Capitol Limited (Amtrak)

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Capitol Limited
Info
Type	Inter-city rail
System	Amtrak
Terminals	Washington, D.C. Chicago, Illinois
Operation
Opened	October 1, 1981
Owner	NS, CSX (track)
Operator(s)	Amtrak
Technical
Line length	764 miles (1,230 km)
Line map Legend Chicago Union Station Illinois/Indiana border South Bend Elkhart Waterloo Indiana/Ohio border Toledo Sandusky Elyria Cleveland Lake Shore Limited diverges Alliance Ohio/Pennsylvania border Pittsburgh Connellsville Pennsylvania/Maryland border Cumberland Maryland/West Virginia border Martinsburg Harpers Ferry West Virginia/Maryland border Rockville Maryland/District of Columbia border Washington, D.C.

Amtrak's Capitol Limited is one of the two routes connecting Washington, D.C. to Chicago, running 764 miles (1230 km) via Cleveland, Ohio (the other is the Cardinal via Cincinnati). It was begun in 1981, and was named after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Capitol Limited, ended in 1971 with the formation of Amtrak. It carries the Amtrak train numbers 29 and 30, previously assigned the National Limited, discontinued in 1979.

On October 1, 1981, Amtrak inaugurated their Capitol Limited. It ran over the same route as the B&O's train east of Pittsburgh, but west of Pittsburgh it used the former Pennsylvania Railroad's Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway. (The B&O route west of Pittsburgh was used by the Broadway Limited and Three Rivers from 1990 to 2005, with gaps in between.) On November 12, 1990 trains were rerouted west of Alliance, Ohio due to Conrail's desire to abandon part of the former PFW&C in northwestern Indiana; the Capitol Limited now uses the former Pennsylvania Railroad Cleveland and Pittsburgh (C&P) line north from Alliance through Hudson, Ohio to Cleveland route.

On the eastbound trek, it leaves from Chicago in the late evening (7:05 p.m.) and arrives in Washington, DC the next day in the early afternoon. (1:30 p.m.) On the westbound trek, it leaves Washington, DC late afternoon (4:05 p.m.) and arrives early morning in Chicago the next day. (8:40 a.m.) The appearance of a shorter westbound ride is due to the one-hour time difference between Washington, DC and Chicago.

Between Washington and Pittsburgh, it mostly follows the historic B&O route along narrow river valleys hemmed in by steep slopes, including the upper Potomac, the Youghiogheny, and the Monongahela, which make for scenic if slow travel. Rail trails parallel much of this route, often on the opposite banks. The route straightens and levels out from Ohio onward.

Contents 1 Route details 2 Station stops 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Route details

The Capitol Limited operates over CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway trackage:

• CSX Metropolitan Subdivision, Cumberland Subdivision, Cumberland Terminal Subdivision, Keystone Subdivision, Pittsburgh Subdivision, and P&W Subdivision, Washington to Pittsburgh
• NS Pittsburgh Line and Fort Wayne Line, Pittsburgh to Alliance
• NS Cleveland Line, Alliance to Cleveland
• NS Chicago Line, Cleveland to Chicago

[edit] Station stops

State/Province	Town/City	Station	Connections
District of Columbia	Washington	Washington Union Station	Amtrak: Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Acela Express, Palmetto, Regional, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Vermonter, Thruway Motorcoach to Charlottesville, Virginia MARC Train: Brunswick Line, Camden Line, Penn Line Metro: Red Line Metrobus: 96, D4, D6, D8, 97, X6, X8 VRE: Manassas Line, Fredericksburg Line
Maryland	Rockville	Rockville	MARC Train: Brunswick Line Metro: Red Line Metrobus: T2, Q2 Ride On: 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 52, 54, 55, 56, 59, 63, 81, T2
West Virginia	Harpers Ferry	Harpers Ferry	MARC Train: Brunswick Line
	Martinsburg	Martinsburg	MARC Train: Brunswick Line
Maryland	Cumberland	Cumberland	none
Pennsylvania	Connellsville	Connellsville
	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh Union Station	Amtrak: Pennsylvanian Port Authority Subway: 42S Line
Ohio	Alliance	Alliance	none
	Cleveland	Cleveland Lakefront Station	Amtrak: Lake Shore Limited RTA Rapid Transit: Blue Line, Green Line
	Elyria	Elyria	Amtrak: Lake Shore Limited
	Sandusky	Sandusky	Amtrak: Lake Shore Limited
	Toledo	Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza	Amtrak: Lake Shore Limited, Thruway Motorcoach to Detroit and East Lansing, Michigan
Indiana	Waterloo	Waterloo	Amtrak: Lake Shore Limited
	Elkhart	Elkhart	Amtrak: Lake Shore Limited
	South Bend	South Bend	Amtrak: Lake Shore Limited
Illinois	Chicago	Chicago Union Station	Amtrak: Ann Rutledge, Blue Water, California Zephyr, Cardinal and Hoosier State, Carl Sandburg, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Hiawatha, Illini, Illinois Zephyr, Lake Shore Limited, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Saluki, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle, Wolverine, Thruway Motorcoach to Louisville, Kentucky, Madison, Wisconsin and Rockford, Illinois CTA: 14, 19, 20, X20, 38, 56, 60, 120, 122, 124, 127, 129, 157 Metra: BNSF Railway, HC, MD-N, MD-W, NCS, SWS

[edit] References

• Mike Schafer, Amtrak's atlas, Trains June 1991

[edit] External links

• Amtrak - Capitol Limited

v • d • e Amtrak routes California California Zephyr · Capitol Corridor · Coast Starlight · Pacific Surfliner · San Joaquins · Southwest Chief · Sunset Limited · Texas Eagle Midwest Ann Rutledge · Blue Water · California Zephyr · Capitol Limited · Cardinal · Carl Sandburg · City of New Orleans · Empire Builder · Hiawatha · Hoosier State · Illini · Illinois Zephyr · Lake Shore Limited · Lincoln Service · Mules · Pere Marquette · Saluki · Southwest Chief · Texas Eagle · Wolverine Northeast Acela Express · Adirondack · Auto Train · Capitol Limited · Cardinal · Shuttle · Carolinian · Crescent · Downeaster · Empire Service · Ethan Allen Express · Keystone Service · Lake Shore Limited · Maple Leaf · Palmetto · Pennsylvanian · Northeast Regional · Silver Meteor · Silver Star · Vermonter Northwest Amtrak Cascades · Coast Starlight · Empire Builder South Auto Train · Carolinian · City of New Orleans · Crescent · Palmetto · Piedmont · Heartland Flyer · Silver Meteor · Silver Star · Sunset Limited · Texas Eagle West California Zephyr · Empire Builder · Southwest Chief · Sunset Limited · Texas Eagle