How the Auto Train became one of Amtrak’s most profitable routes

Amtrak has 37 routes that crisscross the United States. Three of them are profitable. Two of those — the Northeast Regional and the high-speed Acela — traverse the heavily populated territory between Boston and the Mid-Atlantic.

The third, according to an Amtrak representative, is the Auto Train, which carries passengers and their motor vehicles between Lorton, Va., and Sanford, Fla.