Amtrak sets 2025 record, including Kentucky's Cardinal route
By Curtis Tate
November 19, 2025 at 2:36 PM EST
Amtrak’s Cardinal saw a 6% increase in riders in the year ending Sept. 30, according to the passenger railroad.
Amtrak’s overall ridership increased 5% for the year, setting a record of 34.5 million passengers.
The Cardinal runs three days a week from Chicago to New York, with stops in Maysville and Ashland. The train carried 98,500 passengers in the latest fiscal year.
Kentucky’s only other intercity passenger train, The City of New Orleans, saw 3% fewer passengers for the year. It stops in Fulton daily on its route from Chicago to New Orleans.
Amtrak’s Floridian, which ran from Chicago to Florida via Louisville and Bowling Green, was discontinued in 1979.
Amtrak has studied making the Cardinal a daily train, as well as restoring service to the corridor along Interstate 65.
Amtrak’s overall ridership increased 5% for the year, setting a record of 34.5 million passengers.
The Cardinal runs three days a week from Chicago to New York, with stops in Maysville and Ashland. The train carried 98,500 passengers in the latest fiscal year.
Kentucky’s only other intercity passenger train, The City of New Orleans, saw 3% fewer passengers for the year. It stops in Fulton daily on its route from Chicago to New Orleans.
Amtrak’s Floridian, which ran from Chicago to Florida via Louisville and Bowling Green, was discontinued in 1979.
Amtrak has studied making the Cardinal a daily train, as well as restoring service to the corridor along Interstate 65.