Motorail

Forgotten Vehicles & Transport · 1955–2005

Published 30 September 2026

Motorail carried holidaymakers and their cars across Britain by train from 1955, often using sleepers.

Drivers handed their cars to railway staff, travelled in seats or sleeping compartments, then collected the vehicles at their destination. Loading methods, rolling stock and passenger arrangements varied by route and period.

British Rail unified the services under the Motorail name in 1966 and officially withdrew them in 1995. First Great Western revived the idea between Paddington and Penzance in 1999, with the later service ending in 2005.

Why It Mattered

Motorail let families avoid a long trunk-road drive while keeping their own car for the holiday. Its car carriers, sleepers and dedicated terminals joined two kinds of travel in one journey, while British Rail’s advertising presented the train ride as the beginning of the break rather than merely the route to it.

Carriers and Loading Methods

Covered vans, flat wagons and double-deck transporters carried customers’ cars in different periods.
British Railways introduced twin-deck car carriers during summer 1961, increasing carrying capacity.
First Great Western’s 1999 revival used two converted side-loading parcels vans with space for six cars.

Launches, Withdrawal and Revival

The post-war scheduled network began on 19 June 1955 with a King’s Cross–Perth car-carrier and sleeper service.
British Rail launched the unified Motorail brand and opened its purpose-built Kensington Olympia terminal on 24 May 1966.
British Rail’s remaining Motorail services were officially withdrawn on 28 May 1995; the final train has not been identified by an operating record.
First Great Western began full operation of its separate Paddington–Penzance revival on 15 August 1999.

Use, Decline and Distinctions

Hansard recorded 17,600 cars carried in 1993–94, equal to 48 per cent of available capacity, alongside disagreement over costs and savings.
Lower use, specialist rolling stock and terminals, improved roads and cars, faster InterCity trains and changing holiday patterns may all have contributed to the decline.
Motorail carried passengers’ own cars and was distinct from vehicle freight trains and Channel Tunnel shuttle operations.

Associated With

British Railways / British Rail - original network operator and Motorail brand launcher; First Great Western - revival operator

Defining Feature

Passengers’ cars travelled by train while their owners rode in seats or sleeping compartments

Status

Discontinued

Primary Records

Image Sources

Image 1 — Dave Hitchborne / Railway Station, Carlisle / Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0; resized and cropped reproduction — Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Image 2 — Oxyman / General Utility Vehicle 93450 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5 — Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/
Image 3 — Phillip Perry / Kensington Olympia Motorail Terminal (former) / Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0 — Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Image 4
Image 5 — Phil Scott (Our Phellap), CC BY-SA 3.0; via Wikimedia Commons; cropped reproduction — Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Rights Notice

Images are included for historical and archival reference.

Rights holders may contact Forgotten Archive through the publishing account to request a credit correction or removal.

Gallery

A row of cars loaded onto railway wagons beneath a large glazed station roof. — Source
Credit
Dave Hitchborne / Railway Station, Carlisle / Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0; resized and cropped reproduction
Licence
CC BY-SA 2.0
See the licence terms for attribution, reuse and any other conditions.
Caption
Cars on railway transporters at Carlisle station, 11 June 1988. Photograph: Dave Hitchborne, CC BY-SA 2.0; resized and cropped reproduction.

A preserved maroon railway van with large end doors and small windows stands outdoors beside railway tracks. — Source
Credit
Oxyman / General Utility Vehicle 93450 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5
Licence
CC BY 2.5
See the licence terms for attribution, reuse and any other conditions.
Caption
Preserved General Utility Vehicle 93450, formerly used to carry cars in the Motorail fleet, photographed on 23 August 2008. Photograph: Oxyman, CC BY 2.5.

An entrance canopy reads Olympia Motorail Car Park P4 above parked cars and car-rental signs. — Source
Credit
Phillip Perry / Kensington Olympia Motorail Terminal (former) / Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0
Licence
CC BY-SA 2.0
See the licence terms for attribution, reuse and any other conditions.
Caption
The former Kensington Olympia Motorail terminal on 15 August 2009, with its name still visible above a car park and car-rental premises. Photograph: Phillip Perry, CC BY-SA 2.0.

A Motorail 78 advertisement shows a family at a table with food and drink beside a train window, beneath the words The relaxing way to start your motoring holiday. — Source
Credit
British Rail, Motorail 78 advertisement; reproduction listed by ThrowbackAds on Redbubble; artist and reproduction rights not established
Licence
Historical Ephemera
Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.
Caption
British Rail’s 1978 advertising sold the journey as the start of the holiday.

A green First Great Western railway van with Motorail lettering stands beside a station platform. — Source
Credit
Phil Scott (Our Phellap), CC BY-SA 3.0; via Wikimedia Commons; cropped reproduction
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
See the licence terms for attribution, reuse and any other conditions.
Caption
Motorail van NVA 96603 at Penzance on 29 August 2003, during First Great Western’s later revival.