Shipping car across country by train

Usually when people are thinking about the delivery of their car regardless of the reason for it, they are considering trucks. It’s indeed the most common and popular way for the last decades. On the other hand, it’s always useful to have a more detailed look into other options. For example, shipping a car cross country by train can save you a few hundreds of dollars while still being an effective and safe way for the delivery.

We will start with the most obvious pros and cons to give you a better understanding of what shipping car on train cross country gives you as an alternative.

Advantages and disadvantages

First of all, the price. It should be obvious and understandable that in comparison with more personalized transportation via trucks, trains provide you with a better quota. There are a lot of vehicles and some other cargo which can be placed aside your car which means the fuel consumption and some other expenses will be equally divided between all of them.

One more benefit in this regard is that, in comparison with more traditional cars’ delivery, shipping car by train across country will allow you to fill your vehicle with different personal belongings in boxes, furniture and other stuff. Of course, considering the way of transportation and that your car most of the time will not be guarded, you should not place inside too expensive and valuable things, but in case of moving to a new house, such an option can save you a lot of money. Moreover, applying for the delivery by train, you can also check the possibility of moving all your personal belongings together with your car even if it doesn’t fit it – nowadays a great competition makes it possible to agree on every special request of the customers.

Of course, every coin has two sides, and there are no variants with the advantages only. And shipping cars across country by train is not an exception. And time is one of the most significant potential problems in this case. We all know that trains have their own schedule, and you can hardly affect it. Moreover, in regards to the trains which are dealing with the cars’ transportation, they are even less flexible as are leaving a station and making a route only when they have enough cargo. That is why you should be ready and be able to afford to wait for your car to be delivered a couple of weeks longer. But if this is not a big issue for you, shipping car cross country by train will become a great option for you and a possibility to save some extra money.

For some cars’ owners one more additional problem is the necessity to deliver the car to and from the railway station. Luckily, nowadays there are some additional options they can use in this regard and which will be covered later.

Types of the delivery

Like in most other ways to deliver your car, when shipping cars by train across country you will have a few choices. It’s always better to carefully consider them in advance to avoid unnecessary worries and frustration.

1. Open or enclosed transportation. Probably, you have already heard of these distinguishing features if considered a delivery by truck. In case of the train everything is pretty the same. Open transportation means your car will be placed in the open-air platform which will cause the necessity to wash your vehicle upon delivery. Depending on the weather conditions and the distance of the route the damage can differ and you should carefully check another option if you are planning to deliver an expensive and valuable car. At least, it’s highly recommended to have appropriate insurance coverage for this case. Slightly more expensive but also more reliable and protected way of shipping car by train cross country is an enclosed wagon. That’s how you can easily be assured that the car you will receive will look exactly the same as it was prior to the delivery which is, again, a point of interest for those whose cars cost more than 100,000 USD on average.
2. Station-to-station or door-to-door delivery. Of course, when you are shipping a car across country by train, the station-to-station option is more common and definitely the cheapest one. Actually, that is why most car’s owners choose this type of delivery. But if it’s really important for you to get your car at your door, it can always be arranged even within a train’s delivery option. For example, you can hire a driver to pick your car up at the station and to drive it to your home. It’s also possible to arrange the delivery by truck to and from the railway stations. But of course, it will cost you less and will take less time if you can arrange the transportation on your own or with assistance of friends and relatives. Especially considering that the railway stations are located in big cities almost in every state of the USA.

Factors of the cost

The price is one of the most essential features when choosing a company for the car’s delivery. Here we will consider the most influential factors which can affect the final price and knowing which can help you to get the best possible deal.

On average, if you are planning to ship your car across the country by train, you can expect to spend between 600 USD and 1,000 USD in case of a traditional sedan. The more massive and heavier the car, the more money you should expect to spend for its transportation. Thus, a minivan will take you hardly less than 800 USD for the delivery coast-to-coast.

Beside the parameters and the weight of your car together with additional belongings (in case there are some), there are some additional factors that can influence the final price:

• Railway line. Some of them are busier than others and also can provide additional services you may be interested in. Additional fixing the car with tiers or extra attention from the personnel will cause additional fees. Also, the region or the state where the station is located can affect the price as the lack of lines can cost you more;
• Distance, of course, can significantly affect the final price. In regards to shipping car across the country by train it should be mentioned that usually cars’ owners choose this type of the delivery in case of long-distance trips;
• Type of the transportation. If you are looking for indeed the cheapest way to deliver your car from state to state by train, you should consider the station-to-station transportation in an open wagon.

Short preparations

As soon as you have chosen a company which will deal with your car’s transportation by train, it’s time to make some pre-arrangements. Depending on the particular carrier you may face slightly different requirements, but in most cases they include the following:

• You need to make sure there are no valuable belongings. Despite the fact that most train carriers are reliable and well-known companies, they are not responsible for expensive jewelry and big sums of money left in the car;
• You also have to carefully check the conditions of your car. In comparison with more traditional delivery by truck, here you need to make sure you (or another person) will be able to drive your car to and from the stations. The battery and the tiers in this case are the most important features to check;
• Taking pictures before and after the car’s transportation is one of the most common requirements regardless of the way of the delivery you chose. This should be done both by the car’s owner and the carrier as will directly affect the insurance cases.