City of New Orleans With Kids: Stops, Family Bedrooms and Kids Fares

13 min read

Wondering if an overnight train with kids is a good idea? We think the City of New Orleans is one of the gentler ways to try it: one train a day each way runs between Chicago and New Orleans in about 19 and a half hours, and kids 2 to 12 pay half the adult rail fare with an adult. It's a double-decker Superliner train with 18 stops in between and Family Bedrooms that sleep two adults and two children, and heading south, you go to bed in Illinois and wake up in Mississippi. Below is every stop, how the rooms work and short daytime rides to try first.

The short version

• One train each way, every day: about 19 and a half hours between Chicago and New Orleans, with a night on board.
• Double-decker Superliner cars with coach seats, sleeping cars, a dining car and a Sightseer Lounge.
• Family Bedrooms sleep two adults and two kids, but room charges are not discounted for children.
• Kids 2 to 12 pay half the adult rail fare with an adult 18 or older, and each adult can hold one lap baby under 2 for free.
• Heading south, most daylight hours are in Mississippi. In McComb, look west for the rail museum.
• Checked bags are carried, but there is no Wi-Fi, so download everything at home.

From Rally Takes the Train, watercolor by Leslie Dunn.

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City of New Orleans at a glance

Runs between

Chicago, Illinois, and New Orleans, Louisiana

States

Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana

Distance

about 934 miles

End to end

about 19 hours 30 minutes, overnight

Trains

One train each way, every day

Train cars

Double-decker Superliner coaches, sleeping cars, a dining car and a Sightseer Lounge

Upstairs seating

Yes, most coach seats and many rooms are upstairs

Food

Dining car with meals included for sleeping car guests; cafe open to everyone

Sleeper rooms

Roomettes, Bedrooms, Bedroom Suites, an Accessible Bedroom and a Family Bedroom

Wi-Fi

None

Top speed

79 mph

Checked bags

Yes, at stations with baggage service

Look inside the book

Overnight to New Orleans? Save Rally for the morning.

Rally Takes the Train is about five minutes long, just right for a bedtime story in a Superliner bunk. Turn a few pages here before bedtime.

Page 1 of 8

Click the page, swipe, or use the arrow keys to turn

Like it so far? See the full book

25 hand-painted pages, paperback, $13.99 with fast shipping from Amazon.

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Every page is real watercolor on paper, painted by hand by Leslie Dunn. Nothing in this book was made with AI.

In this post

1. Kids tickets on the City of New Orleans
2. Every City of New Orleans stop
3. What kids can see
4. Where to sit
5. Best first ride
6. Food, bathrooms and naps
7. A train book for the ride
8. Questions parents ask

Do kids need a ticket on the City of New Orleans?

Kids 2 to 12 pay half the rail fare here, but a sleeper room costs the same no matter who sleeps in it.

Yes, kids need a ticket. Children 2 to 12 pay half the adult rail fare when riding with an adult 18 or older, and each adult can hold one baby under 2 on their lap for free. Our Amtrak with kids guide covers the general rules; here’s what changes when you’re sleeping on the train.

• Rooms cost extra, and kids don’t get a room discount. If you book a sleeper, each person still pays a rail fare (half for kids), and the room has its own charge on top. That room charge is the same whether your six-year-old or a grown-up takes the bunk.
• The Family Bedroom. You’ll only find it on Superliner trains like this one. It sleeps four, two adults and two kids, and it sits on the lower level, so nobody carries a sleeping child up the stairs. It’s popular, so book early.
• Coach overnight can work. Superliner coach seats are wide and recline. With a lap baby, coach plus a pillow and blanket saves a lot, but a toddler who wakes up when the train stops in Memphis at 4:42 a.m. may change your mind.
• Meals come with the room. Sleeping car guests eat in the dining car. Coach riders buy food in the cafe or bring their own.

Free for train families

Free City of New Orleans printables for the ride

Screen-free fun for the whole ride: track all 20 City of New Orleans stops, spot landmarks out the window, play train window bingo and earn an “I rode the City of New Orleans” certificate. Free to print at home.

Get the free City of New Orleans activity book

Every City of New Orleans stop, from Chicago to New Orleans

The City of New Orleans makes 20 stops between Chicago and New Orleans. In Illinois it skips Gilman, Rantoul and Du Quoin, which only the daytime Illini and Saluki serve.

Illinois

1. Chicago Union StationLook for: Movie trivia for the grown-ups: the Great Hall's marble columns and grand staircase have shown up in films like The Untouchables. Send the kids to find the big staircase before you board.
2. HomewoodLook for: Boarding here? Look for the small park near the station with heritage Canadian National railroad equipment, and the 1911 tunnel that takes walkers under the tracks.
3. KankakeeLook for: Upstairs in the 1898 depot, the original frosted glass windows still show the names of old railroad officials. Can your reader sound any of them out?
4. Champaign-Urbana (Illinois Terminal)Look for: For the kid who loves screens: Mosaic, the first popular web browser, was created at the University of Illinois here in 1993.
5. Mattoon
6. EffinghamLook for: Tell them about the Cross at the Crossroads, 198 feet tall and built in 2001, near where Interstate 57 meets U.S. 40.
7. CentraliaLook for: Tell them the Centralia Carillon downtown is the eighth largest bell tower in the world.
8. Carbondale (Southern Illinois Multimodal Station)Look for: This station opened to Amtrak riders in May 2025. See who spots the clock tower over the main entrance.

Kentucky

1. FultonLook for: A silly one for the ride: Fulton was once called the Banana Capital of the Nation, because banana trains stopped here to service their refrigerator cars. It's this train's only Kentucky stop.

Tennessee

1. Newbern-DyersburgLook for: The 1920 brick depot doubles as a railroad museum with model trains, and there's a cotton-loading platform right next to it.
2. Memphis Central StationLook for: This station opened in 1914 and now has a hotel inside. Boarding here? Look for the heritage trolleys on the Main Street Line, which stop at the station.

Mississippi

1. Marks
2. GreenwoodLook for: Two rivers meet here to form the Yazoo. Greenwood says it is one of the few places where you can stand between two rivers flowing in opposite directions, a good puzzle for a curious kid.
3. Yazoo City
4. Jackson Union StationLook for: Ask them why the tracks are up so high. The railroad was raised above downtown streets, and the 1927 station was built after that, so the trains run on an elevated track.
5. Hazlehurst
6. Brookhaven
7. McCombLook for: Look west: the McComb Railroad Museum shows Illinois Central steam engine No. 2542, a giant caboose and a green diamond logo made of bricks beside the 1901 depot.

Louisiana

1. HammondLook for: With its tall eight-sided tower, the 1912 brick depot looks a little like a castle. Ask them if they agree.
2. New Orleans Union Passenger TerminalLook for: Have them look up at the huge fresco murals in the waiting hall, which tell Louisiana history. Outside, a streetcar line ends right at the station.

What kids can see from the City of New Orleans

The southbound train leaves Chicago at 6:05 p.m., so the big day starts with dinner and ends with lights out on board.

This train follows the old Illinois Central main line almost the whole way. Heading south, you see Chicago and central Illinois in the evening, sleep through Kentucky and Tennessee, and spend most of your daylight in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Which side to sit on

Southbound, sit on the right side (west) to catch the McComb Railroad Museum as the train pulls in. Northbound, that's the left side. Ended up on the wrong side? The Sightseer Lounge has tall windows that curve up into the roof on both sides, so head there.

A train with its own song

Steve Goodman wrote the folk song "City of New Orleans" and first played it in 1970. Arlo Guthrie recorded it in 1972, and Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash recorded it too. Play it for your kids the night before, then have them listen for the train’s name when the conductor announces it.

Older than Amtrak

The Illinois Central started the first City of New Orleans on April 27, 1947, as a daytime train, and Amtrak brought the name back in 1981 as an overnight run. For a fun pair to look up, Illinois Central 2500-class steam engines survive only in Centralia and McComb, one on each side of your night on the train.

The last hour into New Orleans

Lake Pontchartrain is one of the sights travel guides list for this route, on the last stretch into New Orleans. Keep the kids at the window after Hammond, then look for the streetcar waiting outside the terminal when you arrive.

Where to sit with kids on the City of New Orleans

Every car is a two-level Superliner. In coach, most seats are upstairs, two on each side of the aisle, with plenty of recline. The lower level has a few accessible seats, the restrooms and a luggage rack, and with a baby, a downstairs seat means no stairs at 2 a.m.

In the sleepers, a Roomette has two seats that turn into two bunks, and a Bedroom adds its own toilet and shower and sleeps two. The Family Bedroom, on the lower level, runs the full width of the car and sleeps two adults and two children. If a child is taking an upper bunk, ask the attendant to show you the safety strap.

By day, the Sightseer Lounge is the best room on the train for kids, with big curved windows. On a train this long, walking between cars turns into an activity of its own, so teach kids to hold a hand and a rail in the gaps.

When you can’t sit together on the City of New Orleans

Easiest fix: a room. A Family Bedroom keeps two adults and two kids behind one door all night. In coach, book everyone on one reservation. Most Amtrak coach seating is unassigned, so expect a guaranteed seat, not a chosen one. Arrive early in Chicago, since staff often board parents with babies and toddlers early.

Boarding in Memphis or Jackson with sleepers everywhere? Walk your car, then the next one, and take a seat a row apart until a pair opens up. Asking a stranger to switch? Do it before they bed down, keep it to one line (“Our 2-year-old would be alone”) and offer a seat as good as theirs, pointing the same way. Never ask anyone to trade a window for a worse seat, and accept a no kindly.

This long-distance train carries car attendants as well as a conductor. Catch either one as you board or while they check tickets, mention how many are in your family and the children’s ages, and ask about room in another coach. They can find you empty seats and have bags cleared, one seat per ticket, but a seated passenger keeps their spot. At night especially, a young child sleeps beside you, never alone in another row.

The best first City of New Orleans ride with kids

Worried about a whole night? Memphis to Chicago leaves at 8:45 p.m., so kids can sleep through most of it.

Not ready to commit to a whole night? Try a piece first. Times come from Amtrak's fall 2026 timetable, and this train’s times moved more than once in 2026, so confirm yours on amtrak.com.

1. Jackson to McComb and back (about 1 hour 25 minutes each way). Board train 59 in Jackson at 9:49 a.m. and reach McComb at 11:12 a.m. Visit the railroad museum beside the depot, then catch train 58 north at 1:46 p.m., back in Jackson at 3:24 p.m.
2. Memphis to Chicago as a first overnight (about 10 and a half hours). Train 58 leaves Memphis at 8:45 p.m., close to bedtime, so kids can go right to sleep and wake up near Chicago, arriving at 7:15 a.m. It's the shortest way to try out a Family Bedroom.
3. New Orleans to Hammond (about 1 hour 10 minutes). Train 58 leaves New Orleans at 11:45 a.m. and reaches Hammond at 12:54 p.m. The southbound train passes Hammond at 12:12 p.m., so this one means a night in Hammond and a ride back the next day.

Food, bathrooms and naps on the City of New Orleans

Sleeping car guests eat in the dining car, with meals included in the room price. Amtrak switched this train to a simpler Flexible Dining menu in 2019. Everyone else can buy snacks, drinks and light meals in the cafe, or bring food from home.

Whatever you pack, pack more. Southbound, train 59 leaves Chicago at 6:05 p.m., so eat dinner before you board or bring it with you. Breakfast comes around Greenwood, lunch near McComb, and the train reaches New Orleans at 1:47 p.m.

Bathrooms depend on your room. Bedrooms have a private toilet and shower, while Roomette and Family Bedroom guests share restrooms and a shower on the lower level, good to know before the middle-of-the-night potty run. There's no Wi-Fi on this train, so download shows and audiobooks before you go, and print our Rally coloring pages for the Mississippi daylight hours. Changing tables on this train’s Superliners are unconfirmed, so tuck a portable pad into the overnight bag.

For a night on the City of New Orleans, pack pajamas, a small pillow, downloaded shows and more snacks than seems sensible.

A train book for the ride

Rally Takes the Train starts with an early wake-up on travel day. On the southbound City of New Orleans, your kids get their own version: they fall asleep in Illinois and wake up to Mississippi out the window. We'd save the morning page for that moment and read it in your berth before the train reaches Greenwood.

Then read the arrival page as you pull into New Orleans in the afternoon. For the long daylight stretch, print the free Rally activity pack and coloring pages before you leave home.

Southbound, the daylight comes in Mississippi, and the Sightseer Lounge windows curve right up into the roof.

Pack Rally for the night trainA five-minute picture book about a corgi’s first train ride, from his early wake-up to the wave at the end, painted in watercolor for ages 0 to 8. $13.99 on Amazon.

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You fall asleep in Illinois and wake up in Mississippi, and by 1:47 p.m. you are pulling into New Orleans.

More for train families

• Every Amtrak route with kids: find another train by city or station
• The complete guide to Amtrak with kids: tickets, car seats, changing tables, family tables and what to pack by age
• Free Rally activity pack and coloring pages to print before your trip
• Illini and Saluki with kids
• Mardi Gras Service with kids
• Crescent with kids
• Sunset Limited with kids

Sources

• Wikipedia: City of New Orleans (train)
• Rail Passengers Association timetable: City of New Orleans, Illini, Saluki (2026)
• RailRat: City of New Orleans train 58 status, October 2026
• Amtrak Guide: City of New Orleans
• Great American Stations: McComb, MS
• Great American Stations: Fulton, KY
• Great American Stations: New Orleans, LA
• Great American Stations: Centralia, IL
• Wikipedia: Memphis Central Station
• Wikipedia: Newbern Depot

Checked against Amtrak and partner railroad pages in October 2026. Schedules and policies change, so confirm on amtrak.com before you ride.

City of New Orleans with kids: questions parents ask

Do kids need a ticket on the City of New Orleans?

Yes, starting at age 2. On the City of New Orleans, a 2- to 12-year-old's rail fare is half the adult one when they travel on a grown-up's reservation (18 or older), with age measured on your departure day. Book a sleeper and the room charge is added on top, with no discount for children, so price the room and every rail fare together before you decide.

Do babies ride free on the City of New Orleans?

Yes. A baby who hasn't turned 2 rides the City of New Orleans free on a full-fare adult's lap, one baby per adult. Bring two babies with one grown-up, or give a baby their own Superliner coach seat, and that baby is charged as a child. Overnight in coach, a lap baby only gets an open seat when no ticketed rider claims it, which is one reason families look at sleeper rooms.

Do I need a car seat on the City of New Orleans?

No, and there's nothing on a Superliner seat to strap one to. A car seat can ride on an open coach seat only if nobody holding a ticket wants that spot, and an infant might go back to your lap while the seat is stored. It's worth bringing only if you'll drive from Memphis, Jackson or New Orleans. This train carries checked bags at stations with baggage service.

Are there changing tables on the City of New Orleans?

We couldn't confirm changing tables on this train's Superliner cars. Amtrak has no official diaper-changing policy, so it varies, and its plan puts tables in the accessible restrooms of future cars. Bedrooms have a private toilet, which gives you a door to close. Roomette and Family Bedroom guests share restrooms on the lower level, so use the larger accessible one and bring a changing pad.

What are the bathrooms like on the City of New Orleans?

It depends on where you sleep. Bedrooms have their own toilet and shower. Coach riders use the restrooms on the lower level of their car, and Roomette and Family Bedroom guests share restrooms and a shower downstairs. No Superliner car is without a restroom, and a lit sign tells you when one is taken. For the middle-of-the-night potty run, bring shoes, go with your kid and warn them the flush is loud.

Can I bring a stroller on the City of New Orleans?

Yes. A folding stroller or car seat can travel aboard the City of New Orleans free, standing in for one of your regular bags, and a baby under 2 earns you one extra infant item. A big jogging or double stroller may need checking, which this train handles at stations with baggage service. Superliner stairs are narrow, so keep the stroller on the lower level by the luggage rack.

Can I breastfeed or bottle-feed on the City of New Orleans?

Yes. Every state on this route, from Illinois to Louisiana, allows breastfeeding in public, and in a sleeper room you also get a door. For bottles, the City of New Orleans has a dining car, and Amtrak's tip for parents is to ask the dining crew for a hand getting them ready. Still, pack formula and water for the night and the long daylight stretch, because the train is on the move about 19 and a half hours.

Is there food for kids on the City of New Orleans?

Yes. Sleeping car guests eat in the dining car, with meals included in the room price, and everyone can buy snacks, drinks and light meals in the cafe. Pack plenty anyway. Southbound train 59 leaves Chicago at 6:05 p.m., so eat dinner first or bring it, then plan on breakfast around Greenwood and lunch near McComb before New Orleans.

How do I keep kids entertained on the City of New Orleans?

There's no Wi-Fi, so download shows and audiobooks at home. By day, the Sightseer Lounge is the place to be, with windows that curve up into the roof. Watch for the McComb Railroad Museum's steam engine on the right heading south, and play Steve Goodman's song about the train the night before. For the Mississippi stretch, have Rally Takes the Train and our free Rally activity pack and coloring pages ready.

Can we sit together on the City of New Orleans in coach?

Yes. Superliner coach seats are wide and recline, set in pairs, and most of them are on the upper deck. With a baby or a toddler, a lower-level seat puts you near the restrooms with no stairs at 2 a.m. Coach is easiest on short daytime pieces like Jackson to McComb. For the full overnight run, we'd lean toward a sleeper if the budget allows.

What if we're split up in coach on the City of New Orleans?

Sit as close as you can, maybe one row back, and keep the littlest one next to you while a grown-up checks both levels of this coach and the one behind it. Riders get off at every stop, so look again after Memphis or Jackson. If you ask a stranger to switch, offer a seat that's just as good and accept a no. A sleeper room avoids the whole puzzle.

Can a car attendant or conductor get us seated together on the City of New Orleans?

They can help, within limits. Catch the conductor or your car attendant as you board or during the ticket check, and share your family's size and the children's ages. Ask whether there's space in another coach. They can guide you to free seats and ask riders to take their bags down, because one ticket buys one seat, but nobody already seated is moved. Ask early in the evening, before people settle in to sleep.

Is there a Quiet Car on the City of New Orleans?

We found no confirmation of a Quiet Car on the City of New Orleans, so ask the conductor when you board. Any Quiet Car comes with the same three rules: soft voices, no phone calls, no device sound. On an overnight train, your neighbors will be trying to sleep, so headphones for every show and a sleeper door for a wakeful toddler both help.

What should I pack for kids on the City of New Orleans?

Pack for one night plus the better part of the next day. Put pajamas, toothbrushes, a small pillow, a blanket and a change of clothes in one easy bag, plus diapers, wipes and a changing pad. Add downloaded shows, since there's no Wi-Fi, a printed train word search and maze, and more snacks than seems sensible. Checked bags work at stations with baggage service, so the big suitcase can ride below.

Can kids sleep on the City of New Orleans?

Yes, in coach recliners or a sleeper. This Superliner train has a Family Bedroom on the lower level, running the full width of the car, with two upper and two lower beds for two grown-ups plus two children between 2 and 12, meals included. A Roomette has two bunks. If a child takes an upper bunk, ask the attendant to show you the safety strap.

What's the best first ride with kids on the City of New Orleans?

Jackson to McComb, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Board train 59 in Jackson at 9:49 a.m., reach McComb at 11:12 a.m., and visit the railroad museum beside the depot. Train 58 heads north at 1:46 p.m. and gets back to Jackson at 3:24 p.m. Times on this route moved more than once in 2026, so confirm on amtrak.com.

Can kids ride the City of New Orleans alone?

Not at 12 or younger. Teens 13 to 15 can use Amtrak's unaccompanied minor program, set up over the phone at 1-800-USA-RAIL, with staffed stations, no transfers and an adult fare. That policy covers daytime travel only, so the overnight run between Chicago and New Orleans doesn't fit it. At 16 and 17, kids can ride on their own.

How early should we get to Chicago Union Station for the City of New Orleans?

About 30 minutes early. At busy stations like Chicago Union Station, Amtrak staff often let families with babies and preschoolers on before everyone else, which helps when you're hauling pajamas, snacks and a sleepy kid. Train 59 leaves at 6:05 p.m., so feed everyone before you get there. Send the kids to find the big staircase in the Great Hall while you wait.

What if my child gets scared on the City of New Orleans at night?

Night trains bring new sounds: the horn in the dark, the hum of the wheels and stops in the middle of the night. Southbound, the train reaches Memphis at 4:42 a.m., so a light sleeper may wake up. Keep a small night-light toy and a favorite blanket close. Rally's tunnel page fits well here: the dark part ends, and morning comes in Mississippi.

Is the City of New Orleans safe for kids?

Yes, with a few habits that matter on a two-level train. On the platform, keep a hand on every small kid and stand back from the edge until the Superliner has stopped. On board, kids sit or hold on while it moves, use one hand on the rail on the stairs, and wear shoes, even at night. Hold a hand and a rail crossing between cars, and use the safety strap on any upper bunk.

What if the City of New Orleans is delayed?

Before leaving home, and again over breakfast on board, look at the Amtrak app's live map and the route's travel advisories, since this train's schedule changed more than once in 2026. On a 19 and a half hour trip, extra snacks, diapers, wipes and a spare outfit matter. Coach families especially should pack one extra meal, plus free coloring pages for the long wait.

When does the City of New Orleans stop in Memphis?

Southbound, it arrives in Memphis at 4:42 a.m., which is rough with small kids. Northbound is much kinder: train 58 reaches Memphis at 8:25 p.m. and leaves at 8:45 p.m., then gets to Chicago at 7:15 a.m. That makes Memphis to Chicago a good first overnight, with bedtime right after you board and arrival around breakfast.