The Amtrak Silver Meteor is your ticket to a scenic, relaxing journey along the Eastern Seaboard. It connects the vibrant energy of New York City with the sunny charm of Miami, Florida, daily. The journey spans 1,389 miles and approximately 28 hours, with 31 stops. It offers a unique perspective on ten states and Washington, D.C., including bustling cities, historic towns, and picturesque landscapes.
Whether traveling a few miles or the whole route, the Silver Meteor delivers comfort and convenience. With accommodations ranging from spacious coach seats to private sleeper cars, a café car, and a traditional dining car, this train caters to every type of traveler.
Connecting to the Silver Meteor seamlessly with Amtrak’s Northeast Regional or Acela services for those navigating the busy Northeast Corridor. While the Amtrak Floridian covers similar stops south of Washington, D.C., it follows a more inland route, giving the Silver Meteor its unique charm.
The Silver Meteor and Floridian can take you to the National Post Office & other Smithsonian Museums, Disney World Resort, Universal Studios, LEGOLAND, and more!
Why use this article?
If this is your first time riding the Silver Meteor—or any Amtrak train—you’re in the right place. This guide has everything you need to plan your trip, from accommodations and schedules to dining options and insider tips. Having traveled this route numerous times in coach and sleeper accommodations, I’m excited to share my experiences to help you make the most of your journey.
The Amtrak Silver Meteor’s on-time performance
Delays on the Silver Meteor route can be due to factors beyond Amtrak’s control, such as weather or track obstructions. Another reason for delays is using tracks owned by other railroads, known as “host” railroads.
Common delays are freight and commuter train interference and slow order delays.
- Host Railroads
- CSX
- FL DOT Commuter
- FR
- Amtrak and railroads with track usage of under 15 miles
Silver Meteor Customer On-Time Performance
- In December 2024, the average passenger on-time performance was 48.6%, with an average delay of 76 minutes.
- Between December 2023 and 2024, the average passenger on-time performance was 42.7%, with an average delay of 84 minutes.
The information in this section comes from the December 2024 Amtrak Host Railroad Report.
Amtrak Silver Meteor Accommodations
The Silver Meteor offers a few different accommodations to reserve for your next trip.
Coach Seating
- Coach seating features:
- Comfortable reclining seats with ample legroom
- A fold-down tray
- Individual reading lights
- 120v grounded (three-prong) electric outlets.
- There are two restrooms in each car.
- NO middle seat!
- Luggage storage above your seat and at the end of the car
- Access to the cafe and dining car reservations are limited.
These seats lean back far to help you sleep; if you are traveling overnight, you must bring a pillow and blanket.
An extension cord will charge your devices, making them more accessible. Snacks can also improve your trip. If you are traveling overnight, a pillow and blanket will help make you more comfortable.
Silver Meteor Coach Car Layout
Sleeper Car (Rooms)
A room might be ideal if you want more privacy and lie down at night.
All rooms include:
- Fresh linens and towels
- Complimentary meals – more on that later.
- Lounge access in New York, Philidelphia. and Washington, DC
- Dedicated car attendant
- All windows have privacy curtains that also block out most of the light.
- Access to a shower
- A place to hang clothing
- Amtrak supplies hangers
- Pillows
- Water
- Table between chairs
- Seat for the day that turned into beds at night.
Room types
- Roomettes
- The smallest of the Amtrak rooms.
- It’s comfortable for one but cozy for two.
- Bedrooms
- Give you twice the space of a roomette.
- There is an in-room restroom and shower. In the diagram below, the rooms are A and B.
- Accessible room
- Accommodations for passengers with mobility issues.
- These rooms have a bathroom and shower.
Amtrak Silver Meteor Sleeper Car Layout
The Silver Meteor uses two similar sleeper cars: the older model shown below and the newer one, which is identical but has a restroom on the end and no toilets in the roomettes.
Add-ons for your Amtrak Silver Meteor trip
There are a few things you can add to your trip.
Bikes
Amtrak allows you to bring standard, full-size bicycles (up to 50 lbs, 70 inches x 41 inches x 8.5 inches). Amtrak stores bikes in designated bike racks/areas inside the baggage car. Check out Amtrak’s bike policy for more information.
Pets
Amtrak allows dogs and cats up to 20 pounds (combined weight of pet and carrier) for trips under seven hours, which requires paperwork. For more information, see Amtrak’s pet policy.
If you have a service or comfort animal, please check Amtrak’s service animal policy for booking instructions and regulations.
Bringing Your Luggage
Each passenger may carry on:
- One personal item, 25 lbs. (12 kg) and 14 x 11 x 7 inches
- Two carry-on pieces of luggage, 50 lbs. (23 kg) and 28 x 22 x 14 inches each
If you transfer to the Pacific Surfliner at some point along your journey, the baggage size for that train is up to 28 x 22 x 11 inches each.
Charges apply for additional and oversized luggage; check out Amtrak’s carry-on bag policy for more information.
Between some stops, you can check two bags for free; your originating station and destination must offer check bag service to check bags. Click the station links below to see if they provide checked baggage service.
Wi-Fi
Amtrak offers Wi-Fi free of charge that supports general web browsing activities. Due to limited
bandwidth onboard the trains, our Wi-Fi does not support high-bandwidth actions such as streaming music,
streaming videos or downloading large files.
The Silver Meteor Schedule Broken Down by the Day
The table shows the first and last stops of each route day.
| Train | Day 1 | Day 2 |
|---|---|---|
| #97 Southbound | New York, NY – Rocky Mount, NC | Fayetteville, NC – Miami, FL |
| #98 Northbound | Miami, FL – Florence, NC (Myrtle Beach) | Fayetteville, NC – New York, NY |
Food offerings on the Amtrak Silver Meteor
There are two food service cars on this train.
Cafe
The Silver Meteor cafe offers:
- The Silver Meteor cafe offers:
- Various hot and cold meals
- Snacks
- Hot, cold, and adult beverages
- Available for all passengers from early morning until late at night.
- The car is closed overnight and during the attendant’s breaks.
- It is also closed during the Wat any time. On Saturdays, the stop.
- You can find the cafe car between the coach and the dining cars.
Dining car
- Sleeper passengers on the Silver Meteor can enjoy traditional dining.
- The meal service offers onboard chef-prepared meal
- You can find the dining car between the sleepers and coaches.
- The dining car is available to coach passengers for a set price
- Reservations are limited.
- For prices, click the blue button below.
- If needed, passengers can have attendants bring meals to their rooms.
- Meals include all non-alcoholic beverages and extras.
- Your first adult beverage with dinner is on Amtrak!
- If you want an adult drink, you can buy one for your meal or bring it to your room.
Sleeper car meals received on this train
| Train | Day 1 | Day 2 |
|---|---|---|
| #97 Southbound | Dinner | Breakfast, lunch, & dinner* |
| #98 Northbound | Breakfast, lunch, & dinner | Breakfast |
The Amtrak Silver Meteor Schedule or Timetable
This section comes from Amtrak.com. While I do my best to keep it current, Amtrak can change these times at any time. On Saturdays, the schedule differs slightly from Washington, DC, to New York Penn Station.
If you travel to Tampa, you can take this train to Orlando and board an Amtrak connecting bus to Tampa. This option should be available when you are booking.
The times listed are departure times unless there are two times, which indicates arrival and departure.
| Train 97 Southbound Read Down | Communities Served | Miles | Train 98 Northbound Read up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2:30p | New York, NY Moynihan Train Hall (NYP) | 0 | 11:18a S11:20a |
| 2:53p | Newark, NJ – Penn Station (NWK) | 10 | 11:00a S11:02a |
| 3:34p | Trenton, NJ (TRE) | 58 | 10:23a S10:25a |
| 4:05p | 4:15p | Philadelphia, PA William H. Gray III 30th St. Station (PHL) | 91 | 9:53a S9:55a |
| 4:24p | Wilmington, DE (WIL) | 116 | 9:27a S9:29a |
| 5:32p | Baltimore, MD – Penn Station (BAL) | 185 | 8:34a S8:36a |
| 6:20p | 7:24p | Washington, DC – Union Station (WAS) | 225 | 7:25a | 7:53a S7:25a | 7:50a |
| 7:45p | Alexandria, VA (ALX) | 233 | 6:54a |
| 8:35p | Fredericksburg, VA (FBG) | 280 | 5:46a |
| 9:39p | 9:49p | Richmond, VA Staples Mill Road Station (RVR) | 334 | 4:42a | 4:52a |
| 10:23p | Petersburg, VA (PTB) | 362 | 3:53a |
| 11:55p | Rocky Mount, NC (RMT) | 460 | 2:29a |
| 1:17a | 1:27a | Fayetteville, NC (FAY) | 550 | 12:47a | 12:57a |
| 3:10a | 3:18a | Florence, SC (FLO) | 633 | 11:22p | 11:32p |
| 3:56a | Kingstree, SC (KTR) | 672 | 10:28p |
| 4:48a | 4:56a | Charleston, SC (CHS) | 728 | 9:25p | 9:34p |
| 5:48a | Yemassee, SC (YEM) | 782 | 8:34p |
| 6:43a | 6:49a | Savannah, GA (SAV) | 829 | 7:37p | 7:45p |
| 7:47a | Jesup, GA (JSP) | 881 | 6:35 |
| 9:24a | 9:49a | Jacksonville, FL (JAX) | 977 | 4:51p | 5:11p |
| 10:55a | Palatka, FL (PAK) | 1035 | 3:30p |
| 11:53a | DeLand, FL (DLD) | 1087 | 2:40p |
| 12:41p | Winter Park, FL (WPK) | 1119 | 1:53p |
| 1:04p | 1:19p | Orlando, FL (ORL) | 1124 | 1:22p | 1:36p |
| 1:41p | Kissimmee, FL (KIS) (Can be used for Disney World) | 1142 | 12:57p |
| 1:41p | Winter Haven, FL (WTH) (LEGOLAND) | 1180 | 12:08p |
| 3:14p | Sebring, FL (SBG) | 1221 | 11:23a |
| D 5:10p | West Palm Beach, FL (WPB) | 1324 | 9:47a |
| D 5:33p | Delray Beach, FL (DLB) (Tri-Rail) | 1342 | 9:22a |
| D 5:47p | Deerfield Beach, FL (DFB) (Boca Raton) | 1353 | 9:08a |
| D 6:06p | Fort Lauderdale, FL (FTL) (Port Everglades) | 1367 | 8:50a |
| D 6:21p | Hollywood, FL (HOL) (Miami International Airport) | 1375 | 8:34a |
| 6:59p | Miami, FL (MIA) | 1389 | 8:10a |
| Last Stop | Stations | Miles | Read Up |
R = Receive passengers only; this means you can board the train, but you cannot buy a ticket on this train to this station.
D = Depart only; you can buy a ticket to this station but not from this station. The train may leave early from this stop.
Printable Amtrak Silver Meteor Schedule
If you want a printable Silver Meteor schedule, print the one below or from Amtrak.com. On the Amtrak website, you can create custom schedules that include other Amtrak transportation or just the section of the route you need! Learn how to print Amtrak schedules here!
Please be aware that the Southbound times from New York to Washington, DC, may be inaccurate on the printable schedule. I will update them when Amtrak provides new information (December 2024).
Amtrak Silver Meteor route guide
Over a decade ago, Amtrak created a route guide that details the many stops and communities the Silver Meteor passes through. I found and saved the guide, so you can print or download it if you want it.
Thank you for coming to this page and my site; I have spent several nights on the Silver Meteor and hope you have a great trip. Consider supporting the site if you like this page and benefit from its free content.
Safe travels and happy planning!
Kev
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In cases like this, your car attendant will often make a dinner reservation for you (if you have a room). Amtrak serves dinner until 9 p.m. for people who board the train before 8:30 p.m. This train has traditional dining but has yet to open to coach passengers.
If you are in coach, you can go to the cafe car anytime after you board; they are open late.
You can take Amtrak between those stops, but you’ll save time if you travel to New Haven instead. You would take the Silver Meteor to New York and then transfer to a regional train to New Haven.