Ohio travelers are getting a one-seat rail connection to Miami

For the first time in more than 50 years, rail aficionados will be able to travel between Northeast Ohio and Florida without having to switch trains mid-journey. Amtrak has announced it will begin offering service in November between Chicago and Miami with stops along the way including Cleveland, Elyria, Alliance and Sandusky.

"Customers can now purchase tickets on the Floridian," said Amtrak spokesperson Kimberly Woods. "This new temporary route we're offering is a direct round trip between Chicago and Miami."

Woods said the route includes a total of five stops across Northern Ohio. The fifth is in Toledo.

"The Floridian will offer customers an exceptional and sustainable journey," Woods said. "It's a chance for customers to just take advantage of the opportunity and experience a trip on a national overnight train."

John Esterly, the Executive Director of All Aboard Ohio, a nonprofit organization that promotes passenger rail, called the change "exciting."

"The Floridian replaces the Capital Limited, so in terms of traveling west towards Chicago and at least in the short run, East towards D.C., nothing changes," Esterly said. "But the new benefits is folks in Ohio have the opportunity to purchase a ticket that would take them from someplace like Toledo or Cleveland, all the way to Miami."

Esterly said currently people in Ohio travelling to or from Miami by rail have to swap trains in Washington D.C.

Amtrak will offer a variety of accommodations for travelers, including first-class experience.

"We offer first-class private room options, including a roomette, a bedroom and we also offer an accessible bedroom for those who have a disability," Woods said. "All customers receive a traditional dining service with complimentary meals."

Other travelers will be able to purchase food from a café and will have seats with ample leg room, according to Woods.

Amtrak says the total travel time for the new service from Chicago to Miami is 47 hours.

The Floridian is "a temporary service due to the upcoming East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project in New York," according to Woods. She said it will be in service for the duration of the project but did not have a timetable for how long that would be.

Nonetheless, Esterly believes the new service is important.

"Train travel is definitely something that offers opportunities to people that may not have another option when it comes to travel," Esterly said. "So, we look at folks that might be, you know, economically unable to own a car, folks that are just unable to, you know, to fly or to use a vehicle for a long distance. So having train travel gives them an opportunity to move about the statement about the country in a way that they wouldn't have otherwise."