Understanding Auto Shipping by Rail
Auto shipping by rail is one of those things that is slowly dying out, sadly, due to the fact that most people want to have more control over their vehicle shipping services than what auto shipping by rail usually gives. We’ve discussed auto transportation services by rail before, and we’ve discussed a lot about why it’s not as popular, but really haven’t delved into what you give up when you decide to ship a car over the rails as opposed to with a standard, overland auto transportation truck. That’s the point of this blog post – to give you more understanding of why auto transportation services over rail aren’t as reputable or reliable as overland transport trucks and why the industry has slowly shifted away from rail services in recent years and decades.
When you first start searching for auto shipping by rail services, the first thing you’ll likely find is that the service exists, but it’s pretty limited. As auto shipping by truck became more popular, auto shipping by rail slowly fell by the wayside, and fewer and fewer companies are offering the service today. Those that do can only run on certain routes, and the most common right now is up and down the eastern seaboard from Virginia to Florida, which to be fair is a pretty popular route all things considered. But nationwide shipping via rail is not really available – it’s just not cost-effective.
Not only that, but more and more customers are turning away from auto shipping by rail due to the safety, security and additional control that they enjoy when they ship with a transport truck as opposed to a railroad company. Auto transport companies have to be licensed and bonded, and all they ship is cars; this allows them to streamline their process and gives them the ability to interact better with their customers. Railroad companies ship cars, but they’re just one piece of the shipment, and are often shipped along with other, different freight. This can cause problems and delays, and trains also have to stop at every stop on the route, which can be dozens per day. They also go slower than auto transport trucks and their routes are more limited.
If you are interested in auto shipping by rail, make sure to talk to one of our representatives. They can explain more about why auto shipping by rail is less popular than ever, and also give you more information about why it’s not as safe as it once was. If you are interested in shipping your vehicle with an auto transport carrier, you should take a minute and fill out our free auto transportation quote request form. It shouldn’t take more than a minute or two, but once you submit it you’ll get multiple free quotes emailed to you from top auto shippers. We clear each shipper you get a quote from for both dependability and reliability, which means we make sure each is fully licensed, bonded and insured. If you have questions about our services, you can contact one of our agents any time, toll-free, at 800-930-7417.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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