Trains From Cary to Washington: Only Two Go Direct
Contents
There is no top five. Amtrak‘s Great American Stations site lists exactly three named routes calling at Cary, North Carolina (station code CYN): the Carolinian, the Floridian and the Piedmont. No other named service appears on that list. Of those three, only two run through to Washington, D.C. The honest answer is two trains, not five, and both are northbound calls in the morning.
The third service is where the confusion starts. The Piedmont is a Raleigh-to-Charlotte train, trains 71 through 78, four daily round trips, and its entire stop list sits inside North Carolina. It runs frequently at Cary and it cannot take you to Washington at all. NC by Train, the State of North Carolina’s own rail site, and Amtrak’s Great American Stations site are the two official sources checked for this station, and they flatly contradict each other about its facilities.
Key takeaways
- Only two services run direct from Cary (CYN) to Washington, D.C.: the Carolinian and the Floridian, both northbound in the morning.
- NC by Train publishes Floridian #40 at Cary 8:33 a.m., Washington 3:57 p.m., and Carolinian #80 at Cary 9:47 a.m., Washington 5:15 p.m. — under its own “subject to change without notice” warning.
- The Piedmont (trains 71-78, four daily round trips) is owned and operated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and never leaves the state, so it is a feeder to Raleigh or Charlotte and nothing more.
- The Palmetto, Silver Meteor and Crescent all call at Washington, D.C. but none of them stops at Cary.
- Two official pages disagree about the same depot: Great American Stations lists “No WiFi”, “No Restrooms” and parking where fees may apply, while NC by Train advertises Wi-Fi “Free throughout depot building” and ample free parking.
The two trains that actually make the trip
Start with the Carolinian. NC by Train describes it as a New York City to Charlotte service running as train 79 southbound and train 80 northbound, and its published stop list includes both Cary and Washington, D.C. That is what makes it a genuine one-seat ride, with Raleigh, Wilson, Rocky Mount, Richmond and Alexandria among the calls in between.
The Floridian is the second option and it leaves earlier. NC by Train lists it as a Chicago to Miami service, train 41 southbound and train 40 northbound, stopping at both Cary and Washington. So the practical picture from Cary is two direct trains, both northbound, both calling in the morning, both reaching Washington without a connection.
Cary’s own station page corroborates both. The departure board published for the station lists the same two northbound workings, “#40 Floridian” at 8:33 a.m. running Miami to Chicago and “#80 Carolinian” at 9:47 a.m. running Charlotte to New York, and those Cary times match the two route schedule pages exactly.
| Service | Train | Route as published | Cary, N.C. | Washington, D.C. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floridian | #40 northbound | Miami to Chicago | 8:33 a.m. | 3:57 p.m. |
| Carolinian | #80 northbound | Charlotte to New York | 9:47 a.m. | 5:15 p.m. |
Those clock times are printed on NC by Train’s schedule pages, which carry that site’s own warning in plain words: “Schedules are subject to change without notice.” The schedule table on the Cary station page is stamped effective May 27, 2025. Treat every figure above as a starting point for a live lookup, not a promise.
Common mistake
Booking the Piedmont and assuming it continues north. NC by Train lists its stops as Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Burlington, Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury, Kannapolis and Charlotte. Washington is not on that list, because the Piedmont is owned and operated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation as an in-state service. If a search result promises a Piedmont to Washington, there is a change of train hidden in it.
The Piedmont is a feeder, not a through train
That does not make it useless for this journey. Four daily round trips is a useful frequency, and the Piedmont connects Cary to Raleigh in one direction and Charlotte in the other. If you are coming into the area from Greensboro or Durham, it is the local machinery that gets you to a station where a northbound long-distance train calls. What it cannot do is carry you across the state line, because every stop it makes is in North Carolina.
It also explains the shape of the “top five” lists that circulate for this route. Cary has three named services; padding that to five means borrowing trains that do not call at Cary.
The three trains that go to Washington but skip Cary
The Palmetto. Trains 89 and 90, New York to Savannah. It calls at Washington, D.C., then Alexandria, Richmond and Petersburg in Virginia, and its North Carolina stops as published are Rocky Mount, Wilson, Selma and Fayetteville. Cary is not among them.
The Silver Meteor. Trains 97 and 98, New York to Miami. It stops at Washington, D.C., but the North Carolina stops listed for it are Rocky Mount and Fayetteville only. Cary is not a stop on that route.
The Crescent. Trains 19 and 20, New York to New Orleans. It also calls at Washington, but it crosses North Carolina through Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury, Charlotte and Gastonia. Neither Cary nor Raleigh is on the route at all.
All three are real trains that really serve Washington, but serving Washington is not the same as serving Cary. The test is not whether a train reaches Washington; it is whether Cary appears on its stop list.
Two official sources, two different stations
Here is the part no fare table can help you with. Amtrak’s Great American Stations page for Cary states “No Restrooms”, “No WiFi” and “No checked baggage service”, and says same-day and overnight parking are available with fees that may apply. NC by Train, for the same depot, advertises Wi-Fi “Free throughout depot building”, baggage check “Available”, “Ample free short- and long-term parking available” and free bike lockers installed by the Town of Cary.
Both pages are official. They describe the same building and contradict each other on four points a traveller cares about: whether there is a lavatory, whether there is a connection, whether a bag can be checked and whether parking costs money. Until one of them changes, the safe plan is to travel as though the more restrictive account is the true one.
The accessibility listing deserves separate attention. Great American Stations lists Cary as having no accessible restroom, no accessible ticket office, no accessible waiting room, no high platform, no wheelchair and no wheelchair lift. Those are stated absences rather than blanks. Anyone travelling with a mobility need should confirm directly with Amtrak and plan for the more restrictive account.
Pro tip
Buy before you board. Ticketing at Cary is available online, through Amtrak’s mobile app, by phone, at a Quik-Trak self-service kiosk, from a ticketing agent and on board from the conductor, flagging that last option as cash only with an additional penalty charged. Cary is also one of eight North Carolina stations, out of sixteen in the state, with an Amtrak ticket agent on site, so the counter is a real option here.
What the Cary end of the journey looks like
The station is at 211 N. Academy St., Cary, NC 27513, and NC by Train publishes a station telephone number of (919) 462-6434. The building is open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Those are opening hours, not departure times, and should never be read as a timetable.
Cary station recorded annual ridership of 144,551 passengers in fiscal year 2025. The depot opened in 1996 and reopened on September 1, 2011 after an expansion funded by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration. The facility, parking lot and platform are owned by the Town of Cary; the tracks belong to the North Carolina Railroad (“H” Line) and CSX Transportation (“S” Line).
Arriving in Washington
Both trains put you into Union Station D.C. at 50 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002. The station’s own website, published by the property and managed by JLL rather than by Amtrak, says it is open 24 hours to ticketed passengers with store hours varying, and describes the complex as a restored historic mixed-use intermodal transportation and shopping centre. WMATA lists Union Station on Metrorail’s Red Line, so an arriving passenger has a direct Metro connection.
Check the status before you plan
Two live notices affect precisely the trains in this article. NC by Train’s homepage carries a notice that customers travelling on select Piedmont and Carolinian trains should be aware of temporary schedule changes from Aug. 31 to Oct. 8 due to track work, and a further notice that Piedmont schedules will be adjusted for a Carolina Panthers game on Sept. 13. Neither notice prints a year, so both need checking against the live site rather than being carried forward from any article, this one included. The working rule is simple: use the two named trains to know what to look for, and the official schedule page to know when it runs today.
Frequently asked questions
How many trains run direct from Cary to Washington, D.C.?
Two. Great American Stations lists three named routes at Cary, the Carolinian, the Floridian and the Piedmont, and the published stop lists show the Carolinian and the Floridian calling at both Cary and Washington, D.C.
Does the Piedmont go to Washington, D.C.?
No. NC by Train lists its stops as Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Burlington, Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury, Kannapolis and Charlotte, all inside North Carolina, and describes the service as owned and operated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. It runs as trains 71 to 78 with four daily round trips.
What are the published times for the Cary to Washington trains?
NC by Train publishes Floridian train 40 northbound at Cary at 8:33 a.m. and Washington, D.C. at 3:57 p.m., and Carolinian train 80 northbound at Cary at 9:47 a.m. and Washington, D.C. at 5:15 p.m. Both pages warn that schedules are subject to change without notice, and the station table is stamped effective May 27, 2025.
Can you catch the Palmetto, Silver Meteor or Crescent at Cary?
No. All three call at Washington, D.C., but the Palmetto’s North Carolina stops are Rocky Mount, Wilson, Selma and Fayetteville, the Silver Meteor’s are Rocky Mount and Fayetteville, and the Crescent crosses the state through Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury, Charlotte and Gastonia. Cary appears on none of them.
Does Cary station have Wi-Fi, restrooms and free parking?
The two official pages disagree. Great American Stations lists no Wi-Fi, no restrooms and no checked baggage service, with parking where fees may apply. NC by Train advertises free Wi-Fi throughout the depot building, baggage check available and ample free parking. Confirm with Amtrak before relying on either.
What is the Cary station address and how do you buy a ticket there?
The station is CYN at 211 N. Academy St., Cary, NC 27513, with a published telephone number of (919) 462-6434 and building hours of 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tickets are sold online, in Amtrak’s mobile app, by phone, at a Quik-Trak kiosk, from a ticketing agent, or on board from the conductor, which is cash only with an additional penalty.
