Rail freight transport is the use of
railroads and
trains to transport
cargo as opposed to
human passenger
A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...
s.
A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of
freight cars (US) or
goods wagons (
International Union of Railways
The International Union of Railways (UIC, french: Union internationale des wikt:chemin de fer, chemins de fer) is an international rail transport industry body.
History
The railways of Europe originated as many separate concerns, and there wer ...
) hauled by one or more
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
s on a railway, transporting cargo all or some of the way between the shipper and the intended destination as part of the
logistics chain. Trains may haul
bulk material,
intermodal containers, general freight or specialized freight in purpose-designed cars. Rail freight practices and economics vary by country and region.
When considered in terms of ton-miles or tonne-kilometers hauled per unit of energy consumed, rail transport
can be more efficient than other means of transportation. Maximum economies are typically realized with bulk commodities (e.g.,
coal), especially when hauled over long distances. However, shipment by rail is not as flexible as by the highway, which has resulted in much freight being hauled by
truck, even over long distances. Moving goods by rail often involves
transshipment costs, particularly when the shipper or receiver lack direct rail access. These costs may exceed that of operating the train itself, a factor that practices such as
containerization,
trailer-on-flatcar or
rolling highway aim to minimize.
Overview
Traditionally, large shippers build
factories and
warehouses near rail lines and have a section of track on their property called a ''
siding
Siding may refer to:
* Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house
* Siding (rail)
A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch l ...
'' where goods are loaded onto or unloaded from rail cars. Other shippers have their goods hauled (
drayed) by wagon or truck to or from a
goods station (freight station in US). Smaller locomotives transfer the rail cars from the sidings and goods stations to a
classification yard, where each car is coupled to one of several long-distance trains being assembled there, depending on that car's destination. When long enough, or based on a schedule, each long-distance train is then dispatched to another classification yard. At the next classification yard, cars are
resorted. Those that are destined for stations served by that yard are assigned to local trains for delivery. Others are reassembled into trains heading to classification yards closer to their final destination. A single car might be reclassified or ''switched'' in several yards before reaching its final destination, a process that made rail freight slow and increased costs. Many freight rail operators are trying to reduce these costs by reducing or eliminating switching in classification yards through techniques such as
unit trains and
containerization.
In many countries, railroads have been built to haul one commodity, such as coal or ore, from an inland point to a port.
Rail freight uses many types of
goods wagon (UIC) or freight car (US). These include
box cars (US) or
covered wagons (UIC) for general merchandise,
flat cars (US) or
flat wagons (UIC) for heavy or bulky loads,
well wagons or "low loader" wagons for transporting road vehicles; there are
refrigerator vans for transporting food, simple types of open-topped wagons for transporting bulk material, such as
minerals and
coal, and
tankers for transporting liquids and gases. Most coal and aggregates are moved in
hopper wagons or
gondolas (US) or
open wagons (UIC) that can be filled and discharged rapidly, to enable efficient handling of the materials.
A major disadvantage of rail freight is its lack of flexibility. In part for this reason, rail has lost much of the freight business to
road transport
Road transport or road transportation is a type of transport using roads. Transport on roads can be roughly grouped into the transportation of goods and transportation of people. In many countries licensing requirements and safety regulations e ...
. On the other hand, rail transport is very energy-efficient, and much more environmentally friendly than road transport.
[Greene, Scott]
Comparative Evaluation of Rail and Truck Fuel Efficiency on Competitive Corridors
p4 '' Federal Railroad Administration'', 19 November 2009. Accessed: 4 October 2011. Compared to road transport whісh employs the uѕе of
trucks (lorries), rail transportation ensures that goods that соuld оtherwіѕе be transported on а number of trucks are transported in а single shipment. Thіѕ saves а lot аѕ fаr аѕ cost connected to the transportation are concerned.
Rail freight transport also has very low
external costs.
Therefore, many governments have been stimulating the switch of freight from trucks onto trains, because of the environmental benefits that it would bring.
Railway transport and
inland navigation (also known as 'inland waterway transport' (IWT) or 'inland shipping') are similarly environmentally friendly modes of transportation, and both form major parts of the 2019
European Green Deal
The European Green Deal, approved 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union (EU) climate neutral in 2050. An impact assessed plan will also be presented to increase the ...
.
In Europe (particularly Britain), many manufacturing towns developed before the railway. Many factories did not have direct rail access. This meant that freight had to be shipped through a
goods station, sent by train and unloaded at another goods station for onward delivery to another factory. When lorries (trucks) replaced horses it was often economical and faster to make one movement by road. In the United States, particularly in the
West and
Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
, towns developed with railway and factories often had a direct rail connection. Despite the closure of many minor lines carload shipping from one company to another by rail remains common.
Railroads were early users of automatic data processing equipment, starting at the turn of the twentieth century with
punched cards and
unit record equipment. Many rail systems have turned to computerized scheduling and optimization for trains which has reduced costs and helped add more train traffic to the rails.
Freight railroads' relationship with other modes of transportation varies widely. There is almost no interaction with
airfreight
Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.
In 2018, airline cargo traf ...
, close cooperation with ocean-going freight and a mostly competitive relationship with long distance trucking and barge transport. Many businesses ship their products by rail if they are shipped long distance because it can be cheaper to ship in large quantities by rail than by truck; however barge shipping remains a viable competitor where water transport is available.
Freight trains are sometimes illegally boarded by individuals who do not have the money or the desire to travel legally, a practice referred to as "
hopping
Hopping may refer to:
Activities
* Hopping, the act of jumping with one foot
* Freighthopping, the act of surreptitiously riding on a railroad freight car
* Movie hopping, using a single ticket for a movie theater to see more than one movie
Peo ...
". Most hoppers sneak into train yards and stow away in boxcars. Bolder hoppers will catch a train "on the fly", that is, as it is moving, leading to occasional fatalities, some of which go unrecorded. The act of leaving a town or area, by hopping a freight train is sometimes referred to as "catching-out", as in catching a train out of town.
Bulk
Bulk cargo constitutes the majority of tonnage carried by most freight railroads. Bulk cargo is
commodity
In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them.
The price of a comm ...
cargo that is transported
unpackaged in large quantities. These cargo are usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or solid, into a
railroad car
A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...
. Liquids, such as petroleum and chemicals, and compressed gases are carried by rail in
tank cars.
Hopper cars are freight cars used to transport dry bulk commodities such as
coal,
ore,
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
,
track ballast, and the like. This type of car is distinguished from a
gondola car (US) or
open wagon (UIC) in that it has opening doors on the underside or on the sides to discharge its cargo. The development of the hopper car went along with the development of automated handling of such commodities, with automated loading and unloading facilities. There are two main types of hopper car: open and covered;
Covered hopper cars are used for cargo that must be protected from the elements (chiefly rain) such as grain, sugar, and fertilizer. Open cars are used for commodities such as coal, which can get wet and dry out with less harmful effect. Hopper cars have been used by railways worldwide whenever automated cargo handling has been desired.
Rotary car dumpers simply invert the car to unload it, and have become the preferred unloading technology, especially in North America; they permit the use of simpler, tougher, and more compact (because sloping ends are not required)
gondola car
In US railroad terminology, a gondola is an open-topped rail vehicle used for transporting loose bulk materials. Because of their low side walls, gondolas are also suitable for the carriage of such high-density cargos as steel plates or coils, ...
s instead of hoppers.
Heavy-duty ore traffic
The heaviest trains in the world carry bulk traffic such as
iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
and
coal. Loads can be 130 tonnes per wagon and tens of thousands of tonnes per train.
Daqin Railway transports more than 1 million tonnes of coal to the east sea shore of China every day and in 2009 is the busiest freight line in the world Such
economies of scale drive down operating costs. Some freight trains can be over 7 km long.
Containerization
Containerization is a system of
intermodal freight transport using standard
shipping containers (also known as '
ISO containers' or 'isotainers') that can be loaded with cargo, sealed and placed onto
container ships,
railroad car
A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...
s, and
trucks. Containerization has revolutionized cargo shipping. approximately 90% of non-
bulk cargo worldwide is moved by containers stacked on transport ships; 26% of all container transshipment is carried out in China. , some 18 million total containers make over 200 million trips per year.
Use of the same basic sizes of containers across the globe has lessened the problems caused by incompatible
rail gauge
In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many d ...
sizes in different countries by making transshipment between different gauge trains easier.
[See e.g. the description of container transfer process at Alashankou railway station in: ]
While typically containers travel for many hundreds or even thousands kilometers on the railway, Swiss experience shows that with properly coordinated logistics, it is possible to operate a viable intermodal (truck + rail) cargo transportation system even within a country as small as
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
Double-stack containerization
Most
flatcars (flat wagons) cannot carry more than one standard
container on top of another because of limited
vertical clearance, even though they usually can carry the weight of two. Carrying half the possible weight is inefficient. However, if the rail line has been built with sufficient vertical clearance, a
double-stack car
A well car, also known as a double-stack car (or also intermodal car/container car), is a type of railroad car specially designed to carry intermodal containers (shipping containers) used in intermodal freight transport. The "well" is a depresse ...
can accept a container and still leave
enough clearance for another container on top. This usually precludes operation of double-stacked wagons on lines with
overhead electric wiring. China runs double-stack trains with overhead wiring, but does not allow two maximum height containers to be stacked.
In the United States,
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
(SP) with
Malcom McLean came up with the idea of the first double-stack intermodal car in 1977.
[Cudahy, Brian J., -]
"The Containership Revolution: Malcom McLean’s 1956 Innovation Goes Global"
''TR News''. - (c/o National Academy of Sciences). - Number 246. - September–October 2006. - (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document) SP then designed the first car with
ACF Industries that same year. At first it was slow to become an industry standard, then in 1984
American President Lines started working with the SP and that same year, the first all "double stack" train left
Los Angeles, California for
South Kearny, New Jersey, under the name of "Stacktrain" rail service. Along the way the train transferred from the SP to
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
. It saved shippers money and now accounts for almost 70 percent of
intermodal freight transport shipments in the United States, in part due to the generous vertical clearances used by U.S. railroads. These lines are diesel operated with no
overhead wiring.
Double stacking is also used in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
between
Adelaide,
Parkes,
Perth and
Darwin
Darwin may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection
* Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...
. These are diesel only lines with no overhead wiring.
Saudi Arabian Railways use double-stack in its
Riyadh-
Dammam
Dammam ( ar, الدمّام ') is the fifth-most populous city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina. It is the capital of the Eastern Province. With a total population of 1,252,523 as of 2020. The judicial and administrative ...
corridor. Double stacking is used in India for selected freight-only lines.
Rolling highways and piggy back service
In some countries
rolling highway, or rolling road, trains are used;
trucks can drive straight onto the train and drive off again when the end destination is reached. A system like this is used on the
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...
between the United Kingdom and France, as well as on the
Konkan Railway in India. In other countries, the
tractor unit of each truck is not carried on the train, only the trailer. ''
Piggy back'' trains are common in the United States, where they are also known as ''trailer on flat car'' or
TOFC trains, but they have lost market share to containers (COFC), with longer, 53-foot containers frequently used for domestic shipments. There are also
roadrailer vehicles, which have two sets of wheels, for use in a train, or as the trailer of a road vehicle.
Special cargo
Several types of cargo are not suited for containerization or bulk; these are transported in special cars custom designed for the cargo.
*
Automobiles are stacked in open or closed
autoracks, the vehicles being driven on or off the carriers.
* Coils of steel strip are transported in modified gondolas called
coil cars.
* Goods that require certain temperatures during transportation can be transported in
refrigerator cars (reefers, US), or
refrigerated vans (UIC), but refrigerated containers are becoming more dominant.
* Center beam flat cars are used to carry lumber and other building supplies.
* Extra heavy and oversized loads are carried in
Schnabel cars
Less than carload freight
Less-than-carload freight is any load that does not fill a
boxcar or
box motor
A box motor, in railroad terminology, is a self-propelled boxcar, normally powered by electricity and running on an interurban railway or a streetcar line. Many box motors were converted from passenger cars on the systems that ran them, with the s ...
or less than a
Boxcar load.
Historically in North America, trains might be classified as either way freight or through freight. A way freight generally carried less-than-carload shipments to/from a location, whose origin/destination was a rail terminal yard. This product sometimes arrived at/departed from that yard by means of a through freight.
At a minimum, a way freight comprised a locomotive and caboose, to which cars called pickups and setouts were added or dropped off along the route. For convenience, smaller consignments might be carried in the
caboose, which prompted some railroads to define their cabooses as way cars, although the term equally applied to boxcars used for that purpose. Way stops might be industrial sidings, stations/flag stops, settlements, or even individual residences.
With the difficulty of maintaining an exact schedule, way freights yielded to scheduled passenger and through trains. They were often
mixed trains that served isolated communities. Like passenger service generally, way freights and their smaller consignments became uneconomical. In North America, the latter ceased, and the public sector took over passenger transportation. Good roads and trucking have replaced way freights in most parts of the world.
Regional differences
Railroads are subject to the
network effect: the more points they connect to, the greater the value of the system as a whole. Early railroads were built to bring resources, such as coal, ores and agricultural products from inland locations to ports for export. In many parts of the world, particularly the southern hemisphere, that is still the main use of freight railroads. Greater connectivity opens the rail network to other freight uses including non-export traffic. Rail network connectivity is limited by a number of factors, including geographical barriers, such as oceans and mountains, technical incompatibilities, particularly different
track gauges and
railway coupler
A coupling (or a coupler) is a mechanism typically placed at each end of a railway vehicle that connects them together to form a train. A variety of coupler types have been developed over the course of railway history. Key issues in their desig ...
s, and political conflicts.
The largest rail networks are located in North America and Eurasia. Long distance freight trains are generally longer than passenger trains, with greater length improving efficiency. Maximum length varies widely by system. (''See''
longest trains for train lengths in different countries.)
Generally trucking moves the most tonnage of all traffic in most large economies. Many countries are moving to increase speed and volume of rail freight in an attempt to win markets over or to relieve overburdened roads and/or speed up shipping in the age of
online shopping. In Japan, trends towards adding rail freight shipping are more due to availability of workers rather than other concerns.
Rail freight tonnage as a percent of total moved by country:
* Russia: about 12% in 2016 up 11%
* Japan: 5% in 2017
* USA: 40% in 2009
* China: 8% in 2016
*
EU28: less than 20% of all "inland traffic" in 2014
Eurasia
There are four major interconnecting rail networks on the Eurasian land mass, along with other smaller national networks.
Most countries in the European Union participate in an auto-gauge network. The
United Kingdom is linked to this network via the
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...
. The
Marmaray project connects Europe with eastern Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East via a rail tunnel under the
Bosphorus
The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...
. The 57-km
Gotthard Base Tunnel improved north–south rail connections when it opened in 2016. Spain and Portugal are mostly broad gauge, though Spain has built some standard gauge lines that connect with the European high-speed passenger network. A variety of electrification and signaling systems is in use, though this is less of an issue for freight; however, overhead electrification prevents double-stack service on most lines.
Buffer-and-screw couplings are generally used between freight vehicles, although there are plans to develop an automatic coupler compatible with the Russian SA3. ''See''
Railway coupling conversion.
The countries of the former
Soviet Union, along with
Finland and
Mongolia, participate in a
Russian gauge-compatible network, using
SA3 couplers. Major lines are electrified. Russia's
Trans-Siberian Railroad connects Europe with Asia, but does not have the clearances needed to carry double-stack containers. Numerous connections are available between Russian-gauge countries with their standard-gauge neighbors in the west (throughout Europe) and south (to China, North Korea, and Iran via Turkmenistan). While the USSR had important railway connections to Turkey (from Armenia) and to Iran (from Azerbaijan's
Nakhchivan enclave), these have been out of service since the early 1990s, since a number of
frozen conflicts in the Caucasus region have forced the closing of the rail connections between Russia and Georgia via Abkhazia,
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and
between Armenia and Turkey.
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
has an extensive standard-gauge network. Its freight trains use
Janney couplers. China's railways connect with the standard-gauge network of
North Korea in the east, with the Russian-gauge network of Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan in the north, and with the meter-gauge network of Vietnam in the south.
India and
Pakistan operate entirely on
broad gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
networks.
Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts currently restrict rail traffic between the two countries to two passenger lines. There are also links from India to Bangladesh and Nepal, and from Pakistan to Iran, where a new, but little-used, connection to the standard-gauge network is available at
Zahedan.
The four major Eurasian networks link to neighboring countries and to each other at several
break of gauge points. Containerization has facilitated greater movement between networks, including a
Eurasian Land Bridge.
North America
Canada,
Mexico and
the United States are connected by an extensive, unified
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
rail network. The one notable exception is the isolated
Alaska Railroad
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, which is connected to the main network by
rail barge.
Rail freight is well standardized in North America, with
Janney couplers and compatible
air brakes. The main variations are in
loading gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...
and maximum car weight. Most trackage is owned by private companies that also operate freight trains on those tracks. Since the
Staggers Rail Act
The Staggers Rail Act of 1980 is a United States federal law that deregulated the American railroad industry to a significant extent, and it replaced the regulatory structure that had existed since the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887.
Backgroun ...
of 1980, the freight rail industry in the U.S. has been largely deregulated. Freight cars are routinely
interchanged between carriers, as needed, and are identified by company
reporting marks and serial numbers. Most have computer readable
automatic equipment identification transponders. With
isolated exceptions, freight trains in North America are hauled by
diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
s, even on the electrified
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...
.
Ongoing freight-oriented development includes
upgrading more lines to carry heavier and taller loads, particularly for
double-stack service, and building more efficient intermodal terminals and
transload facilities for bulk cargo. Many railroads interchange in Chicago, and
a number of improvements are underway or proposed to eliminate bottlenecks there. The U.S.
Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 mandates eventual conversion to
Positive Train Control signaling. In the 2010s, most North American Class I railroads have adopted some form of
precision railroading.
Central America
The
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
railroad is currently inactive, preventing rail shipment south of Mexico.
Panama has freight rail service, recently converted to standard gauge, that parallels the
Panama Canal. A few other
rail systems in Central America are still in operation, but most have closed. There has never been a rail line through Central America to South America.
South America
Brazil has a large rail network, mostly metre gauge, with some broad gauge. It runs some of the heaviest iron ore trains in the world on its metre gauge network.
Argentina have Indian gauge networks in the south, standard gauge in the east and metre gauge networks in the north. The metre gauge networks are connected at one point, but there has never been a broad gauge connection. (A metre-gauge connection between the two broad gauge networks, the
Transandine Railway was constructed but is not currently in service. ''See also
Trans-Andean railways
The Trans-Andean railways provide rail transport over the Andes. Several are either planned, built, defunct, or waiting to be restored. They are listed here in order from north to south.
Colombian Railways
* Feb 2011 - The Chinese Government p ...
.'') Most other countries have few rail systems. The standard gauge in the east, connect with Paraguay and Uruguay.
Africa
The railways of Africa were mostly started by colonial powers to bring inland resources to port. There was little regard for eventual interconnection. As a result, there are a variety of gauge and coupler standards in use. A gauge network with Janney couplers serves southern Africa. East Africa uses
metre gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
. North Africa uses
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
, but potential connection to the European standard gauge network is blocked by the
Arab–Israeli conflict.
Australia
Rail developed independently in different parts of Australia and, as a result, three major rail gauges are in use. A standard gauge
Trans-Australian Railway spans the continent.
Statistics
In 2011, North American railroads operated 1,471,736 freight cars and 31,875 locomotives, with 215,985 employees, They originated 39.53 million carloads (averaging 63 tons each) and generated $81.7 billion in freight revenue. The largest (Class 1) U.S. railroads carried 10.17 million intermodal containers and 1.72 million trailers. Intermodal traffic was 6.2% of tonnage originated and 12.6% of revenue. The largest commodities were coal, chemicals, farm products, nonmetallic minerals and intermodal. Coal alone was 43.3% of tonnage and 24.7% of revenue. The average haul was 917 miles. Within the U.S. railroads carry 39.9% of freight by ton-mile, followed by trucks (33.4%), oil pipelines (14.3%), barges (12%) and air (0.3%).
Railways carried 17.1% of EU freight in terms of tonne-km,
compared to road transport (76.4%) and inland waterways (6.5%).
Named freight trains
* ''
Super C''
* "
Juice Train
"Juice Train" (or "Orange Juice Train") is the popular name for unit trains of Tropicana fresh orange juice operated by railroads in the United States.
History
Tropicana Products was founded in 1947 in Bradenton, Florida, by Anthony T. Rossi, an ...
"
*
Coke Express
Unlike passenger trains, freight trains are rarely named.
Gallery
File:Trainyard.bradleygee.jpg, A typical U.S. classification yard in Denver, Colorado. Intermodal terminal is on the right
File:Electric locomotive VL80T-831.jpg, Freight train in Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...
, Russia
File:Carnforth wcml geograph-2188751.jpg, Old type of steam-hauled freight train in 1964
File:Freight train in Jacksonville, FL.jpg, A container train passing through Jacksonville, Florida, with containers used for shipments within North America
File:Mc250-3.jpg, A M250 series, multiple unit freight train running in Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
See also
*
Demurrage
*
Great Western Railway wagons
*
Interchange
*
Intermodal freight transport
*
Piggyback (transportation)
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Rolling highway
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Unit train
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Wagonload freight
References
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Articles containing video clips