Palmetto (train)
The Palmetto is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between New York City and Savannah, Georgia, via the Northeast Corridor, Washington, D.C., 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 2019, the Palmetto carried 345,342 passengers, a decrease of 11% from FY2018. The train had a total revenue of $27,208,372 during FY2016, a 61.4% increase over FY2015.
History
Amtrak introduced the Palmetto on June 15, 1976. The train drew its name from the Sabal palmetto, the state tree of South Carolina. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad ran a train to eastern Georgia, first using the Palmetto Limited name in December 1909. The Palmetto was the first train in the Southern United States to receive the then-new Amfleet equipment, and the run was the longest at the time for the new coaches. At the time of introduction Amtrak planned to run the Palmetto daily for the summer only, with service ending September 8. However, citing better-than-expected ridership, Amtrak extended the Palmetto to a year-round service indefinitely. In October 1976 the Florida Department of Transportation urged Amtrak to extend the Palmetto south to Miami.Between October 1984 and September 1985, Amtrak operated the Carolinian, a North Carolina-focused regional train, as a section of the Palmetto. The two trains ran combined 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 refused to increase its support for the train.
In December 1988 Amtrak extended the Palmetto south to Jacksonville, Florida. The train continued to be coach-only, without full dining service. Beginning on May 12, 1990, the Palmetto combined with a revived Carolinian, although this time the split occurred in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The two trains began running independently to New York in April 1991. In October 1994 the Palmetto became a full overnight with sleeper and dining car service, running through to Tampa, Florida. This replaced the Silver Meteor's Tampa section. This extension was short-lived: budget cuts under the Clinton administration led to the Palmetto's discontinuance on February 1, 1995.
Revival
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. 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. 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.
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 were examined in FY 2010. 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, BWI Airport,, and were added to the Palmetto.
Consist
The Palmetto generally operates with a General Electric GE 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. a Siemens ACS-64 handles the train. Unlike most Amtrak long-distance trains, the Palmetto does not have sleeping cars.Route
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: and Kingstree, South Carolina. Kingstree sees the Silver Meteor as well. The Palmetto added Selma, North Carolina in October 1982. In October 2015, it added New Carrollton, BWI Airport, Princeton Junction, New Brunswick and Metropark.Unlike other long-distance trains that operate on the Northeast Corridor, the Palmetto makes local stops as well as major city stops. It stops in Metropark and BWI Airport in both directions, and serves New Brunswick and Princeton Junction southbound and New Carrollton northbound.
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.
Details
The Palmetto operates over Amtrak and CSX Transportation trackage:- Amtrak Northeast Corridor, New York to Washington, D.C..
- CSX RF&P Subdivision, Richmond Terminal Subdivision, North End Subdivision, South End Subdivision, Charleston Subdivision, and Savannah Subdivision, Washington to Savannah.
Bus connections