VA to FL Auto Train
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 4,265
Likes: 99
From: Northern VA
Buddy gave me a write up he did on this trip
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Back in December I had the opportunity to take a ride on the Auto Train. For those of you who don't know, the Auto Train is only one in the United States today. It carries both cars and motorcycles between Lorton, Virginia and Sanford, Florida. You must have a vehicle on the train to ride it. The train ride is approximately 17 hours long. Although long, I found the trip very relaxing. At first I assumed it would be like riding and airplane today, crowded, small seats, and terrible food. That was not the case. The seats are comfortable and have extensions for you to stretch and rest your legs. The train cars only seat 4 across and provide a standard 110V outlet at each pair of seats. The food was pretty good. They do not serve you at your seat on the train. You have to go to the Lounge or Dining car for food and beverages. Speaking of beverages, the Lounge bar is open pretty much all night. They have LCD TVs there and present one moving a night with a fully stocked bar. You are welcome to stay in the Lounge and socialize or take you drink back to your seat.
Here is a breakdown of the cost that Amtrak says is subject to change without notice. Its America we live with change.
Per person rail fare = 93.00 228.00 ONEWAY or 157.00 456.00 ROUND-Trip
There are sleeper cabins available. Please check online for more information. I personally think the cabins are over rated. You use the same seats but they just fully extend to make one bed. If you are doing it for privacy then I am with you on there. For comfort, I don't think there is much of a difference.
Vehicle fares: From left to right is non-peak to peak. For example, Daytona Bike week is peak season so expect to pay the higher fee. It is best to just call and get a quote but I wanted to give everyone a view into the cost.
For reservations, call AMTRAK 1-877-754-7495.
Here is the online link for more information http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/autotrain .
Automobile = $152.00 $198.00 $231.00 $268.00 $304.00
SUV or Van = $169.00 $220.00 $257.00 $298.00 $339.00
Motorcycles = $112.00 $145.00 $171.00 $198.00 $225.00
If you are towing a trailer with your motorcycle, you will pay for an additional motorcycle ticket for it. I took my trailer with me and my bike and the trailer had the station trailer to themselves.
You should plan to be at the train station between 12:00pm and 2:00pm to allow enough time for loading. The train boards at 3:30pm and departs the station at 4:00pm. There is a little snack bar at the station but I recommend you bring your own things. The selection is pretty small and with a capacity of 255 cars and 2 people per car. Prepare to dominate if you really want that snack. There is a shopping center across the road from the train station if you want to stock up before you check in. You could walk over there after you check in as well but I was told the main road can be challenging to cross at times.
When you first arrive at the station, you go to what looks like a guard shack for initial check-in. The attendant will direct you to one of two points, the automobile drop off point or the motorcycle loading dock. In Lorton, they told me to go straight to the motorcycle loading dock. In Sanford, they had me go to automobile drop off point where they then told me to go to the motorcycle dock. The reason for that was because there was nobody at the motorcycle loading dock to assist me yet. Either way, you end up at the motorcycle loading dock. The loading dock is a patio deck with a wooden ramp. So be careful if you go there during a damp or rainy day.
At the motorcycle dock, an attendant will direct you to a special motorcycle trailer and the slot he or she wants you to place the bike. You will ride the bike all the way onto the special trailer. Once you have placed your bike on the trailer, stay on the bike to ensure it doesnt fall over while the attendant straps down the front of the bike. The attendant will let you know when it is okay to get off the bike. Your bikes front tire will sit in a wheel lock. The bike will be strapped to the trailer at the front and the back. If you feel uncomfortable having the straps rubbing on anything, you can ask them to place a towel or something underneath the strap. The attendants are very nice and helpful. All of them that I talked to are riders themselves. So they understand how we feel about our bikes. They never ran the straps over any painted surface of any bike that I saw. Once the attendant has completed securing your motorcycle, you can go into the train station and wait for the boarding call. If the trailer is full, it can hold 3 bikes, they will connect it to another trailer or the utility vehicle, used for pulling the motorcycle trailers into the auto cars.
Once you arrive at the destination, you may have to wait as both times that I used the train it arrived early. The station staff does not arrive to work until 8:00 am. This impacts you because you can not get off the train until the auto cars and half of the coach cars are separated from the train. The station staff must be present for the separation. So you wait patiently till all of this occurs. I still departed the train station before the original 9:00am arrival time. As you get off the train, they will ask you to wait in the station terminal for your car number to be called. You do not get a car number for motorcycles. The announcer will simply say, over the PA, All non-four wheeled drivers may go retrieve you vehicle. All you have to do is go to the motorcycle loading dock and wait for the attendant to finish removing the straps from your motorcycle. Make sure you check over you bike very closely. One rider going south left his bags bungee strapped over the rear seat and it fell over and broke his turn signal lamp during the train ride. Also be careful backing off the load dock. If for some reason your bike does not start, the station has a small mobile jump start kit that they will let you use.
Over all I felt my Auto Train experience was great. I got a good nights sleep and it was really relaxing compared to flying. I did bring along a few items to keep me busy, laptop, MIFI, Itouch, and a couple of magazines
---------------------------------------------------
Back in December I had the opportunity to take a ride on the Auto Train. For those of you who don't know, the Auto Train is only one in the United States today. It carries both cars and motorcycles between Lorton, Virginia and Sanford, Florida. You must have a vehicle on the train to ride it. The train ride is approximately 17 hours long. Although long, I found the trip very relaxing. At first I assumed it would be like riding and airplane today, crowded, small seats, and terrible food. That was not the case. The seats are comfortable and have extensions for you to stretch and rest your legs. The train cars only seat 4 across and provide a standard 110V outlet at each pair of seats. The food was pretty good. They do not serve you at your seat on the train. You have to go to the Lounge or Dining car for food and beverages. Speaking of beverages, the Lounge bar is open pretty much all night. They have LCD TVs there and present one moving a night with a fully stocked bar. You are welcome to stay in the Lounge and socialize or take you drink back to your seat.
Here is a breakdown of the cost that Amtrak says is subject to change without notice. Its America we live with change.
Per person rail fare = 93.00 228.00 ONEWAY or 157.00 456.00 ROUND-Trip
There are sleeper cabins available. Please check online for more information. I personally think the cabins are over rated. You use the same seats but they just fully extend to make one bed. If you are doing it for privacy then I am with you on there. For comfort, I don't think there is much of a difference.
Vehicle fares: From left to right is non-peak to peak. For example, Daytona Bike week is peak season so expect to pay the higher fee. It is best to just call and get a quote but I wanted to give everyone a view into the cost.
For reservations, call AMTRAK 1-877-754-7495.
Here is the online link for more information http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/autotrain .
Automobile = $152.00 $198.00 $231.00 $268.00 $304.00
SUV or Van = $169.00 $220.00 $257.00 $298.00 $339.00
Motorcycles = $112.00 $145.00 $171.00 $198.00 $225.00
If you are towing a trailer with your motorcycle, you will pay for an additional motorcycle ticket for it. I took my trailer with me and my bike and the trailer had the station trailer to themselves.
You should plan to be at the train station between 12:00pm and 2:00pm to allow enough time for loading. The train boards at 3:30pm and departs the station at 4:00pm. There is a little snack bar at the station but I recommend you bring your own things. The selection is pretty small and with a capacity of 255 cars and 2 people per car. Prepare to dominate if you really want that snack. There is a shopping center across the road from the train station if you want to stock up before you check in. You could walk over there after you check in as well but I was told the main road can be challenging to cross at times.
When you first arrive at the station, you go to what looks like a guard shack for initial check-in. The attendant will direct you to one of two points, the automobile drop off point or the motorcycle loading dock. In Lorton, they told me to go straight to the motorcycle loading dock. In Sanford, they had me go to automobile drop off point where they then told me to go to the motorcycle dock. The reason for that was because there was nobody at the motorcycle loading dock to assist me yet. Either way, you end up at the motorcycle loading dock. The loading dock is a patio deck with a wooden ramp. So be careful if you go there during a damp or rainy day.
At the motorcycle dock, an attendant will direct you to a special motorcycle trailer and the slot he or she wants you to place the bike. You will ride the bike all the way onto the special trailer. Once you have placed your bike on the trailer, stay on the bike to ensure it doesnt fall over while the attendant straps down the front of the bike. The attendant will let you know when it is okay to get off the bike. Your bikes front tire will sit in a wheel lock. The bike will be strapped to the trailer at the front and the back. If you feel uncomfortable having the straps rubbing on anything, you can ask them to place a towel or something underneath the strap. The attendants are very nice and helpful. All of them that I talked to are riders themselves. So they understand how we feel about our bikes. They never ran the straps over any painted surface of any bike that I saw. Once the attendant has completed securing your motorcycle, you can go into the train station and wait for the boarding call. If the trailer is full, it can hold 3 bikes, they will connect it to another trailer or the utility vehicle, used for pulling the motorcycle trailers into the auto cars.
Once you arrive at the destination, you may have to wait as both times that I used the train it arrived early. The station staff does not arrive to work until 8:00 am. This impacts you because you can not get off the train until the auto cars and half of the coach cars are separated from the train. The station staff must be present for the separation. So you wait patiently till all of this occurs. I still departed the train station before the original 9:00am arrival time. As you get off the train, they will ask you to wait in the station terminal for your car number to be called. You do not get a car number for motorcycles. The announcer will simply say, over the PA, All non-four wheeled drivers may go retrieve you vehicle. All you have to do is go to the motorcycle loading dock and wait for the attendant to finish removing the straps from your motorcycle. Make sure you check over you bike very closely. One rider going south left his bags bungee strapped over the rear seat and it fell over and broke his turn signal lamp during the train ride. Also be careful backing off the load dock. If for some reason your bike does not start, the station has a small mobile jump start kit that they will let you use.
Over all I felt my Auto Train experience was great. I got a good nights sleep and it was really relaxing compared to flying. I did bring along a few items to keep me busy, laptop, MIFI, Itouch, and a couple of magazines
Road Master
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1,231
Likes: 2
From: Upstate NY
We've taken the train many times (about 20) and it's great. I've taken my SUV and watched them load bikes, which is done carefully on to special skids. I don't feel the rates are to bad, even with a sleeper. Hell, you get a free cocktail party on the train (doesn't make my day because I don't drink). Ya get a good nights sleep and your in Sanford, Fl the next morning with no stops in between.
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