Sleeping Car 101: A Complete Guide to Amtrak Overnight Accommodations

Amtrak's sleeping cars are the defining feature of long-distance American train travel. On the California Zephyr, Empire Builder, Coast Starlight, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle, City of New Orleans, and the eastern long-distance routes, sleeping car space is the only way to reliably get a bed for the night.

Roomette

The Roomette is Amtrak's entry-level private accommodation. Two facing seats convert at night to a lower berth, with an upper berth folding down from above. Roomettes are small — three feet seven inches wide by six feet eight inches long — but include a window seat, a fold-out table, a small wardrobe, and 110V AC power. Fares cover all included meals (three full meals per day in Traditional Dining service or Flexible Dining trays on certain routes), bottled water, coffee, juice, and access to first-class lounges at Chicago, Portland, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, and Boston.

Bedroom

The Bedroom is roughly twice the size of a Roomette and includes a private toilet and shower, a sofa that converts to a lower berth, an upper berth, and a sink. Two adults can comfortably share. The Bedroom upcharge over a single Roomette is steep but per-person economics improve when two travelers split it.

Family Bedroom and Accessible Bedroom

The Family Bedroom (Superliner only, lower level) sleeps two adults and two children across the full width of the car and has no in-room toilet or shower. The Accessible Bedroom (Superliner lower level, Viewliner II all rooms) is configured for wheelchair access with wider doorways and an in-room toilet and shower.

What sleeping car fares include

All Amtrak sleeping car tickets include the rail fare for the room's occupants, all meals in the dining car or Flexible Dining service, complimentary bottled water and beverages, priority boarding, ClubAcela / Metropolitan Lounge access, and turn-down service from your sleeping-car attendant. The classic Long-Distance Traveler's Companion publishes route-by-route Roomette versus Bedroom pricing analyses each summer.

Choosing the right car

Superliner cars (used west of Chicago and on most western routes plus the City of New Orleans, Texas Eagle, and Capitol Limited) are bilevel; the upper level is brighter and quieter, the lower level is closer to the toilets, showers, and luggage racks. Viewliner II cars (used east of New Orleans and on Atlantic coast routes) are single-level with windows on both upper and lower berths — a much-loved feature.

Sleeping car inventory is small (typically 14 Roomettes and 5 Bedrooms per car) and books up first on long weekends, holidays, and the summer travel season. Book three to six months in advance for the best Roomette and Bedroom pricing on the western long-distance trains.