Cardinal (train)

Cardinal
Cardinal passing through Orange, Virginia in 2021.
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
Higher-speed rail (Northeast Corridor only)
LocaleMid-Atlantic, Midwestern and Southeastern United States
PredecessorJames Whitcomb Riley
First serviceOctober 30, 1977
Current operator(s)Amtrak
Annual ridership82,705 (FY23) Increase 3.0%[a][1]
Route
TerminiChicago, Illinois
New York
Stops36
Distance travelled1,146 miles (1,844 km)
Average journey time27 hours, 45 minutes[2]
Service frequencyThree round trips per week
Train number(s)50/51
On-board services
Class(es)Coach Class
Sleeper Service
Disabled accessAll train cars, most stations
Sleeping arrangements
  • Roomette (2 beds)
  • Bedroom (2 beds)
  • Bedroom Suite (4 beds)
  • Accessible Bedroom (2 beds)
Catering facilitiesCafé/Dinette (combined car)
Baggage facilitiesOverhead racks, checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Rolling stock
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed41 mph (66 km/h) (avg.)
125 mph (201 km/h) (top)
Track owner(s)AMTK, BB, CN, CSX, METX, NS, UP
Route map
Map
0mi
New York City enlarge…
NJ Transit
10 mi
16 km
Newark Penn
Newark Light Rail Port Authority Trans-Hudson NJ Transit
58 mi
93 km
Trenton
NJ Transit
91 mi
146 km
Philadelphia–30th Street
NJ Transit
116 mi
187 km
Wilmington
185 mi
298 km
Baltimore
225 mi
362 km
Washington, D.C.
Virginia Railway Express
233 mi
375 km
Alexandria
Virginia Railway Express
258 mi
415 km
Manassas
Virginia Railway Express
293 mi
472 km
Culpeper
340 mi
547 km
Charlottesville
379 mi
610 km
Staunton
437 mi
703 km
Clifton Forge
472 mi
760 km
White Sulphur Springs
496 mi
798 km
Alderson
517 mi
832 km
Hinton
540 mi
869 km
Prince
551 mi
887 km
Thurmond
592 mi
953 km
Montgomery
619 mi
996 km
Charleston
668 mi
1075 km
Huntington
Tri-State
closed
1998
683 mi
1099 km
Ashland
712 mi
1146 km
South Portsmouth–
South Shore
766 mi
1233 km
Maysville
828 mi
1333 km
Cincinnati
851 mi
1370 km
Hamilton
closed
2005
pre-1986 route
864 mi
1390 km
Oxford
893 mi
1437 km
Connersville
951 mi
1530 km
Indianapolis
998 mi
1606 km
Crawfordsville
1025 mi
1650 km
Lafayette
1072 mi
1725 km
Rensselaer
1118 mi
1799 km
Dyer
mi
Muncie
Marion
Peru
Gary
1147 mi
1846 km
Chicago
Metra

The Cardinal is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York Penn Station and Chicago Union Station via Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Charlottesville, Charleston, Huntington, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. Along with the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited, it is one of three trains linking the Northeast and Chicago. The 1,146-mile (1,844 km) trip between New York and Chicago is scheduled for 2814 hours.[3]

The Cardinal has three round trips each week, departing New York City on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and departing Chicago on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Prior to being discontinued in 2019, the Hoosier State provided service on the portion of the Cardinal's route between Indianapolis and Chicago on the other four days of the week.[3][4]

The Cardinal's ridership was 82,705 in fiscal year 2023, a 3.0% increase from FY2022,[5] but approximately 25% below its pre-COVID-19 pandemic ridership of about 109,000 in FY2019. In the two fiscal years prior to the pandemic (FY2018 and FY2019), ridership had increased 12.5%.[6][7][8] In FY2020, the Cardinal earned $7.1 million on expenses of $22.6M—a revenue-to-cost ratio of 31%, the second lowest among all Amtrak routes.[9]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2023 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  2. ^ "Amtrak Timetable Results". www.amtrak.com. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Cardinal / Hoosier State" (PDF). Amtrak. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  4. ^ "Amtrak suspends ticket sales for Hoosier State line after June 30". Indianapolis Business Journal. April 8, 2019.
  5. ^ "Amtrak FY23 Ridership" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Amtrak Route Ridership FY21 vs FY19" (PDF). Amtrak.
  7. ^ "Amtrak Route Ridership" (PDF). amtrak.com. November 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  8. ^ "Amtrak® FY18 Ridership" (PDF). Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  9. ^ "General and Legislative Annual Report & FY2020 Grant Request" (PDF). Amtrak. March 19, 2019. p. 43. Table 36: Amtrak FY 2018 Annual Operations Report

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