Жаңа Йорк пен Флорида арасындағы "Silver Star" пойзы және жаңазеландиялық люкс пойыз

Amtrak service between New York and Florida
the luxury train that ran in New Zealand

The Silver Star is a long distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 1522 mile (2449 km) route between New York City and Miami via Washington, D. C., Richmond, Virginia, Raleigh, North Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, Jacksonville, Florida, and Tampa, Florida. The Silver Star and its sister train in the Silver Service brand, the Silver Meteor, are the descendants of numerous long distance trains that operated between Florida and New York for most of the 20th century. During fiscal year 2023, the Silver Star carried 351,732 passengers, a decrease of 19.1% from FY2022. In November 2023, the train had a total revenue of $8.7 million.

The Silver Star was originally a service of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL), running from New York to Miami and later also St. Petersburg (beyond Tampa). It was previously known as the Advance Silver Meteor, and was renamed on December 12, 1947, after the name was chosen by SAL in a contest. From 1947 to 1948, it was winter only and did not appear in summer timetables. By 1949, however, it was a year round train. Its main Miami bound route went through the interior of Florida, via Ocala and Winter Haven. In peak winter service in the mid 1950s it had a section that went to St. Petersburg via Tampa. Another section went to Port Boca Grande via Tampa. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) carried the train between New York and Washington, D. C. under a haulage agreement, similar to the arrangement with its sister train, the Silver Meteor. The agreement was maintained when the PRR was folded into Penn Central Transportation in 1968, a year after SAL merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). Between Washington and Richmond, Virginia, the train operated on RF&P rails. Amtrak took over the train in 1971.

Except for a brief period from 1994 to 1995 and from 1996 to 2004, when service to Tampa was provided by the Palmetto (known as the Silver Palm from 1996 to 2002), the Silver Star has served both Tampa and Miami during the Amtrak era. Originally, Amtrak operated the Silver Star with Tampa and Miami sections that split in Jacksonville, with the Tampa section continuing on the old Atlantic Coast Line route through Orlando, and the Miami section traveling through Ocala and Wildwood over most of what was the original Seaboard route to Miami. After November 1, 2004, the Silver Star resumed service to Tampa, and now travels intact all of the way, backing out of Tampa and retracing its route 40 mile (64 km) east to Auburndale, where it heads south to Miami or north to New York. The detour occurs at Lakeland; the train stops there to discharge passengers before going to Tampa and to receive passengers after it returns from Tampa. In the January 2011 issue of Trains magazine, this route was listed as one of five routes to be looked at by Amtrak in FY 2011 as the previous five routes (the Sunset Limited, Texas Eagle, California Zephyr, Capitol Limited, and Cardinal) were examined in FY 2010. With the discontinuation of the Silver Meteor's former Tampa section (a descendant of the Champion, a longtime rival of the Silver Star and Silver Meteor) in 1988, the Silver Star is now the only passenger train serving Tampa. On July 1, 2015, the Silver Star's dining car was completely removed from the train's consist, a controversial decision that Amtrak rationalized with the idea that sleeping car passengers could obtain meals from the train's café lounge car. However, on May 1, 2020, the Silver Star's dining car was returned, and Amtrak introduced the “flexible dining” system to the train, which consists of pre prepared meals which are then heated in either a convection oven or a microwave oven at the time of purchase. In a Rail Passengers Association webinar that took place on November 16, 2022, Amtrak's vice president of long distance service revealed that traditional dining service was planned to be reintroduced on the Silver Meteor and the Silver Star "in early 2023." Following this announcement, beginning on northbound train 92 on March 15, 2023, traditional dining was reintroduced to the Silver Star for the first time since 2015. However, this was not a permanent rollout and was instead in the form of a 3 month pilot program gauged to test the success of the service. Southbound train 91 received the pilot on March 17. On June 24, 2023, traditional dining service was formally launched on the Silver Star, as well as on northbound Silver Meteor train 98, and the Silver Star pilot program was replaced by permanent service. Southbound train 97 received traditional dining on June 26. However, coach passengers were not allowed access to the dining car on either the Silver Meteor or Silver Star, unlike on Amtrak's western long distance trains. Shortly after the formal rollout in another interview with the Rail Passengers Association, Amtrak's vice president of long distance service stated that Coach Class access to the dining car was planned to be allowed by the end of 2023, however by January 2024 coach passengers still did not have access. On March 4, 2024, dining car access was finally expanded to coach passengers, mirroring service on Amtrak's western long distance trains. On February 4, 2018, Silver Star train number 91 collided with a CSX freight train in Cayce, South Carolina; the engineer and a conductor of the Silver Star were killed, and 116 passengers were injured. Since 2012, issues have prevented Amtrak from moving from their current station to the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC), primarily regarding the length of the platforms and lease agreements. Amtrak argued that the platforms were insufficient in length, as extra cars are normally added to the Silver Meteor and Silver Star during the winter season to accommodate increased demand. Tri Rail began serving the MIC on April 5, 2015, and Greyhound began using the station on June 24, 2015. Amtrak had been expected to move to the MIC by the Fall of 2016, but in 2018 Amtrak rejected the terms of a lease agreement with FDOT and said it had no plans to move to the MIC. In 2021, Amtrak reached out to FDOT to begin negotiations again for utilization of the MIC, and in February 2022, negotiations officially restarted. Later in March 2022, a test train operated into and out of the station and proved that the platforms are sufficient in length to hold a standard 10 car train. However, the platforms are not long enough to accommodate an 11 to 12 car train, which could be possible in the winter months. In September 2022, Amtrak management announced that it had restarted lease negotiations with FDOT regarding use and maintenance of the terminal. One issue however, is the deadheading move that will need to take place between the MIC and Hialeah. Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner has stated that "the company is evaluating technical and operational aspects of the move." In an Amtrak Public Board Meeting Q&A on December 1, 2022, it was revealed that Amtrak was in the final stages of its preparations for relocating from their current Miami station, and had planned to relocate to the MIC in 2023. However, additional track area would need to be constructed for the Amtrak trains to turn back north, and as of 2024, Amtrak has no date indicated for when service will start at the MIC.

On July 6, 2020, Amtrak reduced the frequency of this train to three times per week as opposed to daily. Southbound Silver Star trains departed New York Friday through Sunday, while Silver Meteor trains departed Monday through Thursday. Similarly, northbound Silver Star trains departed Miami on Thursday through Saturday, while Silver Meteor trains departed Sunday through Wednesday. Both trains resumed daily services on June 7, 2021, after additional Amtrak funding was included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Between January 24 and October 14, 2022, the Silver Star temporarily added a station stop in Jesup, Georgia due to the suspension of its sister train, the Silver Meteor, which is normally the only train that stops at that station. This was due to a resurgence of the Omicron variant of COVID 19 as well as a further delay caused by Hurricane Ian. During this period the Silver Star provided a single once daily service between New York and Miami.

+Ridership by Fiscal Year (October–September)RidershipChange over previous yearNotes2010393,586 2011425,7940.37% 2013405,6952.02% 2015364,2714.97% 2017373,3722.49% 2018368,5181.30% 2019218,51442.09% 2021187,15214.35%Tri weekly October 2020 June 20212022434,779132.31% 2023351,73219.1%

StateTown/CityStationConnectionsNYNew York CityPenn Station Amtrak (long distance): , , Lake Shore Limited, , Amtrak (intercity): , , , , , Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, , , , LIRR: , NJ Transit: , , , , NYC Subway: PATH: NYC Transit BusNJNewarkNewark Penn Station Amtrak: , , , , , , , , , NJ Transit: , , PATH: Newark Light Rail NJ Transit BusTrenton Amtrak: , , , , , , , , NJ Transit: , SEPTA Regional Rail: NJ Transit Bus, SEPTA Suburban BusPAPhiladelphia30th Street Station Amtrak: , , , , , , , , , SEPTA Regional Rail: all routes NJ Transit: SEPTA City Transit: SEPTA City Bus, SEPTA Suburban BusDEWilmington Amtrak: , , , , , , , SEPTA Regional Rail: DART First State Greyhound LinesMDBaltimorePenn Station Amtrak: , , , , , , , MARC: Light RailLink MTA Maryland, Charm City CirculatorDCWashingtonWashington Union Station Amtrak: , , , , , , , , , Amtrak Thruway to Charlottesville, Virginia MARC: , , VRE: , Metro: Red Line DC Streetcar: H Street/Benning Road Line Metrobus, DC Circulator, MTA Maryland, Loudoun County Transit, OmniRide Intercity bus: Greyhound, Megabus, BoltBus, BestBus, Peter Pan, OurBusVAAlexandria Amtrak: , , , , , VRE: , Metro: Blue Line, Yellow Line Metrobus, DASHRichmond Amtrak: , , , , Amtrak Thruway to Charlottesville, Virginia Greater Richmond Transit CompanyEttrick Amtrak: , , , Petersburg Area Transit NCRocky Mount Amtrak: , , Tar River Transit Greyhound LinesRaleighRaleigh Union Station Amtrak: , GoRaleigh, GoTriangleCary Amtrak: , GoCary, GoTriangleSouthern PinesHamletSCCamdenColumbia The CometDenmarkGASavannah Amtrak: , FLJacksonville Amtrak: , Amtrak Thruway to Waldo, Ocala, Gainesville, The Villages, Wildwood, Dade City, Lakeland Jacksonville Transportation AuthorityPalatka Amtrak: The Ride SolutionDeLand Amtrak: , Amtrak Thruway to Daytona BeachWinter Park Amtrak: SunRail LYNX BusOrlando Amtrak: , Amtrak Thruway to Lakeland, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Bradenton, Sarasota, Port Charlotte, Fort Myers SunRail LYNX BusKissimmee Amtrak: SunRail LYNX Bus Greyhound LinesLakeland Amtrak Thruway to Dade City, Wildwood, The Villages, Gainesville, Ocala, Waldo Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Bradenton, Sarasota, Port Charlotte, Fort Myers Citrus Connection Greyhound LinesTampa Amtrak Thruway to Dade City, Wildwood, The Villages, Gainesville, Ocala, Waldo, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Bradenton, Sarasota, Port Charlotte, Fort Myers Hillsborough Area Regional TransitWinter Haven Amtrak: Sebring Amtrak: OkeechobeeWest Palm Beach Amtrak: Tri Rail Brightline (at West Palm Beach) Palm Tran, Tri Rail Commuter Connector, West Palm Beach Downtown Trolley Greyhound LinesDelray Beach Amtrak: Tri Rail Palm Tran, Downtown ConnectorDeerfield Beach Amtrak: Tri Rail Broward County Transit, Tri Rail Commuter ConnectorFort Lauderdale Amtrak: Tri Rail Broward County Transit, Metrobus, Sun Trolley, Tri Rail Commuter ConnectorHollywood Amtrak: Tri Rail Broward County Transit, Hallandale Beach Community BusMiami Amtrak: Metrobus