Federal study bolsters call for daily service on Amtrak’s Cardinal route

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed during the Biden administration called for a study of long-distance train routes across the United States and the report was issued shortly before Donald Trump took office.

“Congress… directed [the Federal Railroad Administration] to evaluate potential new Amtrak long-distance routes, with specific attention to routes in service as of April 1971 but not continued by Amtrak, when considering expansions of long-distance service,” reads the executive summary of the report.

Two long-distance routes travel through Charlottesville, including the Crescent which runs daily between New Orleans and New York City. The service had a ridership of 270,628 in FY2023.

The report specifically sought guidance on what would be required to increase service on the Cardinal from three days a week to daily. This train runs between Chicago and New York City and had a ridership in FY23 of 82,698. .

“The Cardinal also serves western Virginia, southern West Virginia, and eastern Kentucky,” reads page 24 of the report. “The nondaily Cardinal is currently the only passenger rail service along much of its route, including in cities like Cincinnati, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana.”

In a separate process, Amtrak selected the Cardinal in December 2023 to be upgraded to daily as well as the Sunset Limited between New Orleans and Tucson, Arizona. The study also recommends this step.

“FRA estimated that increasing Cardinal to daily service frequency could result in approximately 110,000 new annual riders, and an additional $11 million operating revenue from ticket and food and beverage sales,” reads the study. “Daily Cardinal service would provide enhanced connectivity to the passenger rail network in Chicago and along the [Northeast Corridor].”

There are currently two train sets that operate the Cardinal and two additional sets would be needed.

“For a one-night route, the set of railroad vehicles included in a train trip, referred to as a train set, is assumed to include two locomotives, one baggage car, three sleeper cars, one diner, one lounge (café/sightseer), and three coach cars,” the study continues.

The Cardinal currently loses money with a net loss of $19.57 million in 2023. That’s not as steep as the Sunset Limited which had a net loss of $44.65 million in 2023.

Before you go: This article was originally sent out as part of the Charlottesville Community Engagement newsletter in the January 23, 2025 edition. Both are functions of Town Crier Productions. You can support the work by purchasing a paid subscription or contributing monthly through Patreon. You can also send in a check or send an email, but drop me a line first.