There have been some rumors for a while that Amtrak would replace the Capitol Limited
I found out today that this will indeed be happening starting in November and continuing for “a year or two”. This might be of interest to me some time in March because my bucket list includes catching some Cardinals’ spring training games in Jupiter, FL. 😎 IIRC, there’s a hotel just across the street from Roger Dean Stadium that’s less than fifteen miles from the West Palm Beach station.
The new train will have the numbers 40 (mostly westbound) and 41 (mostly eastbound) and be called the Floridian, a train that once ran between Chicago and Miami via Nashville and Atlanta, and will use the single-level equipment normally found on the eastern trains.
Amtrak just put out a press release about the Floridian. They claim that the change is being made to reduce congestion in the East River tunnels*; but I don’t see how cutting one round trip per day in off-peak hours will accomplish much. Amtrak-riding geeks like me are convinced that the real reason is to free up some Superliners like I said in the OP.
On the plus side, “traditional dining” will be an improvement fot Capitol Limited passengers if that is indeed offered between Chicago and D.C.**
*The Silver Star will no longer serve any Northeast Corridor stations north of D.C. At present, 92 arrives New York at 19:10 (except when it’s late which is common); then after working the passengers and baggage, heads through the East River tunnels to Sunnyside Yard in Queens where it gets turned to become the next day’s 91 with a scheduled departure of 11:02.
**Amtrak claims that the Texas Eagle offers “traditional dining”; but that’s true only for trains 421 and 422, one coach and one sleeper that get switched onto the Sunset Limited in San Antonio and run to Los Angeles three days per week. The daily train between Chicago and San Antonio still has only “flexible dining”.
That all sounds very complicated and a lot to keep track of!
It’s not really that complicated.
Starting November 10, there will no longer be trains called the Capitol Limited or the Silver Star. Instead, there will be a new train called the Floridian which folks can book in the usual way. Passengers with existing reservations boarding or alighting at any station that the new train will serve will get notifications from Amtrak, possibly with minor schedule changes; and folks with existing sleeper reservations on the Capitol Limited will find their room assignments changed; but they can still make the trip that they planned.
It’ll be an annoyance for folks with existing Silver Star reservations boarding or alighting between New York and D.C. since they’ll now need to change trains in D.C; but there are lots of Northeast Corridor trains to choose from; and Amtrak will probably already have that figured out. Sleeper passengers will find themselves in coach or business class north of D.C.; but that’s only for about two or three hours depending on where they’re going and so not the end of the world.
Bill, do you know if there is a reason for the West-double decker/East-single decker split other than just tradition? Are there tunnels or something in the East that just can’t accommodate double deckers?
moarscienceplz: mostly it’s because the high-level platforms can’t handle the low doors on the Superliners. There are also places where overhead clearance is an issue like under the wire in the northeast corridor and a few tunnels.