Amtrak to Asheville, NC

Asheville, North Carolina currently does not have Amtrak train service. The closest stations are Spartanburg and Greenville, South Carolina, both just over an hour’s drive away. Unfortunately, the train arrival times at these stations are not ideal, and depending on your direction of travel, you’ll need to stay overnight in a hotel before picking up a rental car. Learn more about your travel options below.

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Best Car Rental Option

We recommend traveling to Spartanburg on the Crescent because you can 1) walk to the Spartanburg Marriott hotel from the Amtrak station and 2) the local Enterprise offers pick-up service. You can also rent a car from Hertz, but you’ll need to take Uber or Lyft to get to the office.

Best Bus Option

FlixBus is the most convenient way to reach Asheville by bus. One option is to travel by Amtrak train to Charlotte on the Carolinian, Crescent or Piedmont routes. In Charlotte, you’ll need to use rideshare to reach the bus station; drive time to Asheville is about 2 hours and 40 minutes. Note that the Carolinian and Piedmont are daytime trains and have good arrival times in Charlotte (avoid a Crescent trip to Charlotte unless that’s your only rail option).

Amtrak’s expansion plans include train service to and from Asheville. View the map to learn about potential new service.