Amtrak launches Chicago – Miami train service November 10th. They don’t seem to be afraid that the upcoming launch of the Boeing 707 into commercial service in 1958 will derail the route’s success.
Today, we’re proud to announce the launch of the Floridian!
This train combines two iconic routes — the Capitol Limited and Silver Star — and will offer traditional dining throughout the full journey. pic.twitter.com/XZbtfUptJq
— Amtrak (@Amtrak) September 23, 2024
As for seating,
[T]he new Floridian will be assigned four Amfleet II coaches and continue with only two Viewliner sleeping cars, as the New York-Miami Silver Star now has. This will result in a significant decrease in bedroom capacity on the Chicago-Washington, D.C. portion of the route — from 10 to 4 bedrooms on each train, since each of the two Superliners that currently operate on the Capitol Limited has 5 bedrooms and each Viewliner has 2. Both Superliners and Viewliners have one accessible bedroom, but Viewliners do not have a family bedroom that sleeps two adults plus two small children.
Roomette revenue capacity will also be reduced slightly from the 13 salable rooms in a Superliner to 11 (Viewliner II) or 12 (Viewliner I). The dining car, café, and coach attendant onboard service crew also must be accommodated with the fewer number of roomettes.
A big plus is that traditional dining will expand once again to the Chicago-Washington route after being jettisoned for flex meals in 2018 [under the leadership of former Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson].
The one-way journey takes 46 hours, including two overnights. If you want a roomette that runs over $1,000 for two adults for the length of a journey that’s about 15 times longer than flying.
It appears what’s going on here is that construction work is pushing Amtrak to reroute trains, and so they’ve decided to connect these services temporarily. Regardless, even Chicago to D.C. by train is… insane. The 2022 federal infrastructure bill committed an additional $66 billion to Amtrak.
Is Amtrak expecting “Flight Shaming” to make a comeback in 2025?
46 hours scheduled service is typically 50-60 hours actual duration- Amtrak time.
They aren’t betting that big
They already have two trains that connect to route
This is just 1 nonstop
Not that dramatic as your click bait title suggest
What would we do if the government didn’t throw billions of dollars into subsidizing Amtrak? Aside from Acela, would anybody miss it?
When I was a student, there was a some deal, where I took Amtrack from Raleigh to Boston, stayed for a couple of days, Boston to Philly, stay a couple of days, and then Philly to Chicago. It was cheap.
I value my time more these days. There’s no question I’d fly two of those three legs now – and likely Boston Philly too.
This helps them in a big way with equipment shortages. The Superliners from the Capitol Limited are badly needed out west where they are short due to damage/mechanical defects from age/etc.
In other news Icon of the Seas took eleven days to cross the Atlantic Ocean, lagging behind JetBlue Mint class which crossed in a few hours. Icon of the Seas will next cross the Atlantic in summer 2026. Has anyone revealed this slow travel in days to RCI shareholders? Maybe the bloated quasi-government entity known as Amtrak could learn frm RCI about how to operate a historical jobs program–(I mean, transportation program.) Or maybe not. Dream on.
If you have the time, train travel is so much more humane and relaxing. I’m not sure of the market for these (other than retirees), but I understand the interest in avoiding both ORD and MIA. It is also nice that trains tend to drop you off in an actual urban center, rather than a massive car park at the edge of town. it is a shame we can’t have passenger rail divorced from freight lines, as that causes much of the delay and speed problems.
Tell me you know nothing about Amtrak or its business base without telling me you know nothing about Amtrak.
Great for those climate people who wanna save the world with healthy, carbon free, green travel!
@ Mak – Yes I would miss it. I take Chicago to SW Michigan all the time, so much better than driving on a Friday evening.
“They don’t seem to be afraid that the upcoming launch of the Boeing 707 into commercial service in 1958 will derail the route’s success.”
Love it.
Having taken my first Amtrak trip last month I can only say that I hope the rails on this long route are much smoother than SEA-PDX.
I haven’t ever taken Amtrak but I do want to try the experience of taking a multi-day overnighter purely for the adventure. Not feasible as an option to get from point A to B so I don’t know how they make the economics work because they can’t have regulars commuting once a month on these things, but a one time trip for the novelty sounds fun. I assume for these longer routes that most people would be like me, taking it for the adventure so is there really that large of a leisure crowd for Amtrak on these routes?
Took Amtrak from DEN to SLC in March. Yes, we left Union Station at 8:30 am and got to SLC at 11:15 pm. One of the most spectacular trips we’ve had. One amazing vista after another. And no TSA or cattle car 3 in a row seating. Reasonably good food in a dining car with good service and real linen and utensils. Never opened the books my partner and I brought.
If all you are worried about is time enroute, good for you. But we saw scenery we would never see from 39K feet.
Even at 48 hours or whatever, Amtrak still gets you there faster than Delta during IROPs, especially for seniors and passengers with disabilities. Looking forward to the day when Amtrak will run Acela from Washington to Miami.
I do know some people who absolutely refuse to get on airplanes.
Not exactly a large market though.
Train travel that is 10X slower than a flight is not a solution for climate change.
I wouldn’t completely discount it. I know a lot of retirees who have the time, desire, and income to take that route. This is especially so because of the continuing seat shrinkage and general grief they encounter with air travel these days.
Knowing AA, they’ll respond to this encroachment into 2 of their hubs by pulling out of the ORDMIA market and instead increase frequencies to 14x/day on the Chicago to Branson route
What we really need is for federal government to invest trillions in high speed rail, then we can get that travel time down to 30 hours! Ahh, progress.
I love riding the trains in Europe but not long trips. 46 hours? No way. That makes no sense. Trains are fine up to 6 hrs or so. Some may like overnight rides where they can sleep.
Eons ago when I was a kid my father took us on the car train to FL. It took several days and while parts of it was fun to a kid, the train had significant problems with water. I vaguely recall him writing a letter and getting decent compensation back but it was the last time we took the train to visit the grandparents.
My wife and I have done the City of New Orleans, and will likely do it again if the proper occasion happens again.
We likely will not be interested in this one, since the tracks from Toledo to Philly are bumpy as HE!!. Also the accommodations will likely sell out quickly and without family space, this will be fail for Disney customers.
Here is an Idea for Amtrak, work with Disney to create a train that is very family friendly and has some Disney activities . It would sell out in a heartbeat.
Amtrak trains are better out west; better scenery, traditional dining, and less crossing; in more populated areas, the crossing signals can keep you awake. Recommend a roomette or bedroom for longer trips but be aware that Amtrak designed these decades ago when people were apparently much smaller. They are very, very cozy.
False. I used to drive Chicago to SE Michigan during peak times. Drivers in the midwest are not overly aggressive. The drive is completely fine as long as you budget the extra time for congestion. People riding Amtrak on this route are low income losers.
I only take Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor. Everywhere else, it’s losers.
I love love love train travel! But without the high speed capabilities like they have in Japan, France, etc, a trip like this would have limited appeal – to those with a strong phobia for air travel and slow travel enthusiasts. I used the AirTrain between Orlando and Washington DC-ish a few times. 16 hours. Meal service, observation/club car, leg room galore, friendly staff and fellow passengers. Didn’t cost much in 2015.
How could you go wrong riding amtrak. If you have the time take amtrak and enjoy the scenery and maybe see a little history. If you get the chance go on the coast starlight from Los Angeles to Seattle. One of the best trains in the world
Got very excited at the headline…until I saw the route.
I live just outside Tampa and have family and friends in the Indianapolis area. I’d use this at least a few times a year…if it followed the approximate driving route from Tampa to Chicago (up I-75 through Atlanta to Chattanooga; I-24 to Nashville; then I-65 up through Louisville and Indianapolis to Chicago).
Unfortunately, this route is incredibly indirect even if your final destination is Chicago, but for Indy, you’d have to switch to a different train and backtrack a few hours south. 100% not worth it. Would be OK if you intended to go to Pittsburgh or Cleveland though…
This is a new high-speed rail route from Biden’s infrastructure program.
Brit here. Did San Francisco to Chicago a few years ago as part of a coast to coast USA holiday.
Was fantastic, the scenery for most of it was amazing, especially following the Colorado River. We actually arrived almost on time to meet friends to go for dinner.
TBH the food didn’t impress, there was nothing on the breakfast menu I fancied, but as there was no wifi, or mobile signals even, people had to talk to each other.
Imagine!
Mr Burns: “I’d like to send this letter to the Prussian Consulate in Siam by aeromail. Am I too late for the 4:30 auto-gyro?”