Palmetto (train)

Amtrak added a third train from New York to Miami on November 10, 1996, known as the Silver Palm in line with the Silver Service brand for Amtrak's Florida trains. However, 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.[17]

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.[18] In October 2015, in an effort to reduce redundant trains, Amtrak temporarily cancelled one daily Northeast Regional round trip and allowed the Palmetto to take local passengers north of Washington. Stops at New Carrollton, BWI Airport, and Metropark were added to the Palmetto.[19]

On April 3, 2016, the southbound Palmetto struck a backhoe while travelling through Chester, Pennsylvania, killing two track workers and derailing the locomotive, as well as damaging the first two cars of the train.

The Palmetto at Wilson, North Carolina

Most Palmetto trains consist of six cars hauled by a locomotive.[3]

The passenger cars are from the Amfleet series. Most trains include an Amfleet club car which has a combination of Business Class seating with a Café (food service/lounge) and four Coach Class cars. The train also carries a Viewliner series baggage car for checked baggage service.[3] Unlike most Amtrak long-distance trains, the Palmetto does not carry sleeping cars or a dining car, which were removed from the train in 2002.

Between Savannah and Washington, trains are pulled by a GE Genesis diesel locomotive at speeds up to 110 mph (177 km/h). Between New York and Washington, the service operates over the Northeast Corridor which has overhead electric wires and trains are pulled by Siemens ACS-64 electric locomotives at speeds up to 125 mph (201 km/h)

In the coming years all equipment will be replaced with Amtrak Airo trainsets, the railroad's branding of its combination of Siemens Venture passenger cars and a Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotive.[20] The trainsets for the Palmetto will have six passenger cars, which will include a food service area and a mix of 2x2 Coach Class and 2x1 Business Class seating.[21] The car closest to the locomotive will be a specialized "Auxiliary Power Vehicle" which will include a pantograph to collect power from overhead lines and will feed it to four traction motors in the car, and via a DC link cable, to the four traction motors in the locomotive.[22] The arrangement will offer a near seamless transition between power sources at Washington, a process that currently requires a time-consuming locomotive change.

All classes of service include complimentary WiFi, an electric outlet (120 V, 60 Hz AC) at each seat, reading lamps, fold-out tray tables. Reservations are required on all trains, tickets may be purchased online, from an agent at some stations, a ticketing machine at most stations, or, at a higher cost, from the conductor on the train.[23]

• Coach Class: 2x2 seating. Passengers self-select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.[24]
• Business Class: 2x1 seating with more legroom than coach. Passengers receive complimentary soft drinks. Seats assigned in advance.[25]

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.[6] The Palmetto added Selma, North Carolina (Smithfield) in October 1982. In October 2015, it added New Carrollton, BWI Airport, and Metropark.[26]

The Palmetto operates over Amtrak and CSX Transportation trackage:

• New York – Washington D.C. (Amtrak)
  • Northeast Corridor
• Washington D.C. – Savannah, GA (CSXT)
  • RF&P Subdivision
  • Richmond Terminal Subdivision
  • North End Subdivision
  • South End Subdivision
  • Charleston Subdivision
  • Savannah Subdivision

Amtrak Thruway bus routes began operating in eastern North Carolina in October 2012 that connect to the northbound and southbound Palmetto at the Wilson, North Carolina station.[27] One route serves Greenville, New Bern, Havelock, and Morehead City; the other route serves Goldsboro, Kinston, Jacksonville, and Wilmington.

Unlike other long-distance trains, the Palmetto makes local stops along the Northeast Corridor as well as major city stops. It stops at Metropark and BWI Airport in both directions.

Before 2019, the southbound Palmetto followed the practice of most medium- and long-distance trains running in the Northeast, and did not allow passengers to travel only between stations in the Northeast Corridor. It only stopped to receive passengers between Newark and Washington. This policy was intended to keep seats available for passengers making longer trips. Starting in 2019, the southbound Palmetto began allowing local travel along the Northeast Corridor. The northbound Palmetto has allowed such local travel since 2015.

State	Town/City	Station	Connections
NY	New York City	Penn Station	Amtrak (long-distance): Adirondack, Cardinal, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited, Pennsylvanian, Silver Meteor, Silver Star Amtrak (intercity): Acela, Berkshire Flyer, Carolinian, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, Maple Leaf, Northeast Regional, Vermonter LIRR: ■ Main Line, ■ Port Washington Branch NJ Transit: ■ North Jersey Coast Line, ■ Northeast Corridor Line, ■ Gladstone Branch, ■ Montclair-Boonton Line, ■ Morristown Line NYC Subway: ​​​​ PATH: HOB-33 JSQ-33 JSQ-33 (via HOB) MTA Bus
NJ	Newark	Newark Penn Station	Amtrak: Acela, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Keystone Service, Northeast Regional, Pennsylvanian, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Vermonter NJ Transit: ■ North Jersey Coast Line, ■ Northeast Corridor Line, ■ Raritan Valley Line PATH: NWK-WTC Newark Light Rail NJ Transit Bus
	Iselin	Metropark	Amtrak: Acela, Keystone Service, Northeast Regional, Vermonter NJ Transit: ■ Northeast Corridor Line NJ Transit Bus
	Trenton	Trenton	Amtrak: Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Keystone Service, Northeast Regional, Pennsylvanian, Silver Star, Silver Meteor, Vermonter NJ Transit: ■ Northeast Corridor Line, ■ River Line SEPTA Regional Rail: ■ Trenton Line NJ Transit Bus, SEPTA Suburban Bus
PA	Philadelphia	30th Street Station	Amtrak: Acela, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Keystone Service, Northeast Regional, Pennsylvanian, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Vermonter SEPTA Regional Rail: all lines NJ Transit: ■ Atlantic City Line SEPTA City Transit: Market-Frankford Subway-Surface SEPTA City Bus, SEPTA Suburban Bus
DE	Wilmington	Wilmington	Amtrak: Acela, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Northeast Regional, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Vermonter SEPTA Regional Rail: ■ Wilmington/​Newark Line DART First State Greyhound Lines
MD	Baltimore	Penn Station	Amtrak: Acela, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Northeast Regional, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Vermonter MARC: ■ Penn Line Light RailLink MTA Maryland, Charm City Circulator
		BWI Airport	Amtrak: Acela, Northeast Regional, Vermonter MARC: ■ Penn Line Shuttle to Baltimore/Washington International Airport MTA Maryland, Howard Transit, UMBC Transit
	New Carrollton	New Carrollton	Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Vermonter MARC: ■ Penn Line Metro: Orange Line Metrobus, TheBus, MTA Maryland
DC	Washington	Washington Union Station	Amtrak: Acela, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Northeast Regional, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Vermonter MARC: ■ Brunswick Line, ■ Camden Line, ■ Penn Line VRE: ■ Manassas Line, ■ Fredericksburg Line Metro: Red Line DC Streetcar: H Street/Benning Road Line Metrobus, DC Circulator, MTA Maryland, Loudoun County Transit, OmniRide Intercity bus: Greyhound, Megabus, BoltBus, BestBus, Peter Pan, OurBus
VA	Alexandria	Alexandria	Amtrak: Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Northeast Regional, Silver Meteor, Silver Star VRE: ■ Fredericksburg Line, ■ Manassas Line Metro: Blue Line, Yellow Line Metrobus, DASH
	Richmond	Richmond Staples Mill Road	Amtrak: Carolinian, Northeast Regional, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Thruway Motorcoach to Charlottesville, Virginia Greater Richmond Transit Company
	Ettrick	Petersburg	Amtrak: Carolinian, Northeast Regional, Silver Meteor, Silver Star
NC	Rocky Mount	Rocky Mount	Amtrak: Carolinian, Silver Meteor, Silver Star Tar River Transit Intercity bus: Greyhound Lines
	Wilson	Wilson	Amtrak: Carolinian, Thruway Motorcoach to Greenville, New Bern, Havelock, Morehead City, Goldsboro, Kinston, Jacksonville, Wilmington
	Selma	Selma–Smithfield	Amtrak: Carolinian
	Fayetteville	Fayetteville	Amtrak: Silver Meteor
SC	Dillon	Dillon
	Florence	Florence	Amtrak: Silver Meteor
	Kingstree	Kingstree	Amtrak: Silver Meteor
	North Charleston	Charleston	Amtrak: Silver Meteor Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority, Southeastern Stages
	Yemassee	Yemassee	Amtrak: Silver Meteor
GA	Savannah	Savannah	Amtrak: Silver Meteor, Silver Star