Viewliner
Engineer
I hope that maybe one day service can be revived in the form of a Chicago-Florida (Floridian) Train. Its unfortunate they are cutting a portion of the train, but as many had said in the past, this would've been better with a daylight schedule (or Sleeper as was the initial case).Amtrak will curtail Kentucky Cardinal after July 4
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Amtrak says July 4 will be the last run for the Kentucky Cardinal between Louisville, Ky., and Indianapolis, Ind. Trains 850 and 851will continue to run between Chicago and Indianapolis once a day in each direction.
Slow speeds due to poorly maintained track and a late-night schedule between Louisville and Indianapolis have hampered ridership since the service was inaugurated in 1999. From October through February, 6,624 passengers rode the Kentucky Cardinal, an average of about 45 passengers per day.
Train 851 is slated to depart Louisville at 2120 and arrive in Indianapolis at 0230. That’s nearly five hours to cover 120 miles, with only one station stop – Jeffersonville, Ind. – in between. Travelers continuing to Chicago have a two-hour layover at Union Station in Indianapolis and don't arrive at Union Station in Chicago until 0900.
Train 850 leaves Chicago at 2015, arrives Indianapolis at 0205, departs 0245, and arrives Louisville at 0750. That’s 11 hours, 25 minutes to cover 312 miles.
Louisville and Indiana Railroad, which owns the tracks on which the Kentucky Cardinal operates, says it never received the financial assistance needed to upgrade the line it acquired from Conrail in 1994.
Amtrak has decided to cease hauling express freight behind the Kentucky Cardinal, ending any justification for its existence. However, a task force of advocates is forming to save the service to Louisville, which renovated its Union Station in 2001 at a cost of $370,000.
This story and more can be found it today's Trains Newswire