Cardinal (train)

{{main|James Whitcomb Riley (train)|George Washington (train)}}

The Cardinal is the successor of several previous trains, primarily the New York Central (later Penn Central) James Whitcomb Riley and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) George Washington. The James Whitcomb Riley was a daytime all-coach train which operated between Chicago and Cincinnati (via Indianapolis). The George Washington, the C&O's flagship train, was a long-distance sleeper that ran between Cincinnati and—via a split in Charlottesville, Virginia—Washington, D.C. and Newport News, Virginia. Until the late 1950s, the Riley carried the Washington{{'}}s sleeper cars between Cincinnati and Chicago. Both routes survived until the formation of Amtrak in 1971.{{rp|51; 93}}

Amtrak kept service mostly identical through the spring and summer of 1971.{{cite web |url=http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/Rail/Amtk/routes_1971.html |title=Amtrak's First Trains and Routes |publisher=Mark D. Bej |access-date=May 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707133743/http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/Rail/Amtk/routes_1971.html |archive-date=July 7, 2012 |url-status=dead }} It slowly began integrating the trains that summer. The two trains began exchanging through Washington—Chicago and Newport News—Chicago coaches at Cincinnati on July{{nbsp}}12, and a through sleeping car began September{{nbsp}}8.{{Lynch-Penn Central}} On November{{nbsp}}14, the Riley and George Washington merged into a single long-distance Chicago-Washington train, with the eastbound train (train 50) known as the George Washington and the westbound train (train 51) known as the Riley.{{Sanders-Heartland}}{{rp|38}} The eastern terminus was briefly extended to Boston, giving the Northeast Corridor a one-seat ride to Chicago. However, it was truncated back to Washington in 1972. On May{{nbsp}}19, 1974, Amtrak fully merged the George Washington into the Riley.

During the early Amtrak era, the Riley was plagued by the poor condition of ex-New York Central track in Indiana. In 1973, it was moved to ex-Pennsylvania Railroad track through Indianapolis.{{rp|256}} By 1974, Amtrak rerouted it off Penn Central track altogether; by then, the trackage had deteriorated so badly that the Riley was limited to {{convert|10|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} for much of its route through Indiana. The Newport News section ended in 1976, replaced by the Boston–Newport News Colonial.{{cite web |url=http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1976%20Nov%2005.pdf |title=PRR CHRONOLOGY 1976 |publisher=The Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society |access-date=May 5, 2010 |archive-date=June 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603232118/http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1976%20Nov%2005.pdf |url-status=dead }} A number of long-distance trains running along former Penn Central trackage in the Midwest were plagued by similar problems.

File:Former C&O depot, Muncie, Indiana.jpg in Muncie, Indiana, before the realignment via Indianapolis]]

The James Whitcomb Riley was renamed the Cardinal on October{{nbsp}}30, 1977, as the cardinal was the state bird of all six states through which it ran. However, due to poor track conditions in Indiana, the train was rerouted numerous times, first over various Penn Central/Conrail routings that had once been part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, then ultimately over the former Baltimore and Ohio route via Cottage Grove by 1980.{{All Aboard Amtrak}}{{rp|121}}

The Cardinal was eventually extended to run along the Northeast Corridor again in an effort to improve the Cardinal's cost recovery ratio, but this time with the eastern terminus moved to New York. Previously, the Broadway Limited ran from New York to Chicago along the Northeast Corridor, but only as far south as Philadelphia. The train was discontinued on September{{nbsp}}30, 1981, but revived on January{{nbsp}}8, 1982, per a mandate initiated by Senator Robert C. Byrd. While the Cardinal and its predecessors had run daily,{{cite web |url=http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19810426&item=0035 |title = The Museum of Railway Timetables (timetables.org)}} the revived Cardinal ran only three times per week.{{cite web |url=http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19820425&item=0033 |title = The Museum of Railway Timetables (timetables.org)}} The revived train followed another new route, via Richmond and Muncie, Indiana. This arrangement lasted until April 27, 1986, when the train was finally moved to its current route via Indianapolis.{{rp|121}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/logansport-pharos-tribune/126187420/ |title=Peru Amtrak Stop Lost In Routing |newspaper=Logansport Pharos-Tribune |date=March 26, 1986 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}} On October 29, 1995, the Cardinal was truncated to Washington, D.C. after the consist was updated with Superliners. On October{{nbsp}}27, 2002, after derailments on other routes depleted available Superliner cars, the Superliners were replaced with Viewliners. The Cardinal continued to operate the Chicago-Washington D.C.{{nbsp}}schedule. Service to New York was restored on Sunday's westbound Cardinal on October 27, 2003. Full service to New York resumed on April 26, 2004.

From March{{nbsp}}29, 2018, to November{{nbsp}}8, 2018, due to continuing construction at New York Penn Station, the Cardinal{{'}}s eastern terminus was temporarily moved to Washington. Cardinal passengers needing to travel to or from points north of Washington were transferred to a Northeast Regional.{{cite web |url=https://www.newsleader.com/story/news/local/2018/03/10/amtrak-shortening-cardinal-route-allow-track-renovations-nyc/413425002/ |title=Amtrak shortening Cardinal route to allow for track renovations in NYC |date=March 10, 2018 |website=The News Leader |access-date=March 14, 2018}}

{{main|Hoosier State (train)|Kentucky Cardinal (Amtrak)}}

With the Indianapolis routing, the Cardinal began operating jointly with the Chicago–Indianapolis Hoosier State. The Hoosier State operated to Indianapolis on the days the Cardinal did not, assuring seven-day service between Chicago and Indianapolis. This pattern ceased on October{{nbsp}}25, 1987, when the Hoosier State became a full-fledged daily train once again. The Hoosier State was dropped on September{{nbsp}}8, 1995, but resumed again on July{{nbsp}}19, 1998, again running on days that the Cardinal did not run.

On December{{nbsp}}17, 1999, Amtrak extended the Hoosier State to Jeffersonville, Indiana, (and later to Louisville, Kentucky) and renamed the train the Kentucky Cardinal. This new train was a daily service; on days when the Cardinal operated, the two trains ran combined between Indianapolis and Chicago. Amtrak ultimately discontinued the Kentucky Cardinal on July{{nbsp}}4, 2003, and brought back the Hoosier State on the pre-1999 schedule.

After Indiana discontinued its subsidy, Amtrak suspended the Hoosier State as of June{{nbsp}}30, 2019. Passengers who booked trips after that date were compensated with Cardinal tickets.

In the July 2010 issue of Trains magazine, the Cardinal was noted as being one of five routes under consideration for performance improvement. For the Cardinal, the proposed changes included increasing service from thrice-weekly to daily operation, and changing the western terminus to St. Louis, Missouri. Railfan and Railroad magazine also suggested that the train be rerouted to St. Louis, with a separate section bound for Chicago.{{cite magazine |date=July 2010 |title=Amtrak Trains Under the Microscope |magazine=Trains |page=20}}

In early October 2010, Amtrak released a report detailing plans to increase the Cardinal{{'}}s service from thrice-weekly to daily service, as well as increasing the train's on-time performance and food service.{{cite web |title=More trains: Amtrak plans to dailify the Cardinal |url=http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2010/10/02/more-trains-amtrak-plans-to-dailify-the-cardinal/ |publisher=The Hook |access-date=October 5, 2010 |date=October 2, 2010 |archive-date=December 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204071128/http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2010/10/02/more-trains-amtrak-plans-to-dailify-the-cardinal/ |url-status=dead }} The January 2011 issue of Trains later revealed that Amtrak would scrap re-routing and Superliner conversion and instead adopt not only daily service, but also purchasing dome cars to be used along the Chicago-Washington, D.C.{{nbsp}}portion of the trip. In addition, the routing into Chicago Union Station would be changed and station platforms along the route containing coal dust would be scrubbed and cleaned.{{cite magazine |date=January 2011 |title=Amtrak's Improvement Wish List |magazine=Trains |pages=20–21}}

However, obstacles to a daily Cardinal persist. Track capacity is limited on the Buckingham Branch Railroad, a short line railroad between Orange and Clifton Forge, Virginia where the Cardinal operates along former C&O/CSX trackage, preventing frequent freight trains from passing a daily Cardinal. This problem also applied to the planned-but-failed Greenbrier Presidential Express train, which would also have traversed the Buckingham Branch on a weekly basis. The Buckingham Branch requires additional funding to expand several sidings before allowing additional service.{{cite magazine |date=January 2012 |title=Bob Bryant's Big Little Railroad |magazine=Trains |page=51}} Another obstacle is freight congestion in Chicago particularly at the 75th Street Corridor on Chicago's South Side.{{cite web |url=http://www.createprogram.org/factsheets/P3.pdf |title=P2, P3, EW2, GS19 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project |date=November 2015 |publisher=CREATE |access-date=January 10, 2018 |archive-date=January 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113141527/http://www.createprogram.org/factsheets/P3.pdf |url-status=dead }} The third obstacle is capacity at the Long Bridge in Washington, D.C.{{cite news |last1=Lazo |first1=Luz |title=Virginia to build Long Bridge and acquire CSX right of way to expand passenger train service |newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/virginia-to-build-long-bridge-and-acquire-csx-right-of-way-to-expand-passenger-train-service/2019/12/19/c021ffbc-ff08-11e9-8bab-0fc209e065a8_story.html |accessdate=January 9, 2022 |date=December 19, 2019}} Infrastructure improvements are being made at all three. The Orange Branch between Orange and Gordonsville raised train speed after the completion of a track and signal project in 2017.{{cite web |url=http://buckinghambranch.com/speed-orange-amtrak/ |title=Picking Up Speed in Orange |date=April 17, 2017 |publisher=Buckingham Branch Railroad |access-date=January 10, 2018}} The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) has received funding under a public–private partnership (P3) for the 75th Street Corridor with construction beginning in October 2018 and is scheduled to be finished by 2025.{{cite news |url=https://chicagocrusader.com/preckwinkle-partners-mark-75th-street-rail-corridor-improvement-project/ |title=Preckwinkle, Partners Mark 75th Street Rail Corridor Improvement Project |newspaper=The Chicago Crusader |date=October 1, 2018 |access-date=December 12, 2018}} A parallel span of the Long Bridge is full funded and moving towards engineering design and financing.

Starting on October{{nbsp}}1, 2019, traditional dining car services were removed and replaced with a reduced menu of "Flexible Dining" options. As a result, the changes to the consist of the train will have the dining car serve as a lounge car for the exclusive use of sleeping car passengers.{{cite press release |url=https://media.amtrak.com/2019/09/amtrak-introduces-enhanced-menu-and-flexible-dining-experience-on-five-routes/ |title=AMTRAK INTRODUCES ENHANCED MENU AND FLEXIBLE DINING EXPERIENCE ON FIVE ROUTES |publisher=Amtrak |date=September 13, 2019}}

In June 2021, Senator Jon Tester of Montana added an amendment to the Surface Transportation Investment Act of 2021 which would require the Department of Transportation (not Amtrak itself) to evaluate daily service on all less frequent long-distance trains, meaning the Cardinal and Sunset Limited.{{cite web |title=Manchin Secures Language To Evaluate Ways To Restore Cardinal Train Daily Service Through West Virginia |url=https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-secures-language-to-evaluate-ways-to-restore-cardinal-train-daily-service-through-west-virginia |website=www.manchin.senate.gov |access-date=July 27, 2021 |language=en |date=June 16, 2021}} The bill passed the Senate Commerce Committee with bipartisan support,{{cite web |title=Key Policy Victories in Senate Rail Title |url=https://www.railpassengers.org/happening-now/news/blog/key-policy-victories-in-senate-rail-title/ |website=www.railpassengers.org |publisher=Rail Passengers Association |access-date=July 27, 2021 |language=en |date=June 16, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Luczak |first1=Marybeth |title=Senate Commerce Committee's Bipartisan $78B Surface Transportation Bill Advances |url=https://www.railwayage.com/news/senate-commerce-committees-bipartisan-78b-surface-transportation-bill-advances/ |access-date=July 27, 2021 |work=Railway Age |date=June 17, 2021}} and was later rolled into President Biden's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which Congress passed on November{{nbsp}} 5, 2021.{{cite web |title=What's in the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA)? |url=https://www.railpassengers.org/happening-now/news/blog/whats-in-the-investment-in-infrastructure-and-jobs-act-iija/ |website=www.railpassengers.org |publisher=Rail Passengers Association |access-date=November 11, 2021 |language=en |date=November 8, 2021}} The report is known as the Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study and must be delivered to Congress within two years.{{cite web |title=Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act |url=https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr3684/BILLS-117hr3684enr.pdf |access-date=November 11, 2021 |pages=285–256}} In mid-2023, Amtrak applied for a federal grant to operate the Cardinal daily and increase speeds between Indianapolis and Dyer.{{cite press release |url=https://media.amtrak.com/2023/06/amtrak-applies-for-federal-grants-to-improve-long-distance-network/ |title=Amtrak Applies for Federal Grants to Improve Long Distance Network |date=June 5, 2023 |publisher=Amtrak}} In December 2023 the daily Cardinal project was granted $500,000 from the IIJA through the Federal Railroad Administration's Corridor Identification and Development Program.{{cite web |title=FY22 Corridor Identification and Development Program Selections |url=https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2023-12/FY22%20CID%20Project%20Summaries-Map-r1.pdf |website=railroads.dot.gov |publisher=Federal Railroad Administration |access-date=9 December 2023 |date=December 2023}}

In the early 1990s, the Cardinal ran with the usual Amtrak long-distance consist of two EMD F40PHs or one GE E60, plus several material handling cars (MHC) and baggage cars, followed by several Amfleet coaches, an Amfleet lounge, a Heritage diner, two or three Heritage 10-6 sleepers, a slumbercoach, and finally, a baggage dormitory car. Following the delivery of the Superliner II fleet, however, the Cardinal was re-equipped with Superliner cars in 1995.{{cite web |url=http://www.trainweb.org/varail/amtrak.html |title=Central Virginia Railfan Page--Amtrak Service |publisher=TrainWeb |access-date=May 7, 2010}} As a result, its route was truncated to end in Washington D.C., as Superliners cannot operate on the Northeast Corridor due to low tunnel clearances in Baltimore and New York City. With the Superliner equipment, the consist would usually be two Superliner sleeping cars, a diner, a Sightseer Lounge, a baggage coach, and a coach.

In 2002, two derailments on other routes took numerous Superliner cars out of service. Because of this, insufficient Superliner equipment was available for use on the Cardinal. The Cardinal was re-equipped with a consist of single-level long-distance cars, including dining, lounge, sleeping, and dormitory cars, although service to New York was not restored until 2004. Subsequent fleet shortages shortened the Cardinal further, and at one point, the train was running with two or three Amfleet II coaches and a combined diner-lounge car. While the sleeping car was later restored, the Cardinal has not had a dormitory car or a diner since. Similarly, though the baggage car was also removed, it was restored in response to an upturn in patronage in mid-2010. In 2016, Amtrak added business class service to the Cardinal.{{cite news |url=https://www.wvgazettemail.com/life/amtrak-launches-business-class-service-for-cardinal-passengers/article_55718c4b-27e3-535b-9b6d-5b6f595671ad.html |title=Amtrak Launches Business Class Service for Cardinal Passengers |last=Steelhammer |first=Rick |newspaper=Charleston Gazette-Mail |date=January 13, 2016}} The Cardinal seasonally included a dome car prior to the car's retirement.{{cite web |url=http://www.amtrak.com/fall-travel-on-the-great-dome-car |title=Fall Travel Made Brilliant on the Great Dome Car |publisher=Amtrak |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111224454/http://www.amtrak.com/fall-travel-on-the-great-dome-car |archive-date=November 11, 2012}}{{cite news |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/02-analysis-amtrak-surrenders-valuable-tool-with-retirement-of-last-dome-car/ |title=Analysis: Amtrak surrenders valuable tool with retirement of last dome car |newspaper=Trains Newswire |first=Angela |last=Cotey |orig-date=September 3, 2019 |date=November 3, 2020 |access-date=May 6, 2024}}

Amtrak began replacing the older P40DC and P42DC locomotives with Siemens ALC-42 locomotives in 2023.{{cite web |url=https://ngec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1115B-1140D-NGEC-2024-Amtrak-Acquisition-Final-012624.pdf |title=Amtrak New Fleet Acquisition Updates |publisher=Next Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee |date=February 2024 |first1=Joe Sr. |last1=Paul |first2=Michael |last2=Welsh |first3=Michael |last3=Kraft |page=7 |access-date=February 15, 2024 |archive-date=April 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402054110/https://ngec.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1115B-1140D-NGEC-2024-Amtrak-Acquisition-Final-012624.pdf |url-status=dead }}

{{As of|March 2025}}, the Cardinal's typical consist includes:{{Cite news |date=February 25, 2025 |title=Texas Eagle lounge car set to return; other long-distance trains to gain capacity |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/texas-eagle-lounge-car-set-to-return-other-long-distance-trains-to-gain-capacity/ |access-date=March 4, 2025 |newspaper=Trains News Wire}}

• P42DC or ALC-42 locomotive (1 ACS-64 electric locomotive used north of Washington DC)
• 3 Amfleet II coaches
• Amfleet II café/lounge car
• Viewliner II sleeping car
• Viewliner II baggage/dorm car

Amtrak bills the Cardinal{{'}}s route as one of the most scenic in its system. After an early morning departure from New York and traveling south down the Northeast Corridor, the train passes through Virginia's rolling horse country, across the Blue Ridge and the Shenandoah Valley. It then climbs the Allegheny Mountains and stops at the resort town of White Sulphur Springs, home to The Greenbrier, a famous luxury resort. The Cardinal descends on tracks through New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, a unit of the National Park Service protecting the longest deepest river gorge in the Eastern U.S. The river is popular for white water rafting, and the cliffs attract rock climbers. The forests blaze with autumn foliage and the train usually sells out during the peak season.

File:Amtrak train 51 arriving at Thurmond.webm

The schedules are timed to allow trains to travel through the New River Gorge in daylight nearly all year. Westbound, the train travels at night from Charleston, West Virginia, on to Indianapolis, where it arrives at about dawn, reaching Chicago mid-morning. Eastbound, the Cardinal departs late afternoon, reaching Indianapolis before midnight, Charleston mid-morning, and New York City in the late evening. While Cincinnati is served both directions with stops after midnight, about 15,000 passengers a year arrive or depart from this station.

The Cardinal is one of only two of Amtrak's 15 long-distance trains to operate only three days a week, the other being the Sunset Limited. Like other long-distance trains, passengers are not allowed to travel only between stations on the Northeast Corridor on the Cardinal. Eastbound trains only stop to discharge passengers from Alexandria northward, and westbound trains only stop to receive passengers from Newark to Washington. This policy aims to keep seats available for passengers making longer trips; passengers traveling between Northeast Corridor stations can use the more frequent Acela Express or Northeast Regional services.

File:Amtrak Cardinal.svg

The Cardinal operates over Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, Buckingham Branch Railroad, Canadian National Railway, Union Pacific Railroad, and Metra trackage:

• Amtrak Northeast Corridor, New York to Washington
• CSX RF&P Subdivision, Washington to Alexandria
• NS Washington District, Alexandria to Orange
• BB Orange Subdivision and North Mountain Subdivision, Orange to Clifton Forge
• CSX Alleghany Subdivision, New River Subdivision, Kanawha Subdivision, Russell Subdivision, Northern Subdivision, Cincinnati Subdivision, Cincinnati Terminal Subdivision, Indianapolis Subdivision, Indianapolis Terminal Subdivision, Crawfordsville Branch Subdivision, and Monon Subdivision, Clifton Forge to Munster
• CN Elsdon Subdivision, Munster to Thornton
• UP Villa Grove Subdivision, Thornton to 81st Street
• BRC Kenton Line Subdivision, 81st Street to 74th Street
• Metra SouthWest Service, 74th Street to Chicago
• NS Chicago Line, CP 518 to Chicago (Depending on Dispatcher preference, The Cardinal often runs between CP 518 and 21st Street on NS)

The Buckingham Branch trackage is one of the few Class III railroad used in the Amtrak system.

{{Reflist|refs=

{{Sanders-Indiana}}

{{Schafer-Classic}}

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{{notelist}}

• Mike Schafer, Amtrak's atlas, Trains, June 1991
• {{Schwieterman-Leaves-Eastern}}
• {{Solomon-New York Central}}
• [https://www.scribd.com/doc/38597090/Untitled Amtrak October 2010 report on the Cardinal]

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Category:Railway services introduced in 1977