Amtrak combines Capitol Limited and Silver Star to form new Floridian (updated)

WASHINGTON — Amtrak is temporarily combining the Capitol Limited And Silver Star Trains to create the new From FloridaAmtrak says the change is due to the upcoming East River Tunnel rehabilitation project in New York. During that project, one tunnel tube will be closed at a time to minimize impacts on operations, maximize access to the site, and modernize the tunnel infrastructure so it will serve customers for another 100 years. The single-deck train will make its maiden voyage on November 10.

Trains News Wire first reported on the possibility of a combined service in July 2024.

“The From Florida “offers our customers an exceptional and sustainable journey to great destinations between Chicago and Miami while providing the amenities and delicious food our guests enjoy when they travel with us,” said Eliot Hamlisch, Amtrak’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer.

The new From Florida The service will operate trains No. 40 and 41. It will offer traditional dining service in the dining car, a complimentary amenity for customers traveling in private first class compartments.

In the 1970s, Amtrak From Florida The train provided direct service between Florida and the Midwest for nearly a decade. The train was initially known as South winda name that was adopted from its predecessors Pennsylvania Railroad, Louisville & Nashville and Seaboard Coast Line. With the publication of Amtrak's first own timetable on November 14, 1971, the name was changed to From Florida. The train was the only Amtrak service at its time to cities such as Louisville, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; and Montgomery, Alabama. At the Florida end, the train operated in two sections, one to Tampa/St. Petersburg and the other to Miami. To get to St. Petersburg, the train had to run on street tracks in Clearwater. At various times in the 1970s, Amtrak From Florida Service operated in combination with the Silver Star south of Jacksonville. The train was discontinued in October 1979.

In response to Trains When asked about specific operational details, Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods said the new From Florida will receive four Amfleet II cars and will continue to have only two Viewliner sleeping cars, as the New York-Miami Silver Star now has. This will result in a significant reduction in sleeping capacity on the Chicago-Washington, DC section of the line – from 10 to 4 sleeping rooms per train, as each of the two Superliners currently operating on the line Capitol Limited has 5 bedrooms and each Viewliner has 2. Both Superliner and Viewliner have an accessible bedroom, but Viewliners do not have a family bedroom that can sleep two adults and two small children.

The sales capacity for roomettes is also slightly reduced from the 13 saleable rooms in a Superliner to 11 (Viewliner II) or 12 (Viewliner I). The service staff for the dining car, café and coach attendants must also be accommodated with the smaller number of roomettes.

A big plus is that traditional dining options are being expanded again on the Chicago-Washington route after being abandoned in favor of flexible meal options in 2018. Woods says that for an additional fee (as on western long-distance trains), “a limited number of dining car meals are also available to Coach Class customers.”

Passengers with tickets to and from points on the Northeast Corridor are guaranteed a connection in Washington.

The new train No. 41 travels east on the Capitol Limited portion of the route and No. 40 westbound, which contradicts the “even eastbound – odd westbound” designations of other Amtrak trains. The train numbers were last used on the New York-Philadelphia-Chicago route. Three rivers, was discontinued in 2005, and its predecessor, the Broadway Limited, dropped in 1995.

Updated September 23 at 5 p.m. CDT with additional information from Amtrak.