The Carolinian is a daily Amtrak passenger train that runs between New York City and Charlotte, North Carolina, with major stops in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, Cary, Durham, and Greensboro.

[7] This incarnation proved successful enough that in April 1991, Amtrak made the Carolinian a full-fledged day train running from Charlotte to New York.

Previously, the southbound Carolinian had to make a time-consuming 10-mile deadhead trip to the nearest wye in Pineville, North Carolina.

[citation needed] On March 9, 2015, a northbound Carolinian collided with a tractor-trailer that was stuck on the tracks in Halifax County, North Carolina.

[11][12] In April 2020, NCDOT and Amtrak suspended the Carolinian as part of a larger round of service reductions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[15] In 2017, NCDOT and the Connecticut Department of Transportation were in talks to extend the Carolinian from New York to New Haven, with additional stops at New Rochelle, Stamford, and Bridgeport.

In effect, this would allow the train to be fully subsidized by the federal government and thus free North Carolina of its state funding obligations.

[16][17] Long-term plans call for restoring a portion of the former Seaboard main line between Raleigh and Richmond, known as the "S-Line," as part of construction of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor between Charlotte and Washington.

It is estimated that restoring the S-Line will cut an hour off the Carolinian's running time by enabling a more direct route over the Virginia border.

[22] The arrangement will offer a near seamless transition between power sources at Washington, a process that currently requires a time-consuming locomotive change.

All classes of service include complimentary WiFi, an electric outlet (120 V, 60 Hz AC) at each seat, reading lamps, fold-out tray tables.

[24] The Carolinian operates over Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and North Carolina Railroad trackage.

Two Amtrak Thruway bus routes connect large swaths of eastern North Carolina to the Wilson station.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation provides funding to operate the Carolinian from Charlotte to the Virginia border.

Starting in 2019, the northbound Carolinian began allowing local travel on the Northeast Corridor on Sundays, Thursdays and Fridays.