Amtrak will now be offering customers a direct round-trip between Chicago, Ill., and Miami, Fla., with intermediate stops in Cleveland, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pa., Washington, D.C., and Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa, Fla. The Floridian combines the routes of the Capitol Limited and Silver Star for a limited time and will make its inaugural trip on Nov. 10.
“The Floridian offers customers an exceptional and sustainable journey to great destinations between Chicago and Miami, providing the amenities and delicious food our guests enjoy when traveling with us,” said Amtrak Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Eliot Hamlisch.
Amtrak is temporarily combining the Capitol Limited and Silver Star trains to create the Floridian due to the upcoming East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project in New York. During this project, one tunnel tube will be closed at a time, minimizing service impacts, maximizing construction access and modernizing the tunnel infrastructure to serve customers for another 100 years.
“Our members have had a long-standing dream of restoring a one-seat ride from the Midwest to Florida and we’re thrilled that a new generation of American passengers will be able to experience this service for themselves,” said Jim Mathews, president and CEO, Rail Passengers Association. “This move will free up badly needed equipment while taking pressure off Northeast Corridor infrastructure during the renovation of the [East River Tunnel] Project. Rail Passengers applauds Amtrak for this innovative solution to keeping passengers moving during critical state of good repair work. We believe riders will flock to this new service.”
The Floridian (trains 40 & 41) will operate on a similar schedule and make the current stops of the Capitol Limited (trains 29 & 30) between Chicago and Washington, D.C., and the Silver Star (trains 91 & 92) between Miami and Washington, D.C. The Silver Meteor (trains 97 & 98) continues to operate daily between New York and Miami.
