Amtrak offers nonstop train service between the Triangle and the Midwest

Amtrak is temporarily modifying two of its long-distance trains, providing a direct connection between Florida and the Midwest that runs through the Triangle.

Amtrak is combining its Silver Star train between New York and Florida with its Capitol Limited between Chicago and Washington, D.C. The combined train will be called the “Floridian” and will run between Chicago, Washington and Miami, with stops in Selma, Raleigh and Cary.

The Floridian will begin service on Sunday, November 10, and will operate daily.

The change means that residents of the Triangle will lose a nonstop connection to the cities between Washington and New York. The Silver Star is one of two trains, along with the state-supported Carolinian, that run daily between Raleigh and New York, stopping in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Newark.

Amtrak says it is building the Floridian to free up train cars and reduce traffic at New York's Penn Station while the railroad works to restore and modernize tunnels under the East River. Two of the four 114-year-old tubes under the river were damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and are being almost entirely rebuilt.

By solving problems in New York, Amtrak will create a connection that some passengers have long wanted, said Jim Mathews, president and CEO of the Rail Passengers Association, a nonprofit advocacy group.

“Our members have long had a dream to reinstate transfer service from the Midwest to Florida,” Matthews said in a written statement. “We are excited for a new generation of American passengers to experience this service for themselves.”

Amtrak calls the Floridan temporary, but has not said when it will end. Amtrak estimates the East River Tunnel project will be completed sometime in 2027.

South of Washington, the Floridan serves the same cities as the Silver Star, including Rocky Mount, Southern Pines, and Hamlet. From Washington north, the train follows the Capitol Limited route with stops in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Toledo.

The other Florida train that runs through North Carolina, the Silver Meteor, will not change. It will follow a different route through the state, making only two stops in Rocky Mount and Fayetteville en route between New York and Miami.