El Paso

"The Sunset Limited’s arrival into El Paso is scheduled for the mid-afternoon. As is the pattern with trains 1 & 2, if the train is running on time out of Alpine and is given a clean run through Far West Texas, it can get into El Paso about 30 minutes early, possibly more. No matter what, you will at least have 10 minutes in the station to step off and stretch your legs. Although in the triple-digit dead-of-summer heat, you may not want to! The majority of the run through West Texas is painted with views of the high desert and some short mountain ranges such as the Davis Mountains. For the last 30-40 miles of the run from Alpine to El Paso, you will likely catch views of the United States-Mexico border. Located on the southwestern edge of El Paso in a quiet area, the station is within walking distance of some hotels, food options and attractions, although it can be quite cumbersome. It seems there is an overall lack of a direct route to many places as the train tracks split the neighborhood. More so, if you want to get onto the north side of the tracks, say to go to a El Paso Chihuahuas game (AAA affiliate of the MLB’s San Diego Padres) you will have to walk about 0.75 miles to get to one of the bridges to cross over, even though it is probably a couple hundred yards as the crow flies. If you are fit and it isn’t the dead of summer, it is certainly doable, but beware of the heat. As far as the schedule goes, you may be suspicious of why I’ve mentioned getting in early quite a bit. It is certainly possible, because both trains have a ton of padding in their schedules. Padding is extra time to protect on-time performance in case issues arise en route - weather, traffic, signal issues, etc. Unfortunately, the owner of the tracks - Union Pacific - has had its share of issues with dispatching Amtrak trains with preference as they are legally-required. Recently, the Surface Transportation Board has started to hold the freight company accountable, which has increased on-time performance significantly. The padding also helps BUT there is always the potential for severe delays (upwards of 3 hours) on the Sunset Limited."