Silver Star (Amtrak train)

For the luxury train that ran in New Zealand, see Silver Star (NZR).

Silver Star
Southbound Silver Star in downtown Orlando, Florida
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
First service	May 1, 1971
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Average ridership	1,078 daily 393,586 total (FY10)
Route
Start	New York City
End	Miami, Florida
Distance travelled	1,522 miles (2,449 km)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	91-92
On-board services
Class(es)	First class sleeper Reserved coach
Technical
Rolling stock	Amfleet coaches Viewliner sleepers
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s)	Amtrak, CSX, NS
Route map Legend Distance Station 0 New York City (subway) New York/New Jersey border North River Tunnels 10 mi (16 km) Newark (PATH) 58 mi (93 km) Trenton (River Line) New Jersey/Pennsylvania border 91 mi (146 km) Philadelphia (SEPTA) Pennsylvania/Delaware border 116 mi (187 km) Wilmington Delaware/Maryland border 185 mi (298 km) Baltimore (Light Rail) Maryland/District of Columbia border 225 mi (362 km) Washington, DC (Metro) District of Columbia/Virginia border 234 mi (377 km) Alexandria 334 mi (538 km) Richmond 362 mi (583 km) Petersburg Virginia/North Carolina border 460 mi (740 km) Rocky Mount 530 mi (850 km) Raleigh 538 mi (866 km) Cary 598 mi (962 km) Southern Pines 626 mi (1,007 km) Hamlet North Carolina/South Carolina border 700 mi (1,100 km) Camden 733 mi (1,180 km) Columbia 782 mi (1,259 km) Denmark South Carolina/Georgia border 870 mi (1,400 km) Savannah Georgia/Florida border 1,018 mi (1,638 km) Jacksonville 1,076 mi (1,732 km) Palatka 1,128 mi (1,815 km) DeLand 1,160 mi (1,870 km) Winter Park 1,165 mi (1,875 km) Orlando 1,183 mi (1,904 km) Kissimmee 1,233 mi (1,984 km) Lakeland (stops twice) 1,264 mi (2,034 km) Tampa 1,312 mi (2,111 km) Winter Haven 1,353 mi (2,177 km) Sebring 1,395 mi (2,245 km) Okeechobee 1,456 mi (2,343 km) West Palm Beach 1,474 mi (2,372 km) Delray Beach 1,484 mi (2,388 km) Deerfield Beach 1,498 mi (2,411 km) Fort Lauderdale 1,506 mi (2,424 km) Hollywood 1,522 mi (2,449 km) Miami (Metrorail)

The Silver Star is a 1522-mile (2449 km) passenger train route in the Silver Service brand operated by Amtrak, running from New York City south to Miami, Florida via the Northeast Corridor to Washington, DC, then via: Richmond, Virginia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Jacksonville, Florida; Orlando, Florida; and Tampa, Florida. The Silver Star shares much of its track with the Silver Meteor, which runs further east through North Carolina and South Carolina.

During fiscal year 2010, the Silver Star carried 393,586 passengers, an increase of six percent over FY 2009's total of 371,235 passengers. During FY 2010, the train had a total revenue of $29,805,402, a 10.2% increase over FY 2009's $27,034,942 total revenue.

History

The "Star" was originally a service of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, running from New York to Miami and later also St. Petersburg (beyond Tampa). It was inaugurated December 12, 1947 to replace the Advance Silver Meteor.

With the exception of a brief period of time in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when service to Tampa was provided by the Palmetto, the Silver Star has served both Tampa and Miami during the Amtrak era. Originally, Amtrak would split the Silver Star in Jacksonville, with the Tampa-bound portion continuing on the old Atlantic Coast Line Railroad route through Orlando, and the Miami-bound portion traveling through Ocala and Wildwood over most of what was the original Seaboard route to Miami. After November 1, 2004, the Silver Star resumed service to Tampa, and now travels intact all of the way, backing out of Tampa and retracing its route 40 miles east to Auburndale, where it heads south to Miami.

In the movie, "Carlito's Way," Al Pacino's character was killed right before boarding the Silver Star.

In the January 2011 issue of Trains Magazine, this route was listed as one of five routes to be looked at by Amtrak in FY 2011 as the previous five routes (Sunset, Eagle, Zephyr, Capitol, and Cardinal) were examined in FY 2010.

Consist details

Today's "Silver Star" consist is as such:

• 1 or 2 HHP-8 or AEM-7 engines (New York-Washington D.C.)
• 1 or 2 P42s (Washington D.C.-Miami)
• Baggage car
• 2 Viewliner sleepers
• Heritage Fleet diner
• Amfleet II café
• 3-6 Amfleet II coaches

Route details

The Silver Star operates over Amtrak, CSX Transportation, and Norfolk Southern Railway trackage:

• Amtrak Northeast Corridor, New York to Washington
• CSX RF&P Subdivision, Richmond Terminal Subdivision, North End Subdivision, and South End Subdivision, Washington to Selma
• NS, Selma to Raleigh
• CSX Aberdeen Subdivision, Hamlet Terminal Subdivision, Hamlet Subdivision, Columbia Subdivision, Savannah Subdivision, Nahunta Subdivision, Jacksonville Terminal Subdivision, Sanford Subdivision, Lakeland Subdivision, and Tampa Terminal Subdivision, Raleigh to Tampa
• CSX Auburndale Subdivision and Miami Subdivision, Auburndale to Miami

Gallery

• 

  Silver Star in Tampa

• 

  Interior of Amfleet II Coach Class

• 

  Coach Class seats

• 

  Silver Star in Fort Lauderdale

• 

  Coach car in station at Fort Lauderdale with Tri-rail train behind

• 

  Cafe Car

External links

• Amtrak - Silver Service / Palmetto