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4 min read
Edited ByRebecca EdwardsWith 20+ years in-home services and tech, Alina shares insights from her 15+ moves. She writes for CBSNews, MSN, and more while renovating her country house.
Amtrak is your only option if you want to ship cars by train across the country. Amtrak car shipping is fast and relatively affordable. However, there’s a massive drawback: Amtrak’s train auto transport only travels between the Washington, DC area (Lorton, Virginia) to/from the Orlando, Florida area (Sanford, Florida).
To ship a car by rail anywhere else, you’ll need to request quotes from traditional car transport companies.
Fast: 17.5 hours vs. a week by truck
Comfortable: Ride with your car in coach or private room
Enclosed: Better vehicle protection than open carriers
Comparable cost: Similar pricing to auto transport trucks 
Limited route: Only runs VA to FL
Passenger required: Must ride with your vehicle
Price swings: Passenger tickets fluctuate by ~$50
Restricted access: Not practical outside VA or FL We recommend comparing top car shipping companies if you plan to transport your vehicle anywhere beyond the two cities served by Amtrak (Service between Lorton, VA and Sanford, FL).
Data current as of publish date. AmeriFreight average quote as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. The average shipping cost is calculated using average quotes for cross-country and regional car shipping received from each company. Prices may vary based on vehicle type.
Train car transport works pretty much the way it sounds. You transport your vehicle from one location to another, but instead of paying a car shipping company to deliver it via truck, you put your car on a train and ride along with it.
And yes, the passenger ticket is mandatory. You can’t ship the car if you don’t take the train as well.
Many auto transport companies tell you they offer rail transport, but the reality is they don’t. There’s only one that provides the service, and it’s a railroad company: Amtrak.
One of our Amtrak car shipping quotes.
Image: Move.org
The average total cost to ship a car on Amtrak’s auto train from Lorton, Virginia, to Sanford, Florida, is $95 plus the cost of your vehicle, according to Amtrak. We were quoted $75 to $84 for coach and $701 to $1,290 for private rooms to travel from Virginia to Florida. And the return trip from Florida to Virginia was $183 to $192 for coach and $766 to $1,435 for a private room.
From there, we could add our vehicle. Each type of vehicle had a different fee.
You can also add on priority offloading, which will get your vehicle upgraded to being one of the first 30 unloaded from the train. This cost varies, but we were quoted $250.
We noticed that the vehicle prices stayed the same while we were getting quotes, but the guest price fluxuated around $50 depending on when we tried to book our trip.
When you ship a car, you can choose between an open carrier exposed to the elements and a fully enclosed car carrier. All train shipments use enclosed carriers.
How does that compare to a traditional auto carrier for the same distance of 855 miles?
We contacted uShip—an online marketplace with more than two million vehicle transports to its name. uShip provided an average cost of approximately $1,140 to ship a car along the same route as the Amtrak auto train.
That’s about the same as the cheapest rail option.
The uShip quote is an average, meaning you may be able to find transporters who will do the job for less. But even then, you won’t find an auto transporter who can promise you a comfy ride as a passenger like Amtrak car shipping can.
The Amtrak auto train is much quicker than shipping your car by truck. The nonstop rail route from Lorton, Virginia, to Sanford, Florida has a travel time of 17 hours and 29 minutes—about a week and a half faster than a regular car shipping company timeline.
Remember, Amtrak car shipping is limited to two locations in the entire country. If you live near one of the two Amtrak rail car hubs, you can’t beat the speed—or the price.
But if you live anywhere else, shipping your car by train isn’t even an option.
To transport car by train, Amtrak requires that you purchase a passenger ticket and ride on the same train. Inversely, you cannot ride the auto train as just a passenger without a vehicle being transported.
Ticket prices vary depending on how much comfort you want to pay for.
Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Coach class is the least comfortable, but still compares favorably to driving all day (and some of the night). Plus, if you drive, you have to pay for gas to travel nearly 1,000 miles. So, the train is actually more comfortable and less expensive than the alternative.
Premium seats are available if you want to spring for them. But, if you can handle an 18-hour flight in coach class, chances are you’ll do fine with the lower-priced Amtrak seats.
To use Amtrak car shipping, you need to live near one of its two hubs in Lorton, VA, or Sanford, FL. Other railroad companies like CSX, Union Pacific, and Sante Fe offer service only to commercial companies like car dealerships, so regular customers can’t ship with them by train.
Conversely, car shipping by freight truck is available in most US cities (check with your auto transport company to see if it can service your specific route).
From natural gas to electricity, don’t forget your utilities when you move. You want your home to be move-in ready when you arrive.
Amtrak is your best (and only) option if you want to ship cars by train across the country. The rail transport company can ship your vehicle about 900 miles in less than one day for less than $1,000. However, Amtrak provides service in only two cities: Sanford, Florida, and Lorton, Virginia. Unfortunately, that means Amtrak can’t help most car-shipping customers.
Don’t live near Lorton or Sanford? Check out the best car shipping companies if you plan to transport your vehicle anywhere beyond the two cities served by Amtrak.
You should look for several things in a car transportation service, such as reasonable prices, binding quotes, and extra insurance coverage. We don’t typically recommend looking for an auto rail company because there’s only one option (Amtrak), and it's available in only two out of 15,000-plus cities.
Yes, cars can be shipped on trains, but only through Amtrak's Auto Train service, which runs exclusively between Sanford, Florida, and Lorton, Virginia. For all other routes, you'll need a vehicle shipping company like Easy Auto Ship.
Amtrak offers car transport by train between terminals in Sanford, Florida and Lorton, Virginia. The cost for your vehicle and passenger ticket can be around $800.
Some car shipping companies claim to ship cars by train but do not actually provide rail transportation. There is one caveat, however. Every once in a while railroad companies that provide services only to commercial customers can’t fill all their rail cars, so they open them up to regular auto transporters.
Technically, a traditional auto transport company could pick up one of these jobs and use it for your car.
But in reality, it just doesn’t happen. We couldn’t find a single company that provides rail transportation besides Amtrak.
We learned enough to make a recommendation, though. If the car shipping company you are investigating says it offers train shipping on its website, we recommend you look elsewhere.
The average shipping cost for an enclosed carrier is approximately $1,490, according to Move.org’s analysis of nearly 700 vehicle transport quotes. The enclosed shipping method is about 40% more expensive than open transport.
Yes, you can ship multiple cars to an Amtrak train station using the Auto Train. Amtrak car shipping accepts factory-standard cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, and SUVs.
Yes, you can ship multiple cars to an Amtrak train station. The auto shipper accepts factory standard cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs.
Amtrak’s Auto Train runs between Lorton, Virginia, and Sanford, Florida, with passenger fares varying based on seating and accommodations. Coach tickets typically range in the low hundreds, while private room options can run well over a thousand dollars, depending on the direction and booking time. Passenger fares fluctuate by about $50 depending on when you book.
On top of passenger tickets, you’ll pay a vehicle transport fee. Motorcycles cost less, while standard cars and extended vehicles have higher set fees. Optional priority offloading is also available for an additional charge, ensuring your vehicle is among the first unloaded. Notably, vehicle fees remain consistent, while passenger fares change more frequently.
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