Amtrak's Auto Train Now Accepts Firearms Locked in Your Car
Amtrak now lets passengers ride the Auto Train with firearms, as long as the guns stay locked inside the customer's vehicle or motorcycle. The change appeared in Amtrak's rules sometime between Aug. 7 and Oct. 4, 2026, according to Wayback Machine captures. The route runs from Lorton, Virginia, to Sanford, Florida, a trip of about 17.5 hours. Firearms are not allowed in coach or sleeper accommodations. Amtrak's carry-on firearm rules have not changed, and carry-on possession remains banned. Gun owners who want to bring a firearm on this run now have a legal path, but the storage rules are strict.
Key Details
The policy sits in a new section of Amtrak's rules, separate from the general carry-on language. Its core requirements break down as follows:
- Location: Firearms must stay secured in the customer's vehicle or motorcycle.
- Passenger age: The traveler must be at least 18.
- Reservation: Firearm reservations must be made at least six hours before the trip.
- Declaration: Firearms must be declared two and a half hours before departure, using a completed declaration form.
- Train match: Passengers must ride the same train as their vehicle.
- Condition: Firearms must be stored unloaded in a TSA-compliant case with at least two locking points.
- Locking restriction: Biometric-only or keypad-only cases with a single locking mechanism are not permitted.
- Ammunition: Passengers may carry up to 11 pounds of ammunition per person.
- Prohibited items: Black powder, percussion caps, matchlock and flintlock ammunition, and gunpowder are banned.
Amtrak employees will not ask to inspect or handle a firearm. They will not ask the customer to prove the gun is unloaded or properly packed. Handling firearms on Amtrak property remains prohibited. The firearm rules live on Amtrak's "Firearms in Checked Baggage" page. The Auto Train change does not touch that page's core logic, because the Auto Train offers no checked baggage service at all.
Background
Until this change, the Auto Train banned firearms outright. Amtrak's 2022 firearm rules did not mention the Auto Train. When a representative clarified the policy, Amtrak said firearms could only be accepted on trains that offer checked baggage. The representative added that the Auto Train offers no checked baggage, so firearms could not travel on it. Many riders said they would skip the service entirely because of that rule. Others pointed out that Amtrak had no practical way to know whether a passenger had stowed a gun in a car.
The Auto Train is popular with Northeast residents who want to drive to Florida without driving themselves. Passengers board with their vehicles, then ride in sleeper compartments or standard seats. Before this policy, a gun owner headed south had to leave the firearm at home or ship it separately. Reports also allege that the Trump administration pressed Amtrak to ease its firearm restrictions. The Transport Workers Union has opposed loosening those rules. Amtrak is taxpayer-supported, which gives federal officials a stronger claim to influence its policies than a private carrier would have.
Why It Matters for Gun Owners
This policy helps a narrow group: owners who travel between Virginia and Florida with a vehicle and want to bring their firearms along. Anyone starting or ending a trip in a state with restrictive firearm laws should check local rules before boarding. Florida and Virginia both allow lawful private firearm ownership, but state transport and storage laws vary, and the Auto Train does not override them. Federal safe-passage law, 18 U.S.C. § 926A, protects lawful interstate transport of unloaded, locked firearms. That statute does not require any carrier to accept firearms, so Amtrak's own policy controls what happens at the station.
Watch for changes to the carry-on rules. Amtrak's carry-on language still reads as a ban, and the union fight suggests that section could move next. Any owner who books this trip should file the declaration on time. Missing the two-and-a-half-hour window or using a single-lock case would likely cost the reservation.
DownRange Analysis
Under the Bruen framework, the text-and-history test asks whether a restriction matches the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation. A private company's voluntary ban on transporting guns in a vehicle is not a government restriction in the Bruen sense. Bruen constrains state and local law, not Amtrak's contract terms. That means the Auto Train change is a business decision, not a constitutional win. Owners should not expect courts to force Amtrak's hand.
The market impact is real but small. Gun owners who drive long distances now have a reason to consider the Auto Train over a costly drive. If you plan to use it, buy a TSA-compliant case with two independent locks before you book. Keep the receipt and declaration form. Store the case out of sight, and do not rely on biometric-only locks. Read Amtrak's full firearm section before every trip, because the rules have already changed once in a matter of months.
