Auto Train vs Car Shipping: Can You Ship a Car by Train?

The train suits people who live within a few hours of Lorton and want to arrive with their car the next morning; a carrier suits anyone farther away, anyone heading well past Orlando, and anyone not traveling with the car.

How the two compare

Check-in times and vehicle limits are from Amtrak’s boarding rules, rechecked on October 22, 2026, and the schedule from its timetable. The vehicle fares are base rates reported by USA TODAY in January 2026. The shipping figures are the HaulFare price model’s estimates for a running sedan in November, inside the model’s October to December southbound season.

Can you ship a car by train without riding?

Not on Amtrak. The Auto Train carries vehicles only for passengers traveling with them, and only between Lorton and Sanford. Freight rail moves nearly 75 percent of the new cars and light trucks bought in the U.S. each year, according to the Association of American Railroads, but it carries them in bulk from factories and ports and generally does not sell space for one privately owned car. To move a car to another state without going along, a car carrier is the practical option.

What riding the Auto Train involves

Amtrak runs the train daily in both directions and lists the trip at about 17.5 hours. The timetable shows a 4:00 pm departure and an 8:59 am arrival, with a service stop around midnight in Florence, South Carolina, where passengers stay aboard. Amtrak says the train saves 900 miles of driving.

Vehicle check-in opens at 11:30 am and closes at 2:30 pm for cars, SUVs and vans, or 2:00 pm for motorcycles and special vehicles, and Amtrak says it makes no exceptions. Private-room fares include dinner and a hot breakfast in the dining car; coach passengers can buy meals in the Cafe and get a complimentary continental breakfast before arrival, according to Amtrak. Nobody can reach the car during the trip, and there is no checked baggage, so pack an overnight bag.

On arrival you wait in the Sanford terminal while vehicles are unloaded. Amtrak sells Priority Vehicle Offloading, subject to availability, which puts your car among the first 30 off. Any damage has to be reported to an Amtrak representative before you leave the terminal.

Check your vehicle against the limits

Amtrak’s limits are strict and measured, not estimated:

• Standard vehicles: up to 192 inches (16 feet) long including racks, 85 inches high, 84 inches wide including mirrors, at least 4 inches of ground clearance.
• Extended vehicles: pickups, vans and three-row SUVs up to 216 inches (18 feet). Longer vehicles need special arrangements.
• Not accepted: dual-rear-wheel trucks, gull-wing and scissor-door cars, and some three-wheelers. Roof racks must be factory-installed and empty.

Measure mirror to mirror before you book; the crew cannot remove side mirrors, and a vehicle wider than 84 inches cannot be carried.

Is the Auto Train cheaper than shipping a car?

It depends on how many people travel and how far you live from Lorton: the train charges for every passenger plus the car, while a carrier charges for the car alone, door to door. Using the January 2026 base rates, two adults in coach with a standard car start at about $415 one way, before dinner in the Cafe, sleeper rooms, Priority Vehicle Offloading, and the fuel, tolls and perhaps a hotel night to reach Lorton. Shipping the same car from New York runs about $1,070 to $1,335 in November, plus your own flights, and the car arrives without new miles. For a couple with a second car to drive anyway, the math changes again. Driving the whole way is the third option; the ship vs drive calculator prices the fuel, hotel nights and meals for your own route, and a quote shows the shipping estimate for your ZIP codes before you share contact details.

When is shipping a better choice than the Auto Train?

Shipping fits better when you live far from Lorton, spend the winter well south of Orlando, are not traveling with the car, or drive a vehicle the train will not carry. Drivers from New England, upstate New York or the Midwest still drive the first leg to Lorton, often leaving the day before to make the 2:30 pm check-in cutoff, and Naples or Miami is another long drive from Sanford.

A carrier picks up and delivers at your addresses and frees you to fly. On the HaulFare model’s November figures, a sedan from Baltimore to Florida runs about $975 to $1,215. Coming back north in spring is priced like going south in late fall, because both trips run with the snowbird flow. The snowbird route planner times both legs, and the New York to Florida lane has the full price table.

Booking timing for the snowbird season

Both options get busier in late fall. Amtrak takes reservations up to 11 months ahead and advises booking early for the best fares, and the vehicle fare rises with demand. Car carriers also price the southbound rush: the HaulFare model adds about 15 percent on snowbird lanes from October through December. A southbound trip outside that window costs less in the model: New York to Florida runs about $970 to $1,210 in September and $915 to $1,135 in January. The snowbird car shipping report compares the season lane by lane.

HaulFare is a price guide and referral service, not a broker or motor carrier. Quote requests go to our licensed transport partner, an FMCSA-licensed auto transport broker, who arranges transport with FMCSA-registered carriers. HaulFare receives a referral fee from our licensed transport partner; you pay HaulFare nothing.