Get an Amtrak Cardinal Schedule. If you are looking for a printable timetable, there is one at the bottom. You can click on each station to see what amenities they offer.
This page was last updated: August 15, 2023
This page displays best on mobile devices if you hold your phone horizontally. These are also guides, and Amtrak can change times at any time.
Temporary Amtrak Cardinal Schedule Changes, Service Alerts, And Notices
Check here check for any alerts or notices for your trip!
Accommodations Offerings for the Cardinal
Coach Seating
Coach seating – features comfortable reclining seats with ample legroom and a fold-down tray, individual reading lights, and 120v electric outlets.
Sleeper Car (Rooms) Accommodations
What Cardinal Rooms Include
- Fresh linens and towels
- Complimentary meals
- Lounge access in Chicago, New York, Philidelphia. and Washington DC
- Dedicated car attendant
- Access to showers
Room Options On Amtrak’s Cardinal
A Viewliner bedroom gives you twice the space of a Roomette, with seating by day, upper and lower berths by night, and an in-room restroom and shower. These rooms can be used for one or up to three if two people cuddle on the lower bunk. You need to call to book three.
Roomettes offer passengers seating by day that turns into upper and lower berths at night. Additionally, you have access to a shower in your car. These rooms are great for solo passengers but can work for two.
An accessible Room offer accommodations for passengers with a disability; accessible Bedrooms are located on the lower level of the train and provide ample space for a wheelchair, with a sofa for two by day and upper and lower berth for the night.
Bikes, Pets, Wi-Fi, and Luggage
Bicycle – Space is available for 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 Coach passenger cars or the baggage car (if available).
Checked Baggage – Two bags up to 50 lbs. and 75 linear inches are allowed per person for free. Charges apply for additional and oversized luggage. Not all locations can handle checked baggage. Click the station links below to see if they offer 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 and videos or downloading large files. There can be part of the route where the Wi-Fi may not work because it is a cell-based service, and not all spots have cell service.
Pet – Amtrak allows dogs and cats up to 20 pounds (combined weight of pet and carrier) for trips up to seven hours.
Food Offerings On The Cardinal
The Amtrak cafe offers a variety of meals, snacks, and beverages for sale, and it is available for all passengers from early morning until late at night.
You can find the cafe between the coach cars and the sleeper lounge.
Flex Dining – is complimentary dining for sleeping passengers to enjoy in private rooms or the Sleeper Lounge. Flex dining meals are prepared ahead of time and warmed on the train. Meals include breakfast selections, while lunch and dinner share the same menu, plus complimentary beverages.
2023 Amtrak Cardinal Schedule
The Cardinal runs three days a week. This guide was current at the time of publication. Amtrak does change times, and I do my best to keep everything current.
| Train 51 Westbound | Communities Served | Miles | Train 50 Eastbound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read Down | This train runs three days a week. | – | Last Stop |
| 6:45a Su-We-Fr | New York, NY Moynihan Train Hall (NYP) | 0 | 10:23p We-Fr-Su |
| R 7:00a | 7:05a | Newark, NJ – Penn Station (NWK) | 10 | D 10:03p |
| 7:37a | 7:42a | Trenton, NJ (TRE) | 58 | D 9:27p |
| 8:07a | 8:15a | Philadelphia, PA William H. Gray III 30th St. Station (PHL) | 91 | D 8:51p | 8:56p |
| 8:37a | 8:40a | Wilmington, DE (WIL) | 116 | D 8:30p |
| 9:25a | 9:28a | Baltimore, MD – Penn Station (BAL) | 185 | D 7:41p |
| 10:09a | 10:59a | Washington, DC – Union Station (WAS) | 225 | D 6:44p | 7:09p |
| 11:19a | Alexandria, VA (ALX) | 233 | D 6:27p |
| 11:50a | 11:52a | Manassas, VA (MSS) | 258 | 5:35p |
| 12:25p | Culpeper, VA (CLP) | 293 | 5:00p |
| 1:43p | 1:52p | Charlottesville, VA (CVS) | 340 | 3:35p | 3:44p |
| 2:50p | 2:54p | Staunton, VA (STA) | 379 | 2:38a |
| 4:10p | 4:13p | Clifton Forge, VA (CLF) | 437 | 1:09a |
| 5:02p | 5:05p | White Sulphur Springs, WV (WSS) | 472 | 12:01a |
| 5:36p | Alderson, WV (ALD) | 496 | 11:18a |
| 6:04p | 6:06p | Hinton, WV (HIN) | 517 | 10:50a |
| 6:39p | 6:43p | Prince, WV (PRC) | 540 | 10:18a |
| 6:59p | Thurmond, WV (THN) | 551 | 9:56a |
| 7:50p | Montgomery, WV (MNG) | 592 | 9:02a |
| 8:23p | 8:29p | Charleston, WV (CHW) | 619 | 8:31a |
| 9:44p | 9:51p | Huntington, WV (HUN) | 668 | 7:19a | 7:26a |
| 10:12p | 10:14p | Ashland, KY (AKY) | 683 | 6:45a |
| 10:57p | South Shore, KY Portsmouth, OH (SPM) | 712 | 5:55a |
| 11:50p | 11:52p Su-We-Fr | Maysville, KY (MAY) | 766 | 5:02a |
| 1:31a | 1:41a Mo-Th-Sa | Cincinnati, OH Union Terminal (CIN) | 828 | 3:37a |
| 3:36a | Connersville, IN (COI) | 893 | Tu, Th FR 1:31a |
| 5:15a | 6:00a | Indianapolis, IN (IND) | 951 | We-Fr-Su 11:49p | 12:15a Tu-Th-Sa |
| 6:58a | Crawfordsville, IN (CRF) | 998 | 10:30p |
| 7:36a | Lafayette, IN – Amtrak Station (LAF) | 1025 | 9:56p |
| 7:40a | Rensselaer, IN (REN) | 1072 | 7:45p |
| 8:29a | Dyer, IN (DYE) | 1118 | 6:45p |
| 10:00a Mo-Th-Sa | Chicago, IL – Union Station (CHI) | 1147 | 5:55p Tu-Th-Sa |
| End | Stations | Miles | Read Up |
- Su- Sunday; Mo-Monday; Tu-Tuesday; We-Wednesday; Th-Thursday; Fr-Friday; Sa-Saturday
- 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.
- * = Stations with Amtrak Connecting Services.
Printable Amtrak Cardinal Schedule
You can print out the PDF below or download them to your device. This document is longer because it includes most connection services, so feel free to print just what you need.
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Thanks for this.
You are welcome!
Safe Travels,
Kev
Kev looking for a non working model train for grandson present as we went on sunset Houston to LA last week but dont know livery or train type to buy as a souvenier
Hi Laura,
So you would want to look for Phase IV Superliner cars, which could include coaches (three of them, one a baggage coach), sleepers two regular and a transform sleeper if you want to be authentic, and then a Sightseer Lounge and a dining car. To finish things up, a Viewliner Phase 3 baggage car and 2 Phase V locomotive or one of the heritage units. I hope that helps! eBay could be an excellent place to find them!
Kev
Thanks especially for this timetable, Kev. Last spring, I mentioned to my wife that an Amtrak Cardinal T-shirt would be a nice Father’s Day gift. When my wife saw a picture of it, she wanted one too, so we bought two. Living in Alexandria, Virginia, at the time, I thought that a day trip on the Cardinal would be fun. I had done it some years before with a friend. I tried searching the booking thingy on the Amtrak website by train numbers, stations, range of dates, and found nothing. I couldn’t tell whether the train was even running. Since then we have moved to Pennsylvania, but maybe we will take a long ride later this year.
You are welcome, Steve! The Cardinal is still going, but three times a week. I hope you ride it again; it is one of my favorite trains.
Kev, Im so confused!🤪 I’ve never rode on a train, would Love to take a Scenic Train Ride!
I’ve been searching and calling disconnected # for 2 days! Do you know of anything that leaves out of Huntington, WV? Thank You!😊
You are on the right page because the Cardinal is the only train leaving Huntington, WV (three times a week), and you can view the schedule.
You could take it to Chicago or up the East Coast. One idea is to take it to Chicago and the Capitol Limited that day and then stay somewhere on the East Coast before taking the Cardinal back home. It could take some clever booking, but it is possible!
Happy planning and safe travels,
Kev