Editing Cardinal (train) (section)

{{Short description|Amtrak service from Chicago, IL to New York, NY}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox rail service
| name        = ''Cardinal''
| image       = Amtrak's The Cardinal - Prince, WV.jpg
| caption     = The eastbound ''Cardinal'' in [[Prince, West Virginia]]
| type        = [[Inter-city rail]]<br />[[Higher-speed rail]] ([[Northeast Corridor]] only)
| status      = <!-- Only use when line is non-operational -->
| locale      = [[Mid-Atlantic states|Mid-Atlantic]], [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern]] and [[Southeastern United States|Southeastern]] United States
| predecessor = ''[[James Whitcomb Riley (train)|James Whitcomb Riley]]''
| first       = October 30, 1977
| operator    = [[Amtrak]]
| ridership2  = {{Amtrak route ridership|Cardinal}}
| start       = {{Amtk|Chicago}}, Illinois
| stops       = 36
| end         = {{Amtk|New York}}
| distance    = {{convert|1146|mi|km}}
| journeytime = 27&nbsp;hours, 45&nbsp;minutes<ref>{{cite web |title=Amtrak Timetable Results |url=https://www.amtrak.com/tickets/schedule-results.html |website=www.amtrak.com |access-date=December 20, 2021}}</ref>
| frequency   = Three round trips per week
| trainnumber = 50/51
| class       = Coach Class<br />First Class Sleeper Service
| access      = All train cars, most stations
| sleeping    = {{Unbulleted list
   | Roomette (2 beds)
   | Bedroom (2 beds)
   | Bedroom Suite (4 beds)
   | Accessible Bedroom (2 beds)
   }}
| catering    = [[Amfleet#Cafés|Café/Dinette]] (combined car)
| baggage     = Overhead racks, checked baggage available at selected stations
| stock       = [[Amfleet]]{{,}}[[Viewliner]]
| gauge       = {{Track_gauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| speed       = {{Convert|41|mph|abbr=on}} ({{Tooltip|avg.|average speed (including stops)}})<br />{{Convert|125|mph|abbr=on}} ({{Tooltip|top|top speed}})
| owners      = [[Amtrak|AMTK]], [[Buckingham Branch|BB]], [[Canadian National Railway|CN]], [[CSX Transportation|CSX]], [[Metra|METX]], [[Norfolk Southern Railway|NS]], [[Union Pacific|UP]]
| map         = {{switcher
|{{maplink-road|id=Q858400}}
|Show interactive map
|{{Amtrak Cardinal}}
|Show route diagram map
}}
| map_state   = 
}}

The '''''Cardinal''''' is a [[Amtrak Long Distance|long-distance]] [[passenger train]] operated by [[Amtrak]] between [[New York Penn Station]] and [[Chicago Union Station]] via [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], [[Washington, D.C.]], [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]], [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]], [[Huntington, West Virginia|Huntington]], [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]], and [[Indianapolis, Indiana|Indianapolis]]. Along with the ''[[Floridian (train)|Floridian]]'' and ''[[Lake Shore Limited]]'', it is one of three trains linking the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]] and Chicago''.'' The {{convert|1146|mi|adj=on}} trip between New York and Chicago is scheduled for 28{{frac|1|4}} hours.<ref name="Amtrak">{{cite web |title=Cardinal / Hoosier State |url=https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/timetables/Cardinal-Hoosier-State-Schedule-032918.pdf |access-date=May 29, 2018 |publisher=Amtrak}}</ref>

The ''Cardinal'' has three round trips each week, departing New York City on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and departing Chicago on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Prior to being discontinued in 2019, the ''[[Hoosier State (train)|Hoosier State]]'' provided service on the portion of the ''Cardinal's'' route between Indianapolis and Chicago on the other four days of the week.<ref name="Amtrak" /><ref name="IBJ-cancel">{{cite news|url=https://www.ibj.com/articles/73231-amtrak-suspends-ticket-sales-for-hoosier-state-line-after-june-30|title=Amtrak suspends ticket sales for Hoosier State line after June 30|publisher=[[Indianapolis Business Journal]]|date=April 8, 2019}}</ref>

The ''Cardinal''{{'}}s ridership was 82,705 in  fiscal year 2023, a 3.0% increase from FY2022,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Amtrak FY23 Ridership |url=https://media.amtrak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Amtrak-Fiscal-Year-2023-Ridership.pdf}}</ref> but approximately 25% below its pre-[[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]] ridership of about 109,000 in FY2019. In the two fiscal years prior to the pandemic (FY2018 and FY2019), ridership had increased 12.5%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amtrak Route Ridership FY21 vs FY19 |url=https://media.amtrak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FY21-Year-End-Revenue-and-Ridership.pdf |website=[[Amtrak]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://media.amtrak.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/FY19-Year-End-Ridership.pdf|title=Amtrak Route Ridership|date=November 2019|website=amtrak.com|access-date=June 25, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://media.amtrak.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FY18-Ridership-Fact-Sheet-1.pdf|title=Amtrak® FY18 Ridership|accessdate=June 25, 2023}}</ref> In FY2020, the Cardinal earned $7.1{{nbsp}}million on expenses of $22.6M—a revenue-to-cost ratio of 31%, the second lowest among all Amtrak routes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 19, 2019 |title=General and Legislative Annual Report & FY2020 Grant Request |url=https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/reports/Amtrak-General-Legislative-Annual-Report-FY2020-Grant-Request.pdf |page=43 |quote= Table 36: Amtrak FY 2018 Annual Operations Report |website=[[Amtrak]]}}</ref>