The Auto Train is the only service in the United States carrying passengers and cars.

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Spanning 855 miles between Virginia and Florida, the Auto Train allows travelers to bypass the congestion of Interstate 95 while their vehicles ride in enclosed freight cars. As one of the world's longest passenger trains, this unique service remains the highest-revenue route in Amtrak's entire long-distance network.

The modern Auto Train, which operates daily between Lorton, Virginia, and Sanford, Florida, is the successor to a private venture founded by Eugene K. Garfield. After working at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Garfield used a government-funded study on the feasibility of automobile-train transport to launch the Auto-Train Corporation in 1971. The original service was an immediate success, but a failed expansion into a route between Florida and Louisville, Kentucky, led to financial ruin and the company's collapse in 1981. Amtrak revived the service in 1983, eventually standardizing the equipment and refining the logistics that define the journey today.

Logistically, the train is a marvel of coordination. Stretching about three-quarters of a mile in length, it requires specialized terminals. Lorton was chosen as the northern terminus specifically because the 20-foot-2-inch-tall autoracks could not clear the First Street Tunnel into Washington, D.C. At the terminals, vehicles are assigned unique numbers, inspected for existing damage, and loaded onto autoracks by size. Passengers ride in coach seats or private sleeping compartments, unable to access their vehicles until the train reaches its destination. The journey takes approximately 17 hours, with a single scheduled stop in Florence, South Carolina, for crew changes and servicing.

Despite its popularity—setting record ridership numbers of 283,646 in 2023—the service faces operational challenges. Because it shares tracks with freight lines, on-time performance is often inconsistent, with some months seeing fewer than one-third of trains arriving as scheduled. To manage demand, Amtrak introduced a priority offloading service in 2013, allowing passengers to pay an extra fee to have their vehicles retrieved first upon arrival. While the service has evolved from the purple-painted cars of the 1970s to today's modern Superliner fleet, it remains a singular fixture in American rail travel, bridging the gap between personal vehicle convenience and long-distance passenger transit.

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