Trains from Indiana to Florida

A train trip from Indiana to Florida is doable, but not easy or short. In previous decades, the South Wind (1940-1971) and Floridan (1971-1979) passenger trains provided direct service. Today, the new (and temporary) Floridian route can take you there from South Bend, Elkart and Waterloo. You’ll spend two nights on the train with an early morning arrival in Jacksonville. There are many other stops in Central Florida, cities along the East Coast, and in Tampa.

For additional travel options from different Indiana regions, see the recommendations below. Note that if you are willing to rent a car or transfer to a Greyhound bus, you can travel from any Indiana Amtrak Station to Chicago and transfer to the City of New Orleans train to reach New Orleans. From there, drive time to the Florida state line is about 3 hours.

Indianapolis

Eastbound Cardinal trains stop in Indianapolis three days each week and travel through the beautiful New River Gorge. Departure time isn’t ideal; the train leaves Indianapolis around midnight. Alexandria, Virginia is the first station where you can transfer to a Florida train (Silver Meteor), which is 18 hours away. You can view all your options by entering Indianapolis as your starting station and your desired Florida destination in the Find Trains feature on the Amtrak.com homepage.

East-Central Indiana

Also on the Cardinal route, the Connersville Amtrak Station is near New Castle, Rushville and Richmond, Indiana. The train stops in Connersville after 1 a.m. on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and you’ll follow the same instructions as above, with travel to Alexandria, Virginia or Washington D.C., then transfer to the Silver Meteor.

West-Central Indiana

Crawfordsville and Lafayette have Amtrak stations on the Cardinal, with eastbound departure times are at night. Travel time to Alexandria and DC is about 20 hours (where you can transfer to the Silver Meteor).

You can also drive about two hours to South Bend to connect with the Floridian train.

To reach the panhandle, you can also drive to Champaign-Urbana in Illinois to board the City of New Orleans train for a 16-hour trip to New Orleans. This option works well if you are willing to rent a car in New Orleans and drive to Florida from there. Overnight parking is an option at the Champaign-Urbana Amtrak Station. Drive time from Lafayette is about 1.5 hours and from Crawfordsville about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Northwest Indiana

If you are traveling from Northwest Indiana, it’s easiest to travel to South Bend and board the Floridian train there.

Northeast Indiana

The Floridian Amtrak route stops in South Bend, Elkhart and Waterloo. Nearby cities include Fort Wayne and Goshen. If you live in Muncie or Anderson, you can drive about 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach the Waterloo Station.

Southeast Indiana

If you live in Southeast Indiana, including near Madison, consider connecting with Amtrak’s Cardinal route in Cincinnati, Ohio. Drive time between these two cities is about 1 hour and 20 minutes. The downside is that you’ll need to be at the station by 3 a.m. for the 3:30 a.m. departure. Overnight parking is available at the Cincinnati Union Terminal. Ride the train to Alexandria (14.5 hours) or Washington D.C. (15 hours). From either of those cities, you can transfer to the Silver Meteor to reach Florida.

Southwest Indiana

The easiest option to reach Florida from Southwest Indiana is to drive two hours to the Carbondale, IL Amtrak Station. Board the City of New Orleans train in Carbondale and travel to New Orleans (13.5 hours) and rent a car or transfer to a Greyhound bus to Pensacola or Panama City.