TikTok is romanticizing train travel. A new route through Columbia lets travelers lean in
If you’ve been on TikTok recently you may have seen a seemingly-endless line of people ditching the Interstate and air travel in favor of a more classic mode: the train.
Videos of long-distance scenic train rides are blowing up on social media, racking up hundreds of thousands of likes.
Now, Columbia residents can join in on the trend by catching the newest Amtrak route from Columbia to Chicago.
“While the ride duration of 28 hours to Chicago is in no way competitive with air travel or even highway travel, there are a significant number of people who will choose the train because they consider it to be more affordable, or more relaxing, or more fun, or all three,” reads a release announcing the new option.
The full route runs between Miami and Chicago, with stops along the way including in Columbia. It combines the Amtrak’s Silver Star from Miami to New York and the Capitol Limited between Washington D.C. and Chicago. The new route is being called the Floridian.
Previously, if you wanted to catch a train from Columbia to Chicago, you would have had to go through Washington D.C. The Floridian will take off for the first time from Miami Nov. 10 and arrive in Columbia at 4:13 a.m. the 11th. It will arrive in Chicago at 8:45 a.m. the following day.
The trip starts at $95 for a coach ticket. Private rooms start at $1,037, according to Amtrak.com.
