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 inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

between

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, 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 lies southwest of Kissimmee and approximately east of Haines City. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP had a po ...

. 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 ...

, 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 its ...

. The service was run experimentally, but was ultimately cancelled. 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 largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, $500,000 to modify twenty

autorack An autorack, also known as an auto carrier (also 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 vehicles from factories to ...

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

sedans A sedan 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 the word "sedan" in reference to an automobile body occurred in 19 ...

rented Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for a ...

from

Avis Avis is Latin for bird and may refer to: Aviation *Auster Avis, a 1940s four-seat light aircraft developed from the Auster Autocrat (abandoned project) *Avro Avis, a two-seat biplane *Scottish Aeroplane Syndicate Avis, an early aircraft built by ...

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

Poinciana station SunRail 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 fr ...

at a cost of $1 million. The station was opened in September 1974. 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, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

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".

References

{{Reflist Former Amtrak routes Motorail