Cardinal vs Lake Shore Limited

The Cardinal and Lake Shore Limited are two of Amtrak’s long-distance routes that travel between Chicago and New York City. Trains on both routes have sleeper cars, coach cars, a café car and WiFi, but are otherwise very different. The Cardinal only operates three days each week and has many more stops — so if you want the fastest route between Chicago and New York City, book tickets on the Lake Shore Limited.

The Lake Shore Limited also stops in Boston and has more water views (including the Erie Canal and Hudson River) than the Cardinal, which travels through mountains and valleys in West Virginia and Virginia.

Learn more about each Amtrak route below.

	Cardinal	Lake Shore Limited
Route Length	1,146 miles	~1,000 miles
Frequency	3x per week	Daily
Number of Stops	36	20 (NYC segment) 22 (Boston segment)
Type of Train	Viewliner	Viewliner
Sleeper Car	Yes	Yes
Sightseer Lounge	No	No
Dining Options	Café and free meals for sleeper car passengers	Café and free meals for sleeper car passengers
WiFi	Yes	Yes
States on the Route	IL, IN, OH, KY, WV, VA, MD, DE, PA, NJ, NY	IL, IN, OH, PA, NY, MA
End-of-the Line Stations	Chicago and New York City	Chicago, NYC, Boston
Popular Stops	Chicago, Indianapolis, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC	Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, Boston, New York City
Landscapes	Midwest farmland, Alleghany Mountains, New River Gorge, Shenandoah Valley	Midwest farmland, Lake Erie, Erie Canal, Hudson River Valley