AutoTrak was a planned

motorail A motorail train or accompanied car train (ACT) is a passenger train on which passengers can take their car or automobile along with them on their journey. Passengers are carried in normal passenger carriages or in sleeping carriages on longer ...

service that was to be operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

between

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, and

Poinciana, Florida Poinciana () is a settlement and census-designated place (CDP) in Osceola and Polk counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It is part of the Greater Orlando area. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 69,309. Transportation U.S ...

. The AutoTrak service was to be Amtrak's answer to the

Auto-Train ''Auto Train'' is an scheduled daily train service for passengers and their automobiles operated by Amtrak between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando). ''Auto Train'' is the only motorail service in t ...

, which, at the time, was operated by the private

Auto-Train Corporation Auto-Train Corporation , stylized ''auto-train'', was a privately owned passenger railroad that operated from 1971 to 1981. Its trains included autorack cars, enabling passengers to bring their own vehicles on their journey. The company used it ...

. The service was run experimentally, but was ultimately cancelled.

History

Amtrak chose Indianapolis and Poinciana with the intention of each serving as central "collector" locations serving large market areas. Rather than being the end-destinations for travelers, these would be convenient locations along their travel. Amtrak paid Auto-Liner of

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, $500,000 to modify twenty

autorack An autorack, also known as an auto carrier (also Flat wagon#Car transporters, car transporter outside the US), is a specialized piece of railroad rolling stock used to transport automobiles and light trucks. Autoracks are used to transport new ...

s. A test run from Indianapolis to Florida took place on April 30, 1974, carrying

sedans A sedan (American English) or saloon (British English) is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with separate compartments for an engine, passengers, and cargo. The first recorded use of ''sedan'' in reference to an automobile body oc ...

rented from Avis. Unfortunately, the autoracks damaged the automobiles when run at passenger train speeds due to issues with the tie downs. Amtrak constructed the

Poinciana station Poinciana station is a train station in the community of Poinciana, Florida. It is the southern terminus of SunRail, the commuter rail service of Greater Orlando. The station opened on July 30, 2018. The site was briefly used by Amtrak from 1974 ...

at a cost of $1 million to ultimately serve as a Florida terminal for the service. The station was opened in September 1974 for the and . Plans were that this station would not only serve as the terminus of AutoTrak, but as Amtrak's official station to serve passengers heading to the nearby

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

resort. At the time, AutoTrak service was planned to start later that year. AutoTrak trains were again experimentally operated beginning in May 1975. Interim equipment was used, with plans for newer and improved equipment to be ordered. The service was ultimately cancelled due to lack of equipment and an "unfavorable economic projection". The Auto-Train Corporation operated a route of its own between the Midwest and Florida (Louisville–) from May 24, 1974 until September 3, 1977. Unlike the main Auto-Train route, it was not revived by Amtrak.

References

{{Reflist Former Amtrak routes Auto Train