Lincoln Service With Kids: Every Stop, 110 MPH and Kids Tickets
Good news first: the Lincoln Service is one of the easier trains to try with kids. Four trains a day each way run between Chicago and St. Louis in about five hours, with up to nine stops in between, and kids 2 to 12 pay half the adult fare with an adult. Much of the line is cleared for 110 mph, a number your speed-loving kid will want to hear twice. Below is every stop, where to sit, and short trips that end before naptime, including one to a children's museum right across the tracks in Normal.
The short version
- Four round trips a day link Chicago and St. Louis, so if one train fights your nap plan, another probably won't. End to end is about 5 hours.
- Heading to Kansas City? One of the four keeps going past St. Louis as the Missouri River Runner, with no change of trains.
- Kids 2 to 12 pay half the adult fare with an adult 18 or older, and each adult can hold one baby under 2 on their lap for free.
- Grandparents in Summit, Dwight, Pontiac, Lincoln or Carlinville? Some trains skip those towns, so check the train number before you book.
- Getting off in Normal? The three-story Children's Discovery Museum sits right across the tracks from Uptown Station.
- No sleepers and no checked bags. It's a daytime train, so everything you bring rides at your seat.
Lincoln Service at a glance
- Runs between
- Chicago, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri
- States
- Illinois and Missouri
- Distance
- about 284 miles
- End to end
- about 5 hours
- Trains
- Four round trips per day, every day
- Train cars
- Single-level Siemens Venture coaches, sometimes mixed with older Amfleet cars, pulled by Siemens Charger locomotives
- Top speed
- 110 mph on upgraded track
- Upstairs seating
- None, all cars are single-level
- Food
- Cafe counter (no seats in the newer Venture cafe); free soft drinks in Business Class
- Wi-Fi
- Yes
- Sleeper rooms
- None, this is a daytime corridor train
- Checked bags
- Not offered; carry-on bags only
Look inside the book
Five hours to St. Louis? Start with five minutes of Rally.
Rally Takes the Train takes about five minutes to read, short enough for the wait in the Great Hall before you board. Flip through a few pages right here.
Rally Takes the Train
Eight pages from the book
Turn the page
That's 8 of 25 pages
See who’s waiting at the station
Grandmommy and Papa are at the last stop. Get the full hand-painted book, $13.99 on Amazon.
See the full bookPage 1 of 8
Like it so far? See the full book
25 hand-painted pages, paperback, $13.99 with fast shipping from Amazon.
Every page is real watercolor on paper, painted by hand by Leslie Dunn. Nothing in this book was made with AI.
Do kids need a ticket on the Lincoln Service?
Yes, your kids need tickets. Children 2 to 12 pay half the adult coach fare when they ride 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 has the general rules, so here is just what’s different on this line.
- Four trips a day means you have options. The Illinois Department of Transportation helps pay for the route, which is why it runs four times a day instead of once. That makes short hops like St. Louis to Alton or Chicago to Joliet easy to squeeze into a morning.
- Think about Business Class if you have a toddler. Amtrak lists free soft drinks, a separate seating area and a full refund if you cancel before the train leaves. That last one matters on the morning your kid wakes up sick.
- Check the train number, not just the time. Train 301, the 7:15 a.m. out of Chicago, skips Summit, Dwight, Pontiac, Lincoln and Carlinville. Trains 300, 306 and 307 skip Dwight and Carlinville. If Grandma lives in one of those towns, pick a train that actually stops there.
- Going all the way to Kansas City? Train 319 leaves Chicago at 9:50 a.m. and keeps rolling past St. Louis as the Missouri River Runner. You book Chicago to Kansas City as one trip, and nobody has to wake a sleeping kid for a transfer.
We couldn’t find any state kids-ride-free deals on this route as of October 2026, so the half-price child fare is your main discount.
Free for train families
Free Lincoln Service activity book
Eleven pages made for this train: a stop tracker for all 11 Lincoln Service stops, things to spot out the window, train window bingo, a word search full of Lincoln Service stops, a maze and an “I rode the Lincoln Service” certificate. Rally coloring pages come with it.
Get the free Lincoln Service activity bookEvery Lincoln Service stop, from Chicago to St. Louis
There are 11 stations between Chicago Union Station and St. Louis Gateway Station. Five of them, Summit, Dwight, Pontiac, Lincoln and Carlinville, get select trains only, so double-check yours.
Illinois- Chicago Union StationLook for: In the Great Hall, have them look up under the 115-foot skylight for two tall statues: "Day" holds a rooster and "Night" holds an owl. Who finds both first?
- Summit (select trains)Look for: Tell them to watch for freight cars here: Summit sits next to the Clearing Yards, one of the biggest rail yards in North America, with more than 250 miles of track.
- Joliet Gateway CenterLook for: Point across the tracks to old Joliet Union Station from 1912 and its huge round-arched windows. Two big railroads cross right here, so keep eyes on the other tracks too.
- Dwight (select trains)Look for: The 1892 stone depot is a history museum now. Ask them to check out its bumpy blue stone walls, where the shadows shift as the sun moves.
- Pontiac (select trains)
- Normal (Bloomington-Normal Uptown Station)Look for: Right across the tracks is the three-story Children's Discovery Museum. Before you even get there, see who spots the big clock face on the station tower.
- Lincoln (select trains)Look for: Ask if they'd believe a town was named with watermelon juice: a sculpture of a cut watermelon marks where Abraham Lincoln is said to have christened it. From your seat, look for the Logan County Courthouse dome.
- SpringfieldLook for: This 1895 brick depot stands where Lincoln's funeral train brought him home. If you hop off, Lincoln Home National Historic Site is a short trip away.
- Carlinville (select trains)Look for: Look for the silver dome of the "Million Dollar Courthouse," built in 1870 and once the largest county courthouse in the country. Save this one for a bored moment: the jail next door has cannonballs in its walls.
- Alton Regional Multimodal Transportation CenterLook for: Hand over the binoculars. Between 150 and 450 bald eagles nest in the limestone cliffs along the Mississippi near Alton, and a bronze statue honors Robert Wadlow, the tallest man in history.
- St. Louis Gateway StationLook for: Have them count the colors in the tall, multicolored windows. Next door, old St. Louis Union Station from 1894 was once the biggest train station in the world.
What kids can see from the Lincoln Service
Central Illinois is flat, so don’t promise anyone mountains. On this line the fun is the speed, the little towns and one big river at the very end.
Feel the 110 mph stretch
Illinois and the federal government spent more than a billion dollars rebuilding this line, and trains started running at 110 mph in May 2023. Between Joliet and Alton, fence posts and road crossings start to blur. Try this: count road crossings between two stops, then let everyone guess how fast you’re going.
Hunt for domes and towers
On flat land, anything tall stands out, and that makes a good spotting game. Riders often see the Logan County Courthouse dome near Lincoln, and Carlinville's silver-domed courthouse is a few blocks from the depot. At Normal, the clock tower on Uptown Station is an easy win for your youngest spotter.
Save some energy for the Mississippi
Alton sits near where the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers meet. Right after Alton, the train crosses the Mississippi into Missouri for the last few miles to St. Louis. In winter and early spring, keep the binoculars out around Alton for bald eagles on the cliffs.
Listen for the Trails & Rails guides
Amtrak's Illinois page lists a National Park Service Trails & Rails program on the Lincoln Service between St. Louis and Springfield. Volunteer guides talk about Lincoln and the land outside your window. Check the program schedule first, so you don’t promise your kids a guide who isn’t on board that day.
Where to sit with kids on the Lincoln Service
Pushing a stroller? Every Lincoln Service car is single-level, so there are no stairs inside the train. Most newer cars are Siemens Venture coaches, with two seats on each side of the aisle, big windows and a roomy bathroom at one end with touchless faucets. Older Amfleet cars still fill in on some trains.
Some seats face forward and some face backward, and Amtrak doesn’t promise which you’ll get. If your child gets carsick riding backward, board early and grab a forward seat. Each Venture car has a luggage and bike rack at one end, a handy home for a folded stroller.
Business Class has its own section with wider seats, set two on one side and one on the other in the Venture cars, plus an outlet under the armrest. The platforms on this line are low, so the Venture cars drop a step or two for boarding. Juggling a stroller, a bag and a toddler? Ask the conductor for a hand.
Lincoln Service seats all split up? Here’s the plan
Start with a single reservation for the whole crew. Most Amtrak coach is first come, first served, so treat a Lincoln Service ticket as a promise of a seat, not of the seat next to your kid. Staff in Chicago often wave families with little kids through first, so be near the gate, then head for a Venture car, where seats run in twos.
Hopping on at Joliet or Springfield to a crowded car? Stroll its length, then peek into the next Venture coach, with the family parked on opposite sides of the aisle meanwhile. Want someone to trade? Catch them before the laptop comes out, give one honest line (“Our toddler is 3 and can’t sit on their own”) and offer a forward-facing window for their forward-facing window. Nobody should lose a window to a worse seat, and a polite no earns a polite thanks.
Then flag down the conductor at the car door, or as tickets get scanned, with your numbers and the kids’ ages. They can steer you toward empty seats and have bags lifted off them (each ticket covers a single seat), but someone already sitting stays put. Your littlest rides beside you, even on the hop to Joliet.
The best first Lincoln Service ride with kids
Not sure your crew is ready for five hours? Start small. Times below come from the October 2026 Amtrak timetable, and times shift, so check amtrak.com before you go.
- St. Louis to Alton and back (about 45 minutes each way). Catch train 302 at 6:35 a.m. and you're in Alton at 7:21 a.m. Watch the river, then ride train 301 back at 11:14 a.m. and you're in St. Louis by 12:01 p.m. Winter is eagle season.
- Chicago to Normal for the museum (about 2 hours). Train 301 leaves Chicago at 7:15 a.m. and pulls into Normal at 9:16 a.m., steps from the Children's Discovery Museum. Head home on train 318 at 5:35 p.m. and you're back in Chicago at 8:00 p.m., so think about pajamas for the ride home.
- Chicago to Joliet (under an hour). The toddler test run. Train 301 reaches Joliet at 8:12 a.m., and train 302 heads back at 10:39 a.m., pulling into Chicago at 11:40 a.m. That’s home before lunch and nap.
Food, bathrooms and naps on the Lincoln Service
Every train has a cafe with snacks, drinks and light meals. On trains with the newer Venture cafe car, there are no seats at the snack counter, so you buy your food and carry it back. A small tray or a lidded cup can save you from juice on the floor.
Honestly, packing your own food is the easy win on a five-hour ride. Amtrak lets you bring food on board, and a bag of pretzels, fruit and sandwiches beats standing in a counter line with a wiggly toddler. In Business Class, non-alcoholic drinks are free.
The Venture coaches have one big bathroom per car, with more room beside the toilet than the old Amfleet cars, so helping a kid in there is less of a squeeze. There are no sleepers, so naps happen in your seat; a window seat and a small pillow help. Wi-Fi is there when you need a backup show, and a stack of free Rally coloring pages works with no signal at all. Changing tables aren’t something we could confirm on Lincoln Service cars, so a fold-up pad belongs in the diaper bag.
A train book for the ride
Rally's trip starts at a station, with his family waiting on the platform as the train slides in. Chicago Union Station makes a great real-life version. Let your kids find the owl and the rooster in the Great Hall, then head down to the platform together.
We'd read the book in your seat while you wait to pull out, then save the arrival page for St. Louis, or for the grandparents waiting at Springfield. For the slower stretches, print the free Rally activity pack and coloring pages before you leave home.
Pack Rally for the ride to St. LouisA five-minute picture book about a corgi’s first train ride, painted in watercolor for ages 0 to 8. Read it at Union Station, then read it again when the stops start to blur. $13.99 on Amazon.
Buy on Amazon
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
- Missouri River Runner with kids
- Texas Eagle with kids
- Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg with kids
- Illini and Saluki with kids
Sources
- Amtrak: Illinois Services
- Amtrak: Lincoln Service page and alerts
- Amtrak timetable: Lincoln Service (October 2026)
- Amtrak timetable: Lincoln Service and Missouri River Runner through trains
- Wikipedia: Lincoln Service
- Wikipedia: Illinois Service
- Trains: Siemens Venture coaches debut
- Trains: Venture coach-cafe debut
- Trains: Venture business-class cars trip report
- Great American Stations: Normal, IL
- Great American Stations: Lincoln, IL
- Great American Stations: Alton, IL
Checked against Amtrak and partner railroad pages in October 2026. Schedules and policies change, so confirm on amtrak.com before you ride.
Lincoln Service with kids: questions parents ask
Do kids need a ticket on the Lincoln Service?
Yes, once they turn 2. A Lincoln Service ticket for a 2- to 12-year-old costs half the adult coach price, as long as a parent, grandparent or other adult 18 or older books on the same trip, and the child's age on the day you leave decides it. Business Class from Chicago to St. Louis isn't discounted for kids, though it can be refunded in full up to departure. We found no Illinois kids-ride-free deal in October 2026.
Do babies ride free on the Lincoln Service?
Yes. Any grown-up paying full adult fare on the Lincoln Service can hold one baby younger than 2 in their lap at no cost. Two babies with one parent, or a baby you'd rather seat separately, means buying that baby a child ticket. A lap baby gets an open seat only when nobody with a ticket wants it, so over five hours to St. Louis, don't plan around a spare.
Do I need a car seat on the Lincoln Service?
No, and you couldn't strap one in anyway: Lincoln Service seats, like every Amtrak seat, offer no latch or buckle for a car seat. Yours can borrow an empty spot only if nobody holding a ticket wants it, and an infant may end up back on your lap with the seat stashed. We'd pack one only for a drive after the train, say from Springfield to Grandma's. The Venture coach rack can hold it.
Are there changing tables on the Lincoln Service?
We couldn't confirm changing tables on Lincoln Service trains. Amtrak has no official word on diaper changing, so on the Chicago to St. Louis trains it depends on the car, and Amtrak has said future cars will put tables in the accessible restrooms. Your best shot is the one large restroom in each Venture coach, with more room beside the toilet than the old Amfleet cars. Pack a fold-up changing pad either way.
What are the bathrooms like on the Lincoln Service with kids?
Roomy, on the newer cars. Each Venture coach has a big restroom at one end with touchless faucets, so nobody has to reach for a handle, and every car on the train has at least one bathroom. Watch for the light that says it's occupied. Go in with any child who can't work the lock, and mention that the flush is loud. No stairs on this train, so it's a straight shot down the aisle.
Can I bring a stroller on the Lincoln Service?
Yes, and a folding one is the way to go. The Lincoln Service doesn't check bags, so the stroller rides with you, and Amtrak lets a folding stroller or car seat count as one of your regular bags at no charge. Traveling with someone under 2? You get one bonus infant item on top of your carry-ons. The rack at the end of every Venture car fits a folded stroller.
Can I breastfeed or bottle-feed on the Lincoln Service?
Yes. You're legally allowed to breastfeed in public in Illinois, Missouri and every other state, so nurse right in your Lincoln Service seat, and grab a window seat if you'd like a little more privacy. There's no dining car between Chicago and St. Louis, just a cafe counter, so bring bottles, formula and water for all five hours instead of counting on help with prep on board.
Is there food for kids on the Lincoln Service?
There's a cafe on every train, but no dining car. It sells snacks, drinks and light meals, and on the newer Venture cafe cars there are no seats at the counter, so you carry everything back to your row. We'd pack most of the food anyway: a sandwich your kid already likes beats a counter line with a toddler on your hip. Business Class riders get free soft drinks.
How do I keep kids busy on the Lincoln Service?
Turn the flat Illinois view into a hunt for tall things: the clock on Normal's Uptown Station, the Logan County Courthouse dome near Lincoln and Carlinville's silver dome. On the 110 mph stretch between Joliet and Alton, count road crossings and guess the speed. Wi-Fi covers a backup show, with headphones. Print the free Rally activity pack and bring the book for the slow parts.
Can we sit together on the Lincoln Service?
Usually, if you board early. Lincoln Service coaches seat riders two and two across the aisle, so a family of four can grab a pair on each side. Amtrak won't promise whether your row faces forward or backward, so if someone gets carsick, move fast for the forward ones. In the Venture Business Class car, it's one seat by itself across the aisle from a pair, with an outlet under the armrest.
The Lincoln Service is crowded. What if we end up in separate seats?
Grab whatever puts your youngest next to an adult, even if the rest of you land on opposite sides of the aisle. Then one parent scouts the rest of the Venture coach and the car behind it. People leave at Joliet, Normal and Springfield, so scout again after each stop. When you ask a rider to trade, offer something at least as good as what they have, and smile if they pass.
Will a Lincoln Service conductor help us find seats together?
Yes, within limits. Stop the conductor at the door while you're boarding, or wait for the ticket scan, and give them your head count plus the kids' ages. Ask if there's room in another car. A Lincoln Service conductor can point you toward empty spots and ask riders to clear coats and bags, since every ticket gets one seat. Nobody gets made to stand up, though, so getting on early out of Chicago still matters.
Is there a Quiet Car on the Lincoln Service?
We weren't able to confirm that Lincoln Service trains carry a Quiet Car, so read the signs on each car as you get on. If one is marked, the rules are hushed voices, no phone calls and no sound out of any device, which a chatty three-year-old can't manage for five hours. We'd sit in a regular coach, hand out headphones and save the sing-alongs for the walk to the cafe.
What should I pack for a toddler on the Lincoln Service?
Pack for about five hours with no checked bag, since everything rides at your seat. Each adult gets two carry-ons and a personal item, and a diaper bag for your under-2 is a freebie. Fill it with diapers, wipes, a changing pad, a clean set of clothes, two meals of snacks, a lidded cup, headphones, a small pillow and our free train maze and word search. Riding train 319 on to Kansas City? Double the food.
Can kids nap on the Lincoln Service?
Yes, in their seats, since there are no sleepers on this daytime train. With four trains a day each way, you can choose the one that lines up with nap time. In the October 2026 timetable, trips run about 4 hours 46 minutes to 5 hours 5 minutes depending on stops. A window seat, a small pillow and a light blanket make it easier for a kid to drift off.
What's the best first ride with kids on the Lincoln Service?
Chicago to Joliet, under an hour. Train 301 leaves Chicago at 7:15 a.m. and reaches Joliet at 8:12 a.m., and train 302 brings you back at 10:39 a.m., into Chicago by 11:40 a.m., home before lunch. From the St. Louis end, train 302 leaves at 6:35 a.m. and gets to Alton at 7:21 a.m. Check the October 2026 times on amtrak.com first.
Can kids ride the Lincoln Service alone?
Not at 12 or under; Amtrak never lets them travel solo. For 13, 14 and 15, there's an unaccompanied minor program: a parent books it over the phone at 1-800-USA-RAIL, and the teen rides in daylight, between staffed stations, with no change of trains, paying the adult price. Ask whether both of your Lincoln Service stations qualify before promising the trip to Springfield. At 16 and 17, kids can go alone.
How early should we get to the station for the Lincoln Service?
Give yourself about half an hour. At Chicago Union Station, Amtrak often lets families with babies and toddlers on first, which helps you land seats together. Use the wait to check your train number: train 301 skips Summit, Dwight, Pontiac, Lincoln and Carlinville, and trains 300, 306 and 307 skip Dwight and Carlinville. Platforms on this line are low, so expect a step or two up.
What if my child gets scared on the Lincoln Service?
Tell them what's coming before it happens. The horn is loud, the 110 mph stretch feels fast, and at Joliet two big railroads cross, so another train may rumble past close by. Hold them, name each noise and point to something far off out the window. Rally's tunnel page helps too: the dark part ends and the light comes back. In the crowded Great Hall, go owl hunting.
Is the Lincoln Service safe for kids?
Yes, with a few habits. Keep small hands in yours on the platform, and wait well back from the edge line until the Lincoln Service has fully stopped. Low platforms mean a step or two up into the Venture cars, so lift small kids rather than letting them climb. Once you're moving, especially at 110 mph, kids should sit or hold on, keep shoes on and hold your hand between cars.
What if the Lincoln Service is delayed?
Open the Amtrak app and watch the Lincoln Service move along the live map, and read the Lincoln Service travel advisories on amtrak.com before you leave home. Pack more snacks, diapers and printable coloring pages than the five-hour schedule suggests. If a delay would wreck the whole day, a Business Class fare can be refunded in full before the train departs, and with four trains a day, there's usually another time to try.
Can we ride the Lincoln Service all the way to Kansas City?
Yes, without changing trains. One daily round trip links up with the Missouri River Runner: train 319 leaves Chicago at 9:50 a.m. and reaches Kansas City at 8:51 p.m., and train 318 makes the return. You book it as one trip, so nobody wakes a sleeping kid for a transfer. That is about 11 hours, though, so bring real meals and a nap plan.