DC7800
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2001
- Messages
- 1,287
From April 25 until at least June 23, Amtrak trains to and from Orlando will be severely disrupted by CSX trackwork south of Savannah. This information should be on the Amtrak website today or tommorrow.
- The Silver Meteor is cancelled starting April 25.
- The Silver Star will be operating on a revised schedule. Basically, the train will operate two hours earlier the length of its route from New York. The train is supposed to get extra coaches and sleepers (and a second dining car) off the Meteor to handle the increased traffic.
- The Palmetto and Sunset Limited will operate on a normal schedule.
- Auto-Train is also not supposed to be affected.
It's common knowledge that CSX needs to work on the track, but there are better ways than this to deal with it. In any case, its all offically supposed to be back to normal in late June (though I've heard tales this could run into the July 4th holiday week, its not supposed to). Anyone with Meteor reservations will certainly be offered the same accomodations (coach, sleeper, etc.) on the Silver Star, but that will basically be the only train a day to Orlando from the Northeast. Also, the revised schedule apparently will break connections with the Piedmont at Raleigh and other trains in the Northeast.
I don't know how/when Amtrak will contact anyone, but I wanted to give anyone affected here a heads-up. Also, every word of this plan is subject to change. Indeed, I'll be surprised - downright shocked, actually - if some details don't change. Unfortunately, this is the basic shape of things to come for the next two months. This should not in any way dissaude anyone from taking the train to Disney, just be aware of the schedule changes. The expanded Silver Star will in fact be quite an impressive train, with 4-5 sleepers, 8 coaches, and 3-4 diners and lounges.
Finally, if the revised Silver Star doesn't work for some of you (it misses some Carolina stops), you have a few alternatives. The Palmetto comes as close as Winter Haven and Wildwood (or Ocala) to Disney. If you could arrange transportation from any of those stations (probably a rental car), you can always use the Palmetto.
- The Silver Meteor is cancelled starting April 25.
- The Silver Star will be operating on a revised schedule. Basically, the train will operate two hours earlier the length of its route from New York. The train is supposed to get extra coaches and sleepers (and a second dining car) off the Meteor to handle the increased traffic.
- The Palmetto and Sunset Limited will operate on a normal schedule.
- Auto-Train is also not supposed to be affected.
It's common knowledge that CSX needs to work on the track, but there are better ways than this to deal with it. In any case, its all offically supposed to be back to normal in late June (though I've heard tales this could run into the July 4th holiday week, its not supposed to). Anyone with Meteor reservations will certainly be offered the same accomodations (coach, sleeper, etc.) on the Silver Star, but that will basically be the only train a day to Orlando from the Northeast. Also, the revised schedule apparently will break connections with the Piedmont at Raleigh and other trains in the Northeast.
I don't know how/when Amtrak will contact anyone, but I wanted to give anyone affected here a heads-up. Also, every word of this plan is subject to change. Indeed, I'll be surprised - downright shocked, actually - if some details don't change. Unfortunately, this is the basic shape of things to come for the next two months. This should not in any way dissaude anyone from taking the train to Disney, just be aware of the schedule changes. The expanded Silver Star will in fact be quite an impressive train, with 4-5 sleepers, 8 coaches, and 3-4 diners and lounges.
Finally, if the revised Silver Star doesn't work for some of you (it misses some Carolina stops), you have a few alternatives. The Palmetto comes as close as Winter Haven and Wildwood (or Ocala) to Disney. If you could arrange transportation from any of those stations (probably a rental car), you can always use the Palmetto.
