There are very few Chicagoans who haven’t once or twice dreamed of a quick weekend escape from the Windy City to the warm coast of Miami, especially during Chicago’s hostile winter.
For those against the incredibly long cross-country drive or expensive flights, there might be a new option coming to Chicago.
Amtrak is reportedly exploring the feasibility of expanding its network with a new train route that would link Chicago to Miami.
The proposed new long-distance route is part of a broader initiative by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) which is looking to add over 20,000 miles by utilizing the nation’s skeletal long-distance passenger train network and restoring or adapting old routes.
The extensive study highlighted the possibility of restoring the Floridian Chicago route which was discontinued in 1979 but would instead reroute with a more direct path to Miami via Tennessee and Georgia.
The current train route to Miami takes around 47 hours traveling with Capitol Limited to Washington, D.C., and then changing to travel down to Miami via the Silver Star service.
The proposed new route would cut that time by 11 hours traveling straight from Chicago to Miami in 36 hours with 10 stops in between.
The selected locations for stops on the new route have currently been listed as Lafayette, Indianapolis, Colombus, Louisville, Bowling Green, Nashville, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Macon, Jacksonville, Orlando, and finally Miami.
Many of the routes involved ran before Amtrak was founded in 1971, weren’t properly utilized during Amtrak’s teething days, or were discontinued altogether due to Amtrak taking over shorter intercity passenger trains.
For now, this new proposed route is far from set but fruitful meetings look exciting for Chicagoans seeking a different journey to Florida.
More information will be provided as soon as it is made available so stay tuned!
[Featured image from Shutterstock]