HUNTINGTON — Daily train service might soon become a reality again for Mountain State travelers.
Amtrak announced on Monday that applications had been submitted for federal grants to improve the long-distance service network, including a return to daily service on the Cardinal line that stops in Huntington, Charleston, Montgomery, Thurmond, Prince, Hinton, Alderson and White Sulphur Springs.
Amtrak is the only consistent operator of intercity passenger rail in the state with the Cardinal and Capitol Limited lines with stops in Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry.
The Cardinal line runs three times a week and connects New York City; Washington, D.C.; Cincinnati; Indianapolis; and Chicago. Huntington was the second busiest station in the state in 2019, with 8,870 boardings — only behind Martinsburg. Huntington even had more boardings than larger cities like Cincinnati in 2019.
The Cardinal had daily service until 1981 before service was cut completely.
According to a spokesperson from Amtrak, service was restored at three times a week in 1982.
Along with daily service on the Cardinal, Amtrak also included plans to increase train speeds along the line through portions of Indiana. Amtrak recently received approval from the Illinois Department of Transportation to increase train speeds to 110 miles per hour on sections of track between Chicago and St. Louis.
The applications are for approximately $716 million worth of funding from the Federal Railroad Administration for 16 projects around the country to improve reliability within long-distance service, reducing travel times and expanding service.
The applications were submitted through two programs that were funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, including the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program funding opportunity and the Corridor Identification and Development Program.
“I applaud Amtrak for seeking infrastructure funding to restore daily service on the Cardinal line that travels through the Mountain State. This is a great step in connecting West Virginia communities, bringing more visitors to our great State, and creating new economic opportunities,” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said in a statement.
“I am committed to seeing daily rail service in Charleston, Huntington, the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, and the many communities along the Cardinal line and will continue to work to see West Virginia get the daily passenger rail service it deserves,” Manchin said.
“Access to West Virginia through rail has been a crucial aspect of our infrastructure and a key component in providing travel opportunities for West Virginians and bringing new individuals to visit our state,” Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said in a statement.