The Cardinal Amtrak route will take you Indianapolis, Indiana from cities in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Popular places to board the train include Chicago, Cincinnati, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City. Trains on this route also travel through the scenic New River Gorge in West Virginia and near the Ohio River.
If your starting destination is not near one of the Cardinal train stations, you’ll likely need to travel first to Chicago, Washington D.C. or New York City and transfer to a Cardinal train there. Note that the Cardinal only operates three days each week, so you’ll need to plan your trip accordingly.
To view travel options and schedules, use the Find Trains feature on the Amtrak.com homepage:
Things to Know
- Eastbound trains arrive around midnight.
- Westbound trains heading toward Chicago arrive early in the morning.
- Indianapolis is in the Eastern Time Zone (nearby Chicago is on Central).
- The Indianapolis 500 takes place on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.
- Next to the Indianapolis Amtrak Station is the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which is in the historic 1888 Union train station.
- The Amtrak station is in a walkable area near one of the oldest bars in Indiana (Slippery Noodle Inn), Lucas Oil Stadium and Gainbridge Fieldhouse where you can attend concerts and sporting events.
Amtrak Guide 