Kentucky Cardinal

The ''Kentucky Cardinal'' was a nightly passenger train operated by Amtrak from 1999 to 2003 between Chicago, Illinois, and Louisville, Kentucky, via Indianapolis, Indiana. On the three days that the ''Cardinal'' ran, the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' operated as a section, splitting at Indianapolis. On the other four days, it ran on its own to Chicago.

History

Between May 1971 and August 1974 Amtrak's '' Floridian'' ran from Chicago to Florida via Indianapolis and Louisville. Due to deteriorating Penn Central track in Indiana, the train was rerouted to the west north of Nashville, Tennessee. In April 1975 the train was routed back east over the former Monon Railroad, again serving Louisville, but bypassing Indianapolis to the west. The ''Floridian'' served Louisville until its discontinuance in October 1979.

On December 17, 1999, the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' started running as a rebranding and extension of the ''Hoosier State (passenger train), Hoosier State'', which ran four days a week between Chicago and Indianapolis (filling in the gaps in the ''Cardinal'' schedule). The ''Kentucky Cardinal'' ran as trains 850 southbound and 851 northbound, the same numbers as the ''Hoosier State.'' The train ran along former Pennsylvania Railroad/Penn Central trackage that had been used by the ''Floridian.'' It was an attempt to attract express business from United Parcel Service, which maintains its air-express hub at Louisville International Airport. At first the train only ran from Indianapolis south to Jeffersonville, Indiana, a Louisville suburb, where a new Amtrak Mail and Express facility was built. The city of Louisville spent $370,000 in 2001 to renovate Union Station (Louisville), Louisville Union Station for the service, and on December 4 the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' started to use a new track on the west side of the Union Station parking lot, marking Amtrak's return to Louisville after a 20-year absence.

Unlike its predecessor, the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' was a full-fledged daily train. On the days the ''Cardinal'' operated, the southbound ''Kentucky Cardinal'' split from the eastbound ''Cardinal'' (train 50) at Indianapolis and continued to Louisville, while the northbound ''Kentucky Cardinal'' combined with the westbound ''Cardinal'' (train 51) in Indianapolis for the journey to Chicago. On the remaining four days of the week, the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' ran independently from Louisville to Chicago. The ''Texas Eagle'' operates in a similar manner, running as a section of the ''Sunset Limited'' on the three days that the latter train operates.

The train was handicapped by inconvenient departure and arrival times, as it ran on the same schedule as the Indianapolis-Chicago leg of the ''Cardinal.'' It was also plagued by slow travel times, especially on the segment from Indianapolis south to Louisville. This segment was operated over the Louisville and Indiana Railroad, which had purchased the line from Conrail in 1994, and had a speed limit of 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) over most of the route due to its jointed rail. This made travel on the southern leg of the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' slower than automobile traffic on the parallel Interstate 65.

With the opening in 1999, Greyhound Lines, Greyhound began running Thruway Motorcoach bus connections from Jeffersonville south to Nashville, Tennessee, with stops at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown and Bowling Green, Kentucky. Though rail passenger advocates tried to get the train's route extended to Nashville in an effort to increase ridership, Amtrak lost its mail contract, and the ''Kentucky Cardinal'' last ran July 4, 2003, restoring the old ''Hoosier State'' on July 6 (the ''Cardinal'' ran both ways on July 5).

Route details

The tracks used were originally part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, and are now owned by the Louisville and Indiana Railroad. The following lines were used:
*Louisville Bridge and Terminal Railway (PRR), Louisville, Kentucky, to Clarksville, Indiana, now L&I
*Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad (PRR), Clarksville to Indianapolis, Indiana, now L&I

Notes

References

*Mike Schafer, Amtrak's atlas, ''Trains (magazine), Trains'' June 1991
*Scanner, ''Trains (magazine), Trains'' February 2000
*''Kentucky Cardinal'' fulfills its name, ''Trains (magazine), Trains'' March 2002
*''Kentucky Cardinal'' wings clipped, ''Trains (magazine), Trains'' June 2003
*Status quo is not a substitute for growth, ''Trains (magazine), Trains'' October 2003
*

External links

Amtrak - ''Kentucky Cardinal''
on the Internet Archive

{{Former Amtrak routes

Former Amtrak routes
Transportation in Louisville, Kentucky
Passenger rail transportation in Illinois
Passenger rail transportation in Indiana
Passenger rail transportation in Kentucky
Railway services introduced in 1999
Railway services discontinued in 2003