Amtrak Launching Daily Service Between Chicago and Miami

Photo credit: Bruce Leighty / Adobe Stock

A new Amtrak experience is available to customers. 

The Floridian is a new temporary route that offers a direct roundtrip train journey between Chicago and Miami with intermediate stops in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa. The route is a combination of the Capitol Limited and Silver Star and available for a limited time. 

“The Floridian offers customers an exceptional and sustainable journey to great destinations between Chicago and Miami, providing the amenities and delicious food our guests enjoy when traveling with us,” Amtrak Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Eliot Hamlisch said.

Coach class features wide, reclining seats with ample legroom, no middle seat and windows to enjoy the scenery. For an additional fee, a limited number of dining car meals are also available for Coach Class customers.

First Class private room options include a Roomette — featuring two reclining seats that transform into upper and lower beds by night and shower access. There is also a Bedroom offering twice the space of a Roomette and an in-room restroom and shower. 

Private rooms have large windows as well as a sink and turndown service. All customers in private rooms receive complimentary lounge access at major stations and priority boarding. Private rooms also come with traditional dining service in the Dining Car.

All customers have access to cafe service, which has also been updated. 

Amtrak is temporarily combining the Capitol Limited and Silver Star trains to create the Floridian due to the upcoming East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project in New York.

“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,” said Jim Mathews, President & CEO of the Rail Passengers Association. “This move will free up badly needed equipment while taking pressure off Northeast Corridor infrastructure during the renovation of the ERT Project. Rail Passengers applauds Amtrak for this innovative solution to keeping passengers moving during critical state of good repair work. We believe riders will flock to this new service.”

This article originally appeared in TravelPulse.