CPKC Holiday Train returns to Texarkana Nov. 29 with free concert
The lighted CPKC Holiday Train stops at the West 4th Street crossing Sunday, Nov. 29, 4:45 to 5:15 p.m., with Magic! and MARIS. Bring a food donation.
The CPKC Holiday Train is coming back to Texarkana. The lighted train will stop at the West 4th Street railway crossing in Texarkana, Texas, on Sunday, Nov. 29, for a free 30-minute show from 4:45 to 5:15 p.m.
Canadian band Magic!, known for the 2014 hit “Rude,” and singer-songwriter MARIS will perform from the train’s stage car. Each stop also includes a short presentation with local food bank representatives.
Bring a donation
The show is free, but Canadian Pacific Kansas City asks visitors to bring a non-perishable food item or a cash donation. The railroad says every contribution stays in the community where it is collected.
Since 1999, the Holiday Train program has collected more than $28.3 million and over 5.6 million pounds of food for food banks in Canada and the U.S., according to CPKC.
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Nearby stops
Texarkana is one of three stops on Nov. 29. If you can’t make the Texarkana show, the train will also stop at these nearby locations:
- Heavener, Oklahoma: Saturday, Nov. 28, 9 to 9:30 p.m., 403 W. 1st St.
- Mena, Arkansas: Sunday, Nov. 29, 10:45 to 11:15 a.m., Sherwood Avenue and 7th Street
- Texarkana, Texas: Sunday, Nov. 29, 4:45 to 5:15 p.m., West 4th Street railway crossing
- Shreveport, Louisiana: Sunday, Nov. 29, 7:45 to 8:15 p.m., 4550 N. Lake Shore Drive
The 2026 tour starts Nov. 19 in Montreal and makes 182 stops in six Canadian provinces and 13 U.S. states before it ends Dec. 20. This year’s route goes farther south than ever before, with first-time stops in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri.
A Texarkana holiday tradition
Holiday trains have stopped in Texarkana for years. For nearly two decades, Kansas City Southern’s Holiday Express brought Santa, his elves and decorated cars to town. Visitors parked at Tiger Stadium and rode shuttle buses to the rail yard to tour the train. In 2014, thousands of people waited in the cold and rain to get on board. The Holiday Express returned in 2022 after a two-year break for the pandemic.
After Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern merged in 2023, the combined railroad brought its CPKC Holiday Train to downtown Texarkana that November. It stopped on West 4th Street, with a concert in place of the walk-through tour.
Last year’s stop on Nov. 30, 2025, drew a big crowd to see Smash Mouth perform from the train. CPKC donated $8,000 to Harvest Texarkana Regional Food Bank that day, enough to pay for 40,000 meals.
Safety reminder
CPKC reminds visitors to stay off the tracks and ballast rock when taking photos or videos and to keep back from the locomotive and rail cars. The railroad also warns about fake social media accounts pretending to be the Holiday Train. Get updates only from CPKC’s verified channels.
For the full schedule, visit cpkcr.com.