneapolis/St Paul; to the west, theEmpire Builder did not run east of Havre, Montana. (Other locations along the route also flooded, near Devils Lake, North Dakota and areas further west along the Missouri River.)

An oil boom from theBakken formation, combined with a robust fall 2013 harvest, led to a spike in the number of crude oil and grain trains using the Northern Transcon in Montana and North Dakota. The resulting congestion led to rampant delays for theEmpire Builder, with the train running on time 44.5% in November 2013, the worst on-time performance of any Amtrak route and well below congressional standards. In some cases, the delays resulted in an imbalance of crew and equipment, forcing Amtrak to cancel runs of theEmpire Builder.^[70] By May 2014, only 26% ofEmpire Builder trains had arrived within 30 minutes of their scheduled time, with delays averaging between 3 and 5 hours.^[71] In some cases, freight congestion and severe weather resulted in delays as long as 11 to 12 hours.^[72] This was a marked change from past years in which theEmpire Builder was one of the best on-time performers in the entire Amtrak system, ahead of even the flagshipAcela Express.^[73]

Due to the increasingly severe delays, Amtrak adjusted the route's schedule west of St. Paul on April 15, 2014. Westbound trains left St. Paul later, while eastbound trains left Seattle/Portland approximately three hours earlier. Operating hours for affected stations were also officially adjusted accordingly. The Amtrak announcement also said that BNSF was working on adding track capacity, and it was anticipated that sometime in 2015 theEmpire Builder could be returned to its former schedule. In January 2015, it was announced that the train would resume its normal schedule.^[74][72]

Even during the worst of the delays, the train has seen frequent patronage from workers in the Bakken fields and their families who board and detrain inWilliston. Passengers travel from as far as the Pacific Northwest.^[75]

AmtrakEmpire Builder stations

State/Province	City	Station	Connections
Illinois	Chicago	Chicago Union	Amtrak (long-distance):California Zephyr,Cardinal,City of New Orleans,Floridian,Lake Shore Limited,Southwest Chief,Texas Eagle Amtrak (intercity):Blue Water,Borealis,Hiawatha,Illini andSaluki,Illinois Zephyr andCarl Sandburg,Lincoln Service,Pere Marquette,Wolverine Amtrak Thruway Metra:■ BNSF,■ Milwaukee District North,■ Milwaukee District West,■ North Central Service,■ Heritage Corridor,■ SouthWest Service Chicago "L":Blue (atClinton)BrownOrangePinkPurple (atQuincy) Intercity bus:Greyhound Lines,Megabus CTA,Pace
	Glenview	Glenview	Amtrak:Hiawatha,Borealis Metra:■ Milwaukee District North Pace
Wisconsin	Milwaukee	Milwaukee	Amtrak:Hiawatha,Borealis Amtrak Thruway The Hop Intercity bus: Greyhound Lines,Indian Trails,Jefferson Lines, Lamers Bus Lines, Megabus,Wisconsin Coach Lines
	Columbus	Columbus	Amtrak:Borealis Van Galder
	Portage	Portage	Amtrak:Borealis Van Galder
	Wisconsin Dells	Wisconsin Dells	Amtrak:Borealis
	Tomah	Tomah	Amtrak:Borealis
	La Crosse	La Crosse	Amtrak:Borealis Wisconsin Coach Lines La Crosse MTU,SMRT
Minnesota	Winona	Winona	Amtrak:Borealis Winona Transit Service
	Red Wing	Red Wing	Amtrak:Borealis
	St. Paul	Saint Paul	Amtrak:Borealis Amtrak Thruway Intercity bus: Greyhound Lines, Jefferson Lines, Megabus  Green Line  Metro Bus,Minnesota Valley Transit Authority
	St. Cloud	St. Cloud	St. Cloud Metro Bus
	Staples	Staples
	Detroit Lakes	Detroit Lakes
North Dakota	Fargo	Fargo	MATBUS
	Grand Forks	Grand Forks
	Devils Lake	Devils Lake
	Rugby	Rugby
	Minot	Minot	Minot City Transit
	Stanley	Stanley
	Williston	Williston
Montana	Wolf Point	Wolf Point
	Glasgow	Glasgow
	Malta	Malta
	Havre	Havre
	Shelby	Shelby
	Cut Bank	Cut Bank
	Browning	Browning
	East Glacier Park	East Glacier Park
	Essex	Essex
	West Glacier	West Glacier
	Whitefish	Whitefish	Greyhound Lines
	Libby	Libby
Idaho	Sandpoint	Sandpoint
Washington (state)	Spokane	Spokane	Amtrak Thruway Intercity bus: Greyhound Lines, Jefferson Lines,Northwestern Trailways,Travel Washington Spokane Transit Authority
	Seattle Branch
	Ephrata	Ephrata	Amtrak Thruway Northwestern Trailways Grant Transit Authority
	Wenatchee	Wenatchee	Northwestern Trailways, Travel Washington Grant Transit Authority, Link Transit
	Leavenworth	Leavenworth
	Everett	Everett	Amtrak:Amtrak Cascades Amtrak Thruway Sounder:N Line Intercity bus: Greyhound Lines, Northwestern Trailways,ST Express Sound Transit,Community Transit,Everett Transit,Skagit Transit,Island Transit
	Edmonds	Edmonds	Amtrak:Amtrak Cascades Amtrak Thruway Sounder: N Line Edmonds-Kingston Ferry Northwestern Trailways, Travel Washington Community Transit
	Seattle	King Street	Amtrak:Amtrak Cascades,Coast Starlight Amtrak Thruway Sounder: N Line,S Line Link Light Rail: First Hill Streetcar ST Express, Travel Washington Community Transit,King County Metro, Sound Transit
	Portland Branch
	Pasco	Pasco	Greyhound Lines Travel Washington
	Wishram	Wishram
	Bingen	Bingen–White Salmon	Mount Adams Transportation Service
	Vancouver	Vancouver, Washington	Amtrak:Amtrak Cascades,Coast Starlight
Oregon	Portland	Portland	Amtrak:Amtrak Cascades,Coast Starlight MAX Light Rail:Orange Line,Yellow Line,Green Line Portland Streetcar The Bus, Central Oregon Breeze,FlixBus, Pacific Crest Lines,POINT, Shuttle Oregon,The Wave Trimet Bus

In 1970, the construction and filling ofLake Koocanusa necessitated the realignment of 60 miles (97 km) of track betweenStryker, Montana, andLibby, Montana, and the construction ofFlathead Tunnel, leading theEmpire Builder to drop service toEureka, Montana. TheEmpire Builder also servedTroy, Montana, until February 15, 1973.

On October 1, 1979, theEmpire Builder was rerouted to operate over theNorth Coast Hiawatha's old route between Minneapolis andFargo, North Dakota. With this alignment change, theEmpire Builder droppedWillmar, Minnesota;Morris, Minnesota; andBreckenridge, Minnesota, while addingSt. Cloud, Minnesota;Staples, Minnesota; andDetroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Another alignment change came on October 25, 1981, when the Seattle section was rerouted from the oldNorthern Pacific (which had also become part of the BN in 1970) to theBurlington Northern Railroad's line through theCascade Tunnel overStevens Pass. This change eliminated service toYakima, Washington;Ellensburg, Washington; andAuburn, Washington.^[76] This change also introduced the Portland section, which returned service to the former Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railroad line (which became part of BN in 1970) along the Washington shore of the Columbia River. The route keptPasco, but addedWishram, Bingen-White Salmon, and Vancouver (all in Washington) to the route. From Vancouver, the Portland section of theEmpire Builder uses the same route as theCoast Starlight andCascades trains to Portland Union Station.

It has been proposed that theEmpire Builder andHiawatha trains servicingGlenview, Illinois have their station stop be shifted one station north to the Metra station atNorth Glenview, to eliminate stops which block traffic on Glenview Road. North Glenview would have to be modified to handle additional traffic, and the move depends on commitments from Glenview, theIllinois General Assembly, and Metra.^[77] In Minnesota, theEmpire Builder returned toSaint Paul Union Depot on May 7, 2014, 43 years after it last served the station the day before the start of Amtrak. Renovation of the 1917 Beaux Arts terminal was undertaken in 2011, continuing through 2013, resulting in a multi-mode terminal used byJefferson Lines,Greyhound Lines, commuter bus and theMetro Green Line, providing alight rail connection to downtown Minneapolis.^[78] The station replacedMidway Station which opened in 1978 after the initial abandonment of Saint Paul Union Depot in 1971 and the demolition ofMinneapolis Great Northern Depot in 1978.

Like all long-distance trains west of the Mississippi River, theEmpire Builder uses bilevelSuperliner passenger cars (except for the baggage car). TheEmpire Builder was the first train to be fully equipped with Superliners, with the first run occurring on October 28, 1979.^[79]

A typicalEmpire Builder consist includes:^[80]

• Two or threeGE Genesis orSiemens Charger ALC-42 locomotives
• Viewliner baggage car
• Superliner transition sleeper car
• Two Superliner sleeper cars
• Superliner diner
• Superliner coach
• Superliner Sightseer Lounge/café
• Superliner coach
• Superliner coach/baggage car
• Superliner sleeper

In Spokane, the westbound train is split: the locomotives, baggage car, and first six passenger cars continue on to Seattle as train 7, while a single locomotive is used to take the remaining cars (including the lounge/cafe) to Portland as train 27. Eastbound the sections are combined in a reverse fashion, with the Seattle section numbered as train 8 and the Portland section as train 28. During peak travel periods, an additional coach is added to the rear of the train between Chicago and St. Paul. It is left overnight in St. Paul for the next day's return trip to pick up. This car is designated train 807 westbound and train 808 eastbound.

Amtrak’sSiemens Charger ALC-42 locomotives were first used in revenue service on theEmpire Builder on February 8, 2022.^[81]

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When first launched in 1929, the Great Northern provided new heavyweight consists. When the railway received five new streamlined trainsets in 1947, the old heavyweight sets were used to reintroduce theOriental Limited. In 1951 theEmpire Builder was re-equipped with six new streamlined trainsets; the 1947 cars were used to launch theWestern Star, while theOriental Limited was retired. When the GN acquired dome coaches in 1955, the 1951 coaches went toWestern Star, while the 1947 coaches went to the pool of spare and extra-movement cars. Ownership of the cars on theEmpire Builder was by-and-large split between the Great Northern and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), though a couple of cars in the original consists were owned by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway (SP&S). In this consist, one of the 48-seat "chair" cars and one of the 4-section sleepers were used for the connection to Portland, while the rest of the consist connected to Seattle.

The Great Northern coaches eventually found their way into state-subsidized commuter service for theCentral Railroad of New Jersey after theBurlington Northern merger and remained until 1987 whenNJ Transit retired its last E8A locomotive. Some of these cars remain inNew Jersey. Some coaches were acquired from theUnion Pacific; these also went to New Jersey. One of the 28 seat coach-dinette cars also remains in New Jersey and is stored nearInterstate 78 wearing tattered Amtrak colors.

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• Hidy, Ralph W.; Hidy, Muriel E.; Scott, Roy V.; Hofsummer, Don L. (2004) [1988].The Great Northern Railway: A History. Minneapolis:Minnesota University Press.ISBN 978-0-816-64429-2.OCLC 54885353.
• Sanders, Craig (2006).Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, Indiana:Indiana University Press.ISBN 978-0-253-34705-3.
• Shuldiner, Herbert (June 1974)."Take the train to your next campsite?".Popular Science. Vol. 204, no. 6. pp. 110–111, 154.
• Wayner, Robert J., ed. (1972).Car Names, Numbers and Consists. New York: Wayner Publications.OCLC 8848690.
• Yenne, Bill (2005).Great Northern Empire Builder. Great Passenger Trains. MBI.ISBN 0-7603-1847-6.OCLC 57142776.

• Morgan, David P. (2016). "The Clean-Window Train". In McGonigal, Robert S. (ed.).Great Trains West. Waukesha, WI:Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 96–107.ISBN 978-1-62700-435-0.
• Welsh, Joe (December 2000). "The Empire Builder: Seven decades of service".Trains.60 (12):72–80.ISSN 0041-0934.

• Media related toEmpire Builder at Wikimedia Commons
• Empire Builder travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Empire Builder – Amtrak

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