New train (40-41 Floridian) between Miami and Chicago via Washington DC

[PatchesC]

A test booking for Wed Nov 27th out of Miami has interesting results on the #40 Floridian.
You can go to Washington DC for $134 or all the way to Chicago for $113.
I thought it would have been more expensive to travel a longer distance.

And looks like Traditional dining the entire way?

 

[Amtrak25]

Train 41 means Chicago to Miami, and vice versa, the opposite of what the Three River was.

Dwell time in DC is 59 minutes to Chicago; 38 minutes to Miami. This is going to be a disaster for both halves of the route.

Imagine the Pennsylvanian refugees in Pittsburgh waiting up for this thing.

 

[JWM]

I applaud the traditional dining if indeed it does begin on the CHI-WAS leg. Like others, I am also worried about the short amount of time in D.C. Finally, will they wash the cars in Chicago and Miami? I am trying to be positive, but I see a recipe for disaster here.

 

[Eric in East County]

This morning (9-22-2024), we received new e-tickets with modifications to our trip scheduled for next May. We originally had tickets for a passage from Chicago to Toledo on Capitol Limited No. 30. Now, we will be on Floridian No. 41 which departs from Chicago and arrives in Toledo at the same times as the CL No. 30 was supposed to. For our return trip, we were originally scheduled to travel from Toledo to Chicago on Capitol Limited No. 29. Now we will be on Floridian No. 40 which departs Toledo and arrives in Chicago at the same times that CL No. 29 was supposed to.

 

[PatchesC]

Train 41 means Chicago to Miami, and vice versa, the opposite of what the Three River was.

Dwell time in DC is 59 minutes to Chicago; 38 minutes to Miami. This is going to be a disaster for both halves of the route.

Imagine the Pennsylvanian refugees in Pittsburgh waiting up for this thing.

The route doesn't really save much time if going CHI-MIA, up until Savannah GA it arrives 81ish minutes before the Silver Star originally did. After that it decreases to a whole 26 minutes early in MIA. I haven't looked into return

 

[Amtrak25]

They are not trying to save time, but to send Superliners out west to cover up for the fact that Beech Grove is slow to put out equipment since they operate only on one shift.

They should have put some more thought into this, done something more comprehensive, and recognize what works on paper won't in reality.

 

[thefirewarde]

I still don't see how a two day East Coast train is any worse off than a two day West Coast train for timeliness. Plus, this creates some interesting new one seat connections that haven't existed in decades - it's a real world test (as well as an operational necessity) that could bring a new LD route into existence if it goes well and Amtrak is able to fund the trainsets for it in the new LD order.

 

[zephyr17]

Amtrak had a train with this name in the 1970's and it was a total dud due to track conditions in Indiana. Can't believe they couldn't come up with something else. Also, I predict this new one won't last long, but who knows.

Track conditions do not follow the name, so no concern there. Unless the name is somehow cursed, I imagine it'll do about as well as the Cap and Star have done. Amtrak is not leaving the CHI-WAS or WAS-TPA-MIA markets, which remain the targets of the train. As many have mentioned, it is a primarily an equipment utilization move, not really a move for the Chicago-Florida market.

 

[zephyr17]

Apparently less expensive. I noticed that cost/mile decreases

Probably in different buckets for the for the different city pairs.

 

[zephyr17]

And looks like Traditional dining the entire way?
View attachment 37851

Probably will switch to NER and Floridian for the NYP-CHI segment of my November 2025 trip. Would have liked to ride the Cap again but have been avoiding it since COVID since it had no Sightseer and Flex meals. Getting traditional back makes the route much more appealing.

 

[chadamfleetrailfan]

With this happening, I'm assuming that the route will have amfleets or horizons as the NY tunnels will not be able to accommodate the CL's superliners?

 

[zephyr17]

With this happening, I'm assuing that the route will have amfleets or horizons as the NY tunnels will not be able to accommodate the CL's superliners?

The closest 40/41 will come to New York is Washington, DC. That Superliners do not clear the Baltimore tunnels, the North River and East River tubes is immaterial to 40 and 41.

AFAIK, 40/41's entire route could clear Superliners. But one of the main reasons for the change is to free up Superliners, so it'll be an Amfleet II/Viewliner consist.