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Capitol Limited
The Capitol Limited passing through the MARC station in Point of Rocks, Maryland.
Info
Service Type	Inter-city rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Eastern United States
First service	1981-10-01
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Route
Start	Washington, D.C.
No. of intermediate stops	14
End	Chicago, Illinois
Distance travelled	764 mi (1,230 km)
Average journey time	18 hours
Service frequency	Daily each way
On-board services
Classes	Standard and business class
Seating arragements	Airline-style coach seating
Sleeping arrangements	Superliner Roomette (2 beds) Family Bedroom (4 beds) Superliner Bedroom (2 beds) Superliner Bedroom Suite (4 beds) Superliner Accessible Bedroom (2 beds)
Catering facilities	Fully-licensed dining car On-board café
Observation facilities	Sightseer Lounge Car
Baggage facilities	Checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)
Route map Legend Chicago Union Station Illinois/Indiana border South Bend Elkhart Waterloo Indiana/Ohio border Toledo Sandusky Elyria Cleveland Lake Shore Limited diverges Alliance Ohio/Pennsylvania border Pittsburgh Connellsville Pennsylvania/Maryland border Cumberland Maryland/West Virginia border Martinsburg Harpers Ferry West Virginia/Maryland border Rockville Maryland/District of Columbia border Washington, D.C.

Amtrak's Capitol Limited is one of the two routes connecting Washington, D.C. to Chicago, running 764 miles (1,230 km) via Cleveland, Ohio (the other is the Cardinal via Cincinnati). It was begun in 1981, and was named after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Capitol Limited which ended in 1971 with the formation of Amtrak. It carries the Amtrak train numbers 29 and 30, which were previously assigned to the discontinued National Limited.

On October 1, 1981, Amtrak inaugurated their Capitol Limited. It ran over the same route as the B&O's train east of Pittsburgh, but west of Pittsburgh it used the former Pennsylvania Railroad's Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway. (The B&O route west of Pittsburgh was used by the Broadway Limited and Three Rivers from 1990 to 2005, with gaps in between.) On November 12, 1990 trains were rerouted west of Alliance, Ohio due to Conrail's desire to abandon part of the former PFW&C in northwestern Indiana; the Capitol Limited now uses the former Pennsylvania Railroad Cleveland and Pittsburgh (C&P) line north from Alliance through Hudson, Ohio to Cleveland route.

On the eastbound trek, it leaves from Chicago in the late evening (7:05 p.m.) and arrives in Washington, D.C. the next day in the early afternoon. (1:30 p.m.) On the westbound trek, it leaves Washington, D.C. late afternoon (4:05 p.m.) and arrives early morning in Chicago the next day. (8:40 a.m.) The appearance of a shorter westbound ride is due to the one-hour time difference between Washington, DC and Chicago.

Between Washington and Pittsburgh, it mostly follows the historic B&O route along narrow river valleys hemmed in by steep slopes, including the upper Potomac, Youghiogheny, and Monongahela Rivers. Rail trails parallel much of this route, often on the opposite banks. The route straightens and levels out from Ohio onward.

Route details

The Capitol Limited operates over CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway trackage:

• CSX Metropolitan Subdivision, Cumberland Subdivision, Cumberland Terminal Subdivision, Keystone Subdivision, Pittsburgh Subdivision, and P&W Subdivision, Washington to Pittsburgh
• NS Pittsburgh Line and Fort Wayne Line, Pittsburgh to Alliance
• NS Cleveland Line, Alliance to Cleveland
• NS Chicago Line, Cleveland to Chicago

Station stops

References

• Mike Schafer, Amtrak's atlas, Trains June 1991

External links

• Amtrak - Capitol Limited