Palmetto (train)

Palmetto
Silver Palm

A Palmetto pulls into Wilson, North Carolina.
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Locale	Southern United States
First service	June 15, 1976 November 10, 1996
Last service	February 1, 1995 present
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Ridership	539 daily 196,743 total (FY11)[1]
Route
Start	New York
End	Savannah, Georgia
Distance travelled	829 miles (1,334 km)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	89/90
On-board services
Class(es)	Reserved coach Business class
Catering facilities	Lounge car
Baggage facilities	Baggage car
Technical
Rolling stock	Amfleet coaches
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s)	Amtrak, CSX
Route map Legend Dist. Station 0 mi New York City(subway) New York/New Jersey border North River Tunnels 10 mi  16 km  Newark (PATH / Light Rail) 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 (VRE) 334 mi  538 km  Richmond 362 mi  583 km  Petersburg Virginia/North Carolina border 460 mi  740 km  Rocky Mount 476 mi  766 km  Wilson 502 mi  808 km  Selma 550 mi  885 km  Fayetteville North Carolina/South Carolina border Dillon 633 mi  1019 km  Florence 672 mi  1081 km  Kingstree 728 mi  1172 km  North Charleston 782 mi  1259 km  Yemassee South Carolina/Georgia border 829 mi  1334 km  Savannah

The Palmetto is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak over the 829 miles (1,334 km)^[2] from New York City south to Savannah, Georgia, via the Northeast Corridor to Washington, D.C., then via Richmond, Virginia, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina. The Palmetto is a shorter version of the Silver Meteor, which continues south to Miami, Florida. Between 1996 and 2002 this service was called the Silver Palm. Although currently a day train, in the past the Palmetto provided overnight sleeper service to Florida.

During fiscal year 2011, the Palmetto carried nearly 200,000 passengers, an increase of 3.8% from FY2010. The train had a total revenue of $16,438,480 during FY2011, a 7% increase over FY2010.^[1]

History

The Palmetto at Florence, South Carolina, in 1977. A GE P30CH is in the lead.

Amtrak introduced the Palmetto on June 15, 1976. The train drew its name from the Sabal palmetto, the state tree of South Carolina. The name Palmetto Limited had also been used by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad for a New York—St. Petersburg train which first ran in December 1909. The Palmetto was the first train in the Southern United States to receive the then-new Amfleet equipment, and the 828-mile (1,333 km) run was the longest at the time for the new coaches.^[3] At the time of introduction Amtrak planned to run the Palmetto daily for the summer only, with service ending September 8. In August Amtrak extended the Palmetto indefinitely, citing better-than-expected ridership.^[4] In October 1976 the Florida Department of Transportation urged Amtrak to extend the Palmetto south to Miami.^[5]

Between October 1984 and September 1985 the Palmetto ran combined with the Carolinian between New York and Richmond, Virginia. At Richmond the Carolinian continued separately to Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina. The Carolinian was discontinued after the state of North Carolina withdrew its support for the train.^[6][7] The Carolinian has since been restored and runs from Charlotte to New York Penn Station.

In December 1988 Amtrak extended the Palmetto south to Jacksonville, Florida. The train continued to be coach-only, without full dining service.^[8] Beginning on May 12, 1990, the Palmetto again combined with a revived Carolinian, although this time the split occurred in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The two trains began running independently in April 1991.^[9][10] In October 1994 the Palmetto became a full overnight train with sleeper and dining car service, running through to Tampa, Florida. This replaced the Silver Meteor's Tampa section.^[11] This extension was short-lived: budget cuts under the Clinton administration led to the Palmetto's discontinuance on February 1, 1995.^[12]

Revival

Amtrak revived a third train from New York to Miami on November 10, 1996. Although named the Silver Palm (in line with the Silver Service brand), it used the same route as the former Palmetto and carried the same numbers (89 southbound and 90 northbound). While the Silver Star and Silver Meteor ran straight from Jacksonville to Miami, at Jacksonville the Silver Palm turned west and continued over the old Seaboard Air Line Railroad main line via Waldo, Ocala, Wildwood and Dade City to Tampa. At Tampa, it reversed and ran south to Miami. Amtrak restored the Palmetto name on May 1, 2002, after it removed the sleepers and dining car from the train, although it continued serving Florida.

On November 1, 2004, Amtrak truncated the Palmetto to Savannah, Georgia, operating a daytime schedule to and from New York (as it had prior to 1994). With the truncation to Savannah, the Silver Star was rerouted to serve Tampa; the old Jacksonville-Lakeland route is now served by a Thruway Motorcoach bus transfer from the Silver Star, which serves all the former stations as well as Gainesville.^[13]

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. In October 2015 it added new stops at New Carrollton, BWI Airport, Princeton Junction, New Brunswick and Metropark and temporarily replaced discontinued Amtrak Northeast Regional trains.^[14]

Route

Amtrak Silver Service (specific Palmetto stops are not marked) (interactive map)

The Palmetto's route has not changed significantly since it first ran in 1976. It parallels the Florida-bound Silver Meteor, making additional station stops. When introduced in 1976 it included two new stations: Dillon and Kingstree, South Carolina. As of 2011 Kingstree sees the Silver Meteor as well.^[3] The Palmetto added Selma, North Carolina (Smithfield) in October 1982. In October 2015 it added New Carrollton, BWI Airport, Princeton Junction, New Brunswick and Metropark.^[15]

Details

The Palmetto operates over Amtrak and CSX Transportation trackage:

• Amtrak Northeast Corridor, New York to Washington.
• CSX RF&P Subdivision, Richmond Terminal Subdivision, North End Subdivision, South End Subdivision, Charleston Subdivision, and Savannah Subdivision, Washington to Savannah.

Bus connections

In October 2012, Amtrak began operating Thruway bus routes that connect to the northbound and southbound Palmetto at Wilson, North Carolina.^[16] One route serves the North Carolina cities of Greenville, New Bern, Havelock, and Morehead City; the other route serves the North Carolina cities of Goldsboro, Kinston, Jacksonville, and Wilmington.

Consist

Sample consist December 27, 2006 Train Northbound #51 Genesis P42DC #90 Heritage Baggage Car #1736 Amfleet I Business/Cafe #48190 Amfleet II coach #25035 Amfleet II coach #25057 Amfleet II coach #25117 Amfleet I coach #82567 [2]

The Palmetto generally operates with a General Electric Genesis P42DC diesel locomotive, a Viewliner baggage car, an Amfleet I business class car, an Amfleet I cafe car, an Amfleet I coach, and three Amfleet II long-distance coach cars. North of Washington, D.C. an EMD AEM-7 or ACS-64 handles the train.^[2]

See also

• 2016 Chester, Pennsylvania train derailment

References

1. "Amtrak Ridership Rolls Up Best-Ever Records" (PDF). Amtrak. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
2. "PALMETTO". TrainWeb. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
3. "Southern Amtrak passenger train scheduled". News-Tribune. April 11, 1976. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
4. "Amtrak Keeping 2 Trains". Journal-Herald. August 26, 1976. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
5. Edger, Betsy (October 1, 1976). "Amtrak Won't Budge On Schedule Changes". Star-Banner. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
6. Foreman, Jr., Tom (October 27, 1984). "'Carolinian' makes trial run". Times-News. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
7. Waggoner, Martha (September 3, 1985). "The 'Carolinian' Makes Its Last Run". The Dispatch. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
8. "Travel Advisory". New York Times. December 18, 1988. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
9. "Charlotte-Rocky Mount train back on track". Morning Star. May 12, 1990. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
10. "Change to cut Carolinian's run by 40 minutes". The Charlotte Observer. March 15, 1991. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
11. "National Timetable". Amtrak. October 30, 1994. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
12. Weaver, Jay (January 7, 1995). "Amtrak won't cut trips through Ocala". Star-Banner. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
13. Stinson, Lashonda (October 14, 2004). "Amtrak to Cut Service to Several Small Fla. Towns". Lakeland Ledger.
14. "Amtrak's Improvement Wish List", Trains, January 2011, 20-21.
15. Norton, Debbie (November 11, 1982). "Businessbeat". Star-News. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
16. Fitzgerald, Eddie (October 2, 2012). "Amtrak shuttle service debuts in the East". New Bern Sun Journal. Retrieved 2012-11-27.

External links

• Amtrak - Silver Service / Palmetto