Fastest€67.99
- Amtrak A551909:113h 25m12:36Chicago Union StationDes Moines Union Station
Door to door 4h 9mCO2 16.3 kgChanges 0Refundable
Chicago to Des Moines train
Trains from Chicago to Des Moines start at €64.69 and take 4h 9m at their fastest.
The Trains from Chicago to Des Moines starts at €64.69 and takes 4h 9m door to door, run by 1 operator over 495 km, with around 12 departures a day. Fares bottom out about 60 days before departure.
- 4h 9mDoor to door
- 3h 25mMoving
- €64.69From
- 16.3 kgCO2
The cheapest and the fastest on 29 September 2026
Two journeys we can sell today, with the service number each operator files them under.
Train operators
Speed, flexibility and what is on board. Nothing here is a rating, because we have not earned one.
| Operator | From | Fastest | Typical speed | Flexibility | On board |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Amtrak | €53.14 | 4h 7m | 140 km/h | Refundable | Power sockets, Wi-Fi |
The journey ends at Des Moines Union Station. Everything past the barriers belongs to somebody else, the rooms included.
Looking for somewhere to stay in Des Moines?
Hotels and flats near the centre, most of them with free cancellation, on a map that shows what is walkable.
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When to book Chicago to Des Moines
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €26.5890 days
- €18.8860 days
- €18.8845 days
- €20.5330 days
- €26.0321 days
- €33.7314 days
- €40.887 days
- €45.833 days
- €54.081 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €18.88.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 186 percent. The dearest point is €54.08, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 60 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Which departure day costs least
Median cheapest fare for each weekday, taken across the next three weeks of real prices.
- €30.98Sun
- €27.13Mon
- €26.58Tue
- €28.23Wed
- €36.48Thu
- €34.28Fri
- €33.73Sat
Where you leave from and where you arrive
The stations, airports and ports each mode on this corridor actually uses.
Chicago
Rail
- Chicago Union Station
- Chicago Ridge
- Chicago station
Des Moines
Rail
- Des Moines Union Station
- East Des Moines Union Depot
- Des Moines Western Railway Freight House
What the journey actually looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 495 km against 495 km in a straight line, a detour of 2 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- First and last departure
- The first service of the day leaves Chicago at 06:02 and the last at 21:20, across 12 departures. The return direction keeps its own timetable, so the times back are not these times reversed.
Trains against the other ways to make this journey
The same corridor, door to door, with every mode that runs it.
| Mode | Door to door | Moving | At the ends | From | CO2 | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train | 4h 9m | 3h 25m | 44m | €64.69 | 16.3 kg | 12 |
| Flight | 4h 13m | 1h 3m | 3h 10m | €55.01 | 125.5 kg | 56 |
| Coach | 7h 17m | 6h 33m | 44m | €26.58 | 13.4 kg | 12 |
Questions about Chicago to Des Moines
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does the Train from Chicago to Des Moines take?
The Train from Chicago to Des Moines takes 4h 9m door to door, of which 3h 25m is spent moving. The route runs 495 km. The difference between the two times is reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end, which every time on this page includes.
How much does the Train from Chicago to Des Moines cost?
The Train from Chicago to Des Moines starts at €64.69 for one passenger, checked on 12 September 2026. A typical fare is €66.34. Both are the total including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so the price here is the price at checkout.
Who runs the Train from Chicago to Des Moines?
1 operators run the Train from Chicago to Des Moines: Amtrak. Between them they file around 12 departures a day. The operator table on this page compares them on fare, journey time, cruising speed, fare conditions and what is provided on board.
Which terminal does the Train from Chicago to Des Moines use?
The Train from Chicago to Des Moines leaves from Chicago Union Station and arrives at Des Moines Union Station. Allow about 44m for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one. That time is already inside every door to door figure quoted on this page.
Is the Train the best way from Chicago to Des Moines?
Travelling from Chicago to Des Moines by Flight costs €55.01 and takes 4h 13m door to door, against 4h 9m by Train. Which is better depends on whether the money or the hours matter more on this trip. The comparison table on this page shows every mode side by side.
When should I book the Train from Chicago to Des Moines?
Fares for the Train from Chicago to Des Moines bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €18.88. The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time across the window is 186 percent, measured on 12 September 2026. Booking inside the final week has consistently cost more.
How much CO2 does the Train from Chicago to Des Moines produce?
The Train from Chicago to Des Moines produces about 16.3 kg of CO2 per passenger over 495 km, which works out at roughly 33 grams per passenger kilometre. That figure is for the whole journey and for one traveller, not for the vehicle.
What is provided on board the Train from Chicago to Des Moines?
Operators on the Train from Chicago to Des Moines publish Power sockets, Wi-Fi. That is what 1 carriers on this corridor state about their own fleets, across a journey of 4h 9m door to door. Where a carrier publishes nothing, this page lists nothing for it.
Where these numbers come from
Observed service A carrier record shows this named operator serving this named pair, and we carry that through unchanged.
Schedules, seat counts and fares are generated by our own model until the supplier contracts are signed. Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance are real. We would rather say that on every page than let a modelled number pass for a filed one.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Chicago to Des Moines on 12 September 2026: 495 km of route against 495 km in a straight line, 12 services a day, 1 operators, a cheapest fare of €64.69, and 4h 9m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
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Our job ends on the platform. What fills the days in Des Moines afterwards does not belong to us.
Anything to book in Des Moines before you go?
Day trips that leave Des Moines in the morning and cover a good part of United States by evening.
See Des Moines on GetYourGuideOr browse Viator
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