Empire Builder

The Empire Builder is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great 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.

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

The Great Northern Railway inaugurated the Empire 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 funded transcontinental railroad. It reached the Pacific Northwest in the late 19th century, and for this feat, he was nicknamed "The Empire Builder". Following World War II, Great Northern placed new streamlined 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.

The schedule allowed riders views of the Cascade Mountains and Glacier National Park, a park established through the lobbying efforts of the Great Northern. Re-equipped with domes in 1955, the Empire Builder offered passengers sweeping views of the route through three dome coaches and one full-length Great Dome car for first class passengers.

In March 1970, the Great Northern, along with three other closely affiliated railroads (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q), Northern Pacific and Spokane, Portland & Seattle) merged to form Burlington Northern, which assumed operation of the Builder. Amtrak took over the train when it began operating most intercity routes in May 1971. To improve its farebox recovery ratio, Amtrak shifted the Chicago–St. Paul leg to run through Milwaukee via the Milwaukee Road. 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 in Willmar, to reach Fargo. When Amtrak assumed operation of the service, it also rerouted the Builder over the route between Fargo and Minot via Grand Forks, which until that time was covered by the Builder's companion service, the Western Star. While the Builder running through the direct route between Fargo and Minot, the Western 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 and Spokane via Staples, Fargo, Bismarck, Missoula and Helena run the North Coast Hiawatha, descendant of NP's flagship service, the North Coast Limited, which also served stops such as St. Cloud, Staples and Detroit Lakes. Between Chicago and Minneapolis, and between Spokane and Seattle, the North Coast Hiawatha run combined with the Builder three days a week.

When Amtrak cancelled the North Coast Hiawatha, it rerouted the Builder 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 the North Coast Hiawatha was suspended. The realignment of the Builder from the former GN mainline to the NP mainline however resulted in the loss of the stops at Willmar, Breckenridge and Morris.