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If you consider that route pretty bad just consider this: Kentucky and TN do not have Amtrack. [Well TN has a small segment on its western side that goes N to S but its pretty much a desert.

This means that if you wish to go from ATL, Raleigh/Durham, etc to Chicago, you have to make "connections" (good luck making that on amtrack) in either Charlottesville VA or DC. After that it is still 24 hrs at best.

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Kentucky used to have Amtrak, the Kentucky Cardinal. It went from Louisville to Chicago and took what felt like 12 hours although not sure I'm remembering that correctly. It was only $30. I had high hopes for that route, that it would open up more options to travel by rail from my hometown.

The problem with that was that the short line from Louisville to Indianapolis hasn't been seriously updated in over 50 years. The speed limit on the entire section of track is something like 30 mph. Of course folks aren't going to go by train when it's over twice as long as driving.

There's been some talk of a Louisville-Lexington-Nashville line, but nothing particularly likely to happen.

I believe the only KY Amtrak station is now the one in Ashland.

We need more rail stations all over the country!

There's an Amtrak station in Ashland KY - though it's only used in the Chicago-NY (or DC) route

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