Independence to Chicago train

Trains from Independence to Chicago start at €97.69 and take 6h 17m at their fastest.

IndependenceIndependenceChicagoChicago

The Trains from Independence to Chicago starts at €97.69 and takes 6h 17m door to door, run by 1 operator over 746 km, with around 5 departures a day. Fares bottom out about 60 days before departure.

Checked September 10, 2026Priced for September 29, 2026One passenger, all fees included

  • 6h 17mDoor to door
  • 5h 33mMoving
  • €97.69From
  • 24.6 kgCO2
Real services

The cheapest and the fastest on September 29, 2026

Two journeys we can sell today, with the service number each operator files them under.

Cheapest€80.64
  1. Amtrak A987807:303h 46m11:16IndependenceMossville Station
  2. American Airlines AA576512:4443m13:27North Peoria PIAChicago MDW

Changes at North Peoria, with 88 minutes between services and a walk of about 14 minutes.

Door to door 7h 54mCO2 69.0 kgChanges 1Fixed, no changes

Fastest€84.49
  1. Amtrak A136206:025h 33m11:35IndependenceChicago Union Station

Door to door 6h 17mCO2 24.6 kgChanges 0Refundable

Carriers

Rail operators

Speed, flexibility and what is on board. Nothing here is a rating, because we have not earned one.

Every operator we sell on this corridor. Speed is the carrier's own typical cruising speed, not the average over this route.
OperatorFromFastestTypical speedFlexibilityOn board
Amtrak€84.495h 47m140 km/hRefundablePower outlets, Wi-Fi
  • Amtrak

That is the traveling done. What happens after you walk out into Chicago is not something we sell.

A hotel room

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Booking window

When to book Independence to Chicago

The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.

  1. €96.5990 days
  2. €81.1960 days
  3. €86.1445 days
  4. €85.5930 days
  5. €109.2421 days
  6. €125.7414 days
  7. €160.947 days
  8. €177.993 days
  9. €218.691 days
Cheapest lead time
Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €81.19.
How much it moves
The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time is 169 percent. The most expensive point is €218.69, 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.
Day of the week

Which departure day costs least

Median cheapest fare for each weekday, taken across the next three weeks of real prices.

  1. €123.54Sun
  2. €97.69Mon
  3. €102.09Tue
  4. €105.39Wed
  5. €125.74Thu
  6. €146.09Fri
  7. €135.64Sat
Terminals

Where you leave from and where you arrive

The stations, airports and ports each mode on this corridor actually uses.

Independence

Rail
  • Independence

Chicago

Rail
  • Chicago Union Station
  • Chicago Ridge
  • Chicago station
The journey

What the journey actually looks like

Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.

Direct or connecting
20% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 80% involve one connection.
How far it really runs
The route covers 746 km against 649 km in a straight line, a detour of 15 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
Where the change is
Connections are made at Naperville, North Peoria, Joliet, Davenport. The gap between arriving and leaving is 90 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
If the connection is missed
The tightest connection we sell here has a 11 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
First and last departure
The first service of the day leaves Independence at 06:02 and the last at 07:30, across 5 departures. The return direction keeps its own timetable, so the times back are not these times reversed.

Questions about Independence to Chicago

The questions people actually ask about this trip, 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 Independence to Chicago take?

The Train from Independence to Chicago takes 6h 17m door to door, of which 5h 33m is spent moving. The route runs 746 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 Independence to Chicago cost?

The Train from Independence to Chicago starts at €97.69 for one passenger, checked on September 29, 2026. A typical fare is €89.43. 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 Independence to Chicago?

1 operators run the Train from Independence to Chicago: Amtrak. Between them they file around 5 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 Independence to Chicago use?

The Train from Independence to Chicago leaves from Independence and arrives at Chicago 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.

When should I book the Train from Independence to Chicago?

Fares for the Train from Independence to Chicago bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €81.19. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time across the window is 169 percent, measured on September 29, 2026. Booking inside the final week has consistently cost more.

How much CO2 does the Train from Independence to Chicago produce?

The Train from Independence to Chicago produces about 24.6 kg of CO2 per passenger over 746 km, which works out at roughly 33 grams per passenger kilometer. That figure is for the whole journey and for one traveler, not for the vehicle.

What is provided on board the Train from Independence to Chicago?

Operators on the Train from Independence to Chicago publish Power outlets, Wi-Fi. That is what 1 carriers on this corridor state about their own fleets, across a journey of 6h 17m door to door. Where a carrier publishes nothing, this page lists nothing for it.

Where these numbers come from

Derived from service area No carrier record names this exact pair. The operators listed publish a service area covering both places at a distance their mode plausibly carries people, which is evidence that the corridor is served and not evidence of a specific service. Pages state which, because presenting the two as the same thing would be dishonest.

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 modeled 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 Independence to Chicago on September 10, 2026: 746 km of route against 649 km in a straight line, 5 services a day, 1 operators, a cheapest fare of €97.69, and 6h 17m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.

Related journeys

The trip is the easy half to plan. The days in Chicago are the half people leave until last.

A guided tour group

Anything to book in Chicago before you go?

Timed entry, guided walks and half-day trips out of Chicago, with free cancellation on most of it.

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