Floridian | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Predecessor | |
First service | November 10, 2024 |
Current operator(s) | Amtrak |
Route | |
Termini | Chicago Miami |
Stops | 46 [1] |
Distance travelled | 2,076 miles (3,341 km) |
Average journey time | 47 hours |
Service frequency | Daily |
Train number(s) | 40, 41 |
On-board services | |
Class(es) | Coach, sleeper |
Sleeping arrangements |
|
Catering facilities | Dining car, café |
Technical | |
Rolling stock | GE Genesis and Siemens Charger locomotives Amfleet and Viewliner cars |
Track owner(s) | Amtrak, CSXT, NS, CFRC, SFRTA |
The Floridian is an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that operates daily between Chicago, Illinois, and Miami, Florida, via Washington, D.C.. Service officially began on November 10, 2024. The train was formed as a combination of two existing trains: the Capitol Limited , which operated overnight between Chicago and Washington, D.C., and the Silver Star , which operated overnight between New York City and Miami. Amtrak intends the train to be temporary, in response to planned rehabilitation work in the East River Tunnels, as well as a shortage of Superliner cars. It operates with single-level Amfleet and Viewliner passenger cars.
Amtrak created the Capitol Limited in 1981 as a Washington section of the Chicago–New York Broadway Limited , with the split occurring in Pittsburgh. [2] It became a fully separate train in 1986. [3] The train gained bilevel Superliner cars in 1994. [4] Amtrak inherited the Silver Star from the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in 1971. Amtrak previously used the name Floridian for a Chicago–Miami service that ran from 1971 to 1979 via Louisville, Kentucky, Nashville, Tennessee, and Montgomery, Alabama. [5]
Trains magazine speculated in July 2024 that Amtrak intended to combine the two trains, based on "circumstantial evidence gleaned from Amtrak’s booking site." [6] Amtrak confirmed this speculation on September 23, 2024, announcing the temporary merger of the Capitol Limited and the Silver Star. The new train, called the Floridian, will use the entire route of the Capitol Limited between Chicago and Washington, D.C., and the route of the Silver Star between Washington, D.C. and Miami. The combined train will use single-level Amfleet and Viewliner cars from the Silver Star and carry the train numbers 40 and 41, which were previously assigned to the Three Rivers and Broadway Limited . [5] Amtrak cited two reasons for the move: reducing the number of movements through the East River Tunnels during planned reconstruction work, and meanwhile freeing up Superliner cars for use on Western long-distance trains. [7]
The Floridian uses single-level Viewliner and Amfleet equipment, with a consist similar to that of the Silver Star. A typical Floridian has two GE P42DC or Siemens ALC-42 diesel locomotives, four Amfleet II coaches, an Amfleet cafe/lounge, a Viewliner diner, two Viewliner sleepers, and a Viewliner baggage car. [5] [8] Amtrak plans to add a third sleeper by March 2025. [5] [9]
State | City | Station |
---|---|---|
Illinois | Chicago | Chicago |
Indiana | South Bend | South Bend |
Elkhart | Elkhart | |
Waterloo | Waterloo | |
Ohio | Toledo | Toledo |
Sandusky | Sandusky | |
Elyria | Elyria | |
Cleveland | Cleveland | |
Alliance | Alliance | |
Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh |
Connellsville | Connellsville | |
Maryland | Cumberland | Cumberland |
West Virginia | Martinsburg | Martinsburg |
Harpers Ferry | Harpers Ferry | |
Maryland | Rockville | Rockville |
District of Columbia | Washington | Washington, D.C. |
Virginia | Alexandria | Alexandria |
Richmond | Richmond Staples Mill Road | |
Ettrick | Petersburg | |
North Carolina | Rocky Mount | Rocky Mount |
Raleigh | Raleigh | |
Cary | Cary | |
Southern Pines | Southern Pines | |
Hamlet | Hamlet | |
South Carolina | Camden | Camden |
Columbia | Columbia | |
Denmark | Denmark | |
Georgia | Savannah | Savannah |
Florida | Jacksonville | Jacksonville |
Palatka | Palatka | |
DeLand | DeLand | |
Winter Park | Winter Park | |
Orlando | Orlando | |
Kissimmee | Kissimmee | |
Lakeland | Lakeland | |
Tampa | Tampa | |
Winter Haven | Winter Haven | |
Sebring | Sebring | |
Okeechobee | Okeechobee | |
West Palm Beach | West Palm Beach | |
Delray Beach | Delray Beach | |
Deerfield Beach | Deerfield Beach | |
Fort Lauderdale | Fort Lauderdale | |
Hollywood | Hollywood | |
Miami | Miami |
The Capitol Limited is a temporarily discontinued daily Amtrak train between Washington, D.C., and Chicago, running 764 miles (1,230 km) via Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Service began in 1981. On November 10, 2024, Amtrak temporarily combined the Capitol Limited and Silver Star, producing a Chicago-Washington–Miami route, the Floridian.
The Three Rivers was an Amtrak passenger train that ran daily between New York City and Chicago via Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Akron. It started in 1995, replacing the Broadway Limited, and ran until March 7, 2005, when Amtrak cancelled a contract with the United States Postal Service that was specific to the train.
The Pennsylvanian is a 444-mile (715 km) daily daytime Amtrak train running between New York City and Pittsburgh via Philadelphia. The trains travel across the Appalachian Mountains, through Pennsylvania's capital Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, suburban and central Philadelphia, and New Jersey en route to New York. The entire train ride takes about 9 hours total: 1.5 hours between New York and Philadelphia, 2 hours between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, and 5.5 hours between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.
The Lake Shore Limited is an overnight passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the Northeastern United States, with sections to New York City and Boston. The central segment of the route runs along the southern shore of Lake Erie. East of Chicago, the Lake Shore Limited follows the former main line of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway to South Bend, Toledo, Cleveland, and Buffalo. From here the train takes the Empire Corridor through Rochester and Syracuse to Albany–Rensselaer station in Rensselaer, New York. At that station, the train divides, with one section continuing to Springfield and Boston in Massachusetts, while the other continues along the Empire Corridor to New York City. The train is scheduled for 19+1⁄2–20+1⁄4 hours for the 959 miles (1,543 km) between Chicago and New York, and 21+1⁄2–22 hours for the 1,018 miles (1,638 km) between Chicago and Boston.
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A combine car in North American parlance, most often referred to simply as a combine, is a type of railroad car which combines sections for both passengers and freight.
The Superliner is a type of bilevel intercity railroad passenger car used by Amtrak, the national rail passenger carrier in the United States. Amtrak commissioned the cars to replace older single-level cars on its long-distance trains in the Western United States. The design was based on the Budd Hi-Level cars used by the Santa Fe Railway on its El Capitan trains. Pullman-Standard built 284 cars, known as Superliner I, from 1975 to 1981; Bombardier Transportation built 195, known as Superliner II, from 1991 to 1996. The Superliner I cars were the last passenger cars built by Pullman.
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Silver Service was a brand applied by Amtrak to its long-distance trains running along the United States East Coast between New York City and Miami, Florida. It comprised two trains – the Silver Meteor and Silver Star. Since November 2024, the Silver Star has been temporarily combined with the Capitol Limited to form the Floridian, a Chicago–Washington–Miami route. The Silver Service brand was subsequently quietly discontinued for an indefinite period at the same time.
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The Silver Star is a temporarily discontinued long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 1,522-mile (2,449 km) route between New York City and Miami via Washington, D.C.; Richmond, Virginia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Jacksonville, Florida; and Tampa, Florida.
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