CLEVELAND, Ohio – Starting in November, Northeast Ohio travelers will be able to board an Amtrak train in Cleveland and stay in the same seat all the way to Orlando, Tampa and Miami.
Amtrak announced this week that it is temporarily combining two existing routes, including the Capitol Limited, which currently travels from Chicago to Washington, D.C. via Cleveland, and the Silver Star, which travels from Washington to Miami.
The new route will be called the Floridian and will travel from Chicago to Miami, starting Nov. 10.
The entire route will take 46 hours 29 minutes.
Traveling from Cleveland to Orlando will take 32 hours 13 minutes. Stops along the way include Richmond, Virginia; Raleigh, N.C.; Columbia, S.C. and Jacksonville, Florida.
Tickets are on sale now for the daily service, which will depart from Cleveland at 1:54 a.m. That’s the same time the Capitol Limited currently stops in Cleveland headed east.
Prices start at about $180 for coach seating to Orlando.
Currently, to travel to Florida, Cleveland travelers have to change trains in Washington, D.C.
The new route will use single level Viewliner cars, with coach and first-class seating, roomettes and bedrooms with private restrooms and showers.
The train will also have a traditional dining car, offering chef-prepared meals (included in the price for first-class travelers; available as an extra for others).
The combination of the two routes is temporary, to alleviate traffic in New York, due to the upcoming East River Tunnel rehabilitation project, which will rebuild the tunnels under the East River in New York City.
The Silver Meteor will continue to operate daily between New York and Miami.
Amtrak previously offered the Floridian route, which connected Chicago to Miami in the 1970s. But that train didn’t stop in Cleveland.
Jim Mathews, president and CEO of the Rail Passengers Association, applauded the new route.
“Our members have had a long-standing dream of restoring a one-seat ride from the Midwest to Florida, and we’re thrilled that a new generation of American passengers will be able to experience this service for themselves,” Mathews said in a statement.
Read more:
Amtrak expansion in Ohio: What comes next, and how soon might we be taking the train to Columbus?
