Lorton

"The originating station for the Auto Train is about a 25-minute drive down I-95 from Washington D.C. Union Station in the heart of Lorton, Virginia. Passengers begin arriving as early as 12:30 p.m. and may continue all the way up to 3 p.m. to drop off their vehicle for loading into the autoracks. Once the vehicle is loaded, it cannot be accessed again until arrival in Florida. At that time, you will wait inside the station building until the train is ready to be boarded. It is a fairly large glass building with seating and restrooms as well as a gift shop and a coffee shop. When the deadline for dropping off vehicles is reached, the crew begins piecing the train together in segments due to its massive length. Getting all of the autoracks and passenger cars together will typically take about an hour depending on how busy it is and how many autoracks are used. Once everyone is on-board, the train departs, which means it can leave before its scheduled time of 5 p.m."