Silver Palm(train)
 TheSilver Palmon its inaugural run in 1982. AnEMD F40PHRleads anAmfleetconsist. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Service type | Inter-city rail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Discontinued | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First service | November 21, 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last service | April 30, 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former operator(s) | Amtrak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | Miami,Florida Tampa, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stops | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance travelled | 255 miles (410 km) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average journey time | 5 hours | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service frequency | Daily | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Train number(s) | 895, 896 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| On-board services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class(es) | Unreserved coach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Catering facilities | On-board cafe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | Amfleetcoaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 4 ft8+1⁄2in(1,435 mm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track owner(s) | Seaboard System | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheSilver Palmwas a dailypassenger trainroute operated byAmtrakbetweenMiamiandTampain theU.S.state ofFlorida.[1]Service began in 1982 and ended in 1985.
From 1996 to 2002, Amtrak reused theSilver Palmname to rebrand itsNew York–MiamiPalmettoroute under theSilver Servicebanner.
History
[edit]
As early as 1974, Florida considered funding a Miami–Orlando service usingTurboliners,with expansion statewide possible.[2]Amtrak ultimately introduced the firstSilver Palmas a single round trip service betweenMiamiandTampa, Florida,on November 21, 1982.[3]The train was subsidized by theFlorida Department of Transportation[4]as a 403(b) service.[5]The train operated over the tracks of theSeaboard System Railroadbetween Miami and Tampa viaAuburndale.The northbound train departed Miami in the morning and returned from Tampa in the afternoon. Travel time was approximately five hours in each direction. A bus connection was provided betweenWinter HavenandOrlando.It followed the traditional SAL mainline through Wildwood and Ocala in north-central Florida.
TheSilver Palmwas the first intrastate train to use the then-newAmfleet IIcoaches.[6]The initial consist was two coaches and a cafe car.[7]
During its service, train crew were required to manually throwswitchesfor the train to operate between divisions.[8]Amtrak had worked to remove speed restrictions on the line and considered adding more stops in an effort to improve service and increase the train's profitability.[9]The state also tried to help boost ridership following a publicity tour by thenLieutenant GovernorWayne Mixsonin August 1984,[10]in part to build a base of riders for proposedhigh-speedservice in the state.[5][11]After a two-year trial the Florida Department of Transportation recommended ending subsidies for theSilver Palm.State law required that state-sponsored services maintain a farebox ratio of 60% to continue funding.[1][12]
FDOT announced on October 20, 1984, that theSilver Palm's ratio was 45.3%.[11][13]The service was scheduled to be discontinued on November 20, 1984.[14]The Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers sued the state, arguing that the Department of Transportation had calculated the operating ratio incorrectly, and won at the district court level.[15]This decision was overturned on appeal by theFlorida First District Court of Appealon March 28, 1985.[16]TheSilver Palmwas discontinued on April 30, 1985.[17][18]It was estimated to have cost $4 million over the course of its run.[19]
Revived name
[edit]The secondSilver Palmwas a long-distance passenger train betweenNew York, New York,and Miami, Florida. This was a revival of thePalmetto,which Amtrak had discontinued on April 1, 1995. Service began on November 10, 1996. For a period in the mid-1990s, as in the 1996-1997 season, it was Amtrak's only train passing through Ocala area north-central Florida section in 1996.[20]Amtrak restored thePalmettoname on May 1, 2002, after the train lost sleeping and dining car service.
Proposed restoration
[edit]Currently, only theSilver Starprovides daily Amtrak service between Miami and Tampa. A proposal called Amtrak Connects US outlines 15-year expansion plans for state-supportedintercity railcorridors, with one of the routes being between Miami and Tampa. It would follow the same route as theSilver Palm,with stops at all the same stations as well as an additional stop at theOkeechobee station.[21]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ab"Profit Loss May Run Silver Palm Off Track".The Palm Beach Post.West Palm Beach, FL. August 11, 1984. p. 174 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^Ingles, J. David (July 1974). "Amtrak South".Trains.Vol. 34, no. 9. pp. 32–34.
- ^Moffett, Dan (November 21, 1982)."Train Starts Daily Run Across State".Palm Beach Post.West Palm Beach, FL. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^Klein, Gil (November 16, 1982)."State betting Amtrak's Silver Palm will blossom".Tampa Tribune.Tampa, FL. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^abRomano, Michael (August 24, 1984)."Officials ride the rails for Amtrak's Silver Palm".South Florida Sun Sentinel.Fort Lauderdale, FL. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^Brokaw, Rick (June 26, 1983)."Silver Palm makes the trip".Tampa Tribune.Tampa, FL. p. 182 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^"Pardon me boy - Is that the Silver Palm for Tampa?".Miami News.October 16, 1982.RetrievedJuly 7,2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^Final Environmental Impact Statement: Florida Power & Light Company Martin Coal Gasification/Combined Cycle Project.Atlanta, GA: United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region IV. May 1991. p. D-25 – via Google Books.
- ^"Amtrak to Consider Okeechobee Flag Stop".The Palm Beach Post.West Palm Beach, FL. July 15, 1984. p. 42 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^"Mixson: More passengers needed or wave good-bye to Silver Palm".Tampa Tribune.Tampa, FL. August 24, 1984. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^abKlein, Gil (October 20, 1984)."Cutoff of state subsidy means end of Tampa-to-Miami rail service".Tampa Tribune.Tampa, FL. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^Kinneberg, Rob (December 7, 1984)."Hopes Dim for Okeechobee Amtrak Stop".Palm Beach Post.West Palm Beach, FL. p. 167 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^"State to cut Silver Palm funding".Lakeland Ledger.October 20, 1984.RetrievedJuly 7,2012.
- ^Rojas, Helen (October 20, 1984)."Amtrak Silver Palm connecting Miami and Tampa discontinued".Fort Lauderdale News.Fort Lauderdale, FL. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^Wolff, Christine (November 13, 1984)."Ruling puts Silver Palm on track to keep running".Miami News.Miami, FL. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^"Silver Palm Hits End Of The Line In Courts".Sarasota Herald-Tribune.March 29, 1985.RetrievedJuly 7,2012.
- ^Marmor, Jon (May 1, 1985)."Silver Palm Comes to End Of the Line".Palm Beach Post.West Palm Beach, FL – via Newspapers.com.
- ^Allen, Kevin (April 30, 1985)."End of the line: Amtrak's 'Silver Palm' makes its final run".Fort Lauderdale News.Fort Lauderdale, FL. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^"Doubts are flying about high-speed rail system".South Florida Sun Sentinel.Fort Lauderdale, FL. September 17, 1989. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^Amtrak Timetable, November 1996 p. 29http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19961110n&item=0029
- ^"Amtrak Tampa to Miami Expansion Plans".Amtrak Connects US.RetrievedMarch 28,2024.
External links
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