{{Short description|Practice of transporting cargo by rail}} {{More citations needed|date=November 2021}} [[Image:WCML freight train.jpg|thumb|A Class 92 hauled container freight train on the West Coast Main Line, United Kingdom]] [[File:UP EMD SD9043AC Joso Bridge, USA.jpg|thumb|A long grain train of the Union Pacific Railroad crossing a bridge in Washington state, United States]] [[File:Locomotives at Zhengzhou North Railway Station 20190409.jpg|thumb|Freight trains wait for departure in Zhengzhou, China]] '''Rail freight transport''' is the use of railways and trains to transport cargo, as opposed to passengers.
A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled by one or more locomotives 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.packcrateandship.com/rail-freight-shipping/|title=Rail Freight Shipping|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220233522/http://www.packcrateandship.com/rail-freight-shipping/|archive-date=20 February 2016}}</ref> Rail freight practices and economics vary by country and region.
When measured in ton-miles or tonne-kilometers hauled, rail transportation is more energy-efficient than other modes. Maximum economies are typically realized with bulk commodities (e.g., coal), especially when hauled over long distances. Moving goods by rail often involves transshipment costs, particularly when the shipper or receiver lacks 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== {{Bar chart | float = right | title = Average external costs of freight transport (EU-28, 2016) per transport mode<ref name="Hofbauer"/> | label_type = Mode | data_type = eurocent per tonne-kilometre | bar_width = 15 | width_units = em | data_max = 40 | label1 = Road (LCV) | data1 = 35.6 | label2 = Road (HGV) | data2 = 4.2 | label3 = Rail (diesel) | data3 = 1.8 | label4 = Rail (electric) | data4 = 1.1 | label5 = Inland vessel | data5 = 1.9 }} [[File:THE WOMEN'S WORK IN TRANSPORT SERVICES, 1914-1918 Q109887.jpg|thumb|Workers using overhead cranes to unload goods from a rail siding inside a warehouse near Manchester, England, May 1917]] Traditionally, large shippers built factories and warehouses near rail lines and had a section of track on their property called a ''siding'' where goods were loaded onto or unloaded from rail cars. Other shippers had their goods hauled (drayed) by wagon or truck to or from a goods station (freight station in the US). Smaller locomotives transferred the rail cars from the sidings and goods stations to a classification yard, where each car was coupled to one of several long-distance trains being assembled there, depending on that car's destination. When long enough, or according to schedule, each long-distance train was 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 bound for classification yards closer to their final destinations. 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. Because of this, freight rail operators have continually tried to reduce these costs by reducing or eliminating switching in classification yards through techniques such as unit trains and containerization, and in some countries these have completely replaced mixed freight trains.<ref name=armstrong>{{cite book|last=Armstrong|first=John H.|title=The Railroad-What It Is, What It Does|year=1978|publisher=Simmons-Boardman|location=Omaha, Neb. |pages=7 ff}}</ref> In many countries, railroads have been built to haul one commodity, such as coal or ore, from an inland point to a port.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
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.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
Rail transport is very energy-efficient and much more environmentally friendly than road transport.<ref name="Hofbauer"/><ref name="fedfuel">Greene, Scott. [http://www.fra.dot.gov/Downloads/Comparative_Evaluation_Rail_Truck_Fuel_Efficiency.pdf Comparative Evaluation of Rail and Truck Fuel Efficiency on Competitive Corridors] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106005339/http://www.fra.dot.gov/Downloads/Comparative_Evaluation_Rail_Truck_Fuel_Efficiency.pdf |date=6 January 2012 }} p4 ''Federal Railroad Administration'', 19 November 2009. Accessed: 4 October 2011.</ref> Compared to road transport, which employs the use of trucks (lorries), rail transportation ensures that goods that could otherwise be transported on many trucks are transported in a single shipment. This saves a lot as far as the cost connected to the transportation is concerned.<ref name="moveitwithjon">{{cite web |last = Shefer|first= Jon|url = http://moveitwithjon.com/blog/rail-freight-transportation-save-thousands-of-dollars/ |title =Rail Freight Transportation: How To Save Thousands Of Dollars & The Environment |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151208051933/http://moveitwithjon.com/blog/rail-freight-transportation-save-thousands-of-dollars/ |archive-date=8 December 2015 |date= 1 December 2015}}</ref> Rail freight transport also has very low external costs.<ref name="Hofbauer"/> Therefore, many governments have been stimulating the switch of freight from trucks onto trains, because of the environmental benefits that it would bring.<ref name="Hofbauer"/><ref name="fedfuel"/> 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.<ref name="Hofbauer">{{Cite journal |last1=Hofbauer |first1=Florian |last2=Putz |first2=Lisa-Maria |date=2020 |title=External Costs in Inland Waterway Transport: An Analysis of External Cost Categories and Calculation Methods |url=https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5874/pdf |journal=Sustainability |publisher=MDPI |volume=12 |issue=5874 |pages=9 (Table 11) |doi= 10.3390/su12145874|access-date=29 March 2022|doi-access=free |bibcode=2020Sust...12.5874H }}</ref>
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 more economical and faster to make a single trip by road. In the United States, particularly in the West and Midwest, towns developed with railway and factories often had a direct rail connection. Despite the closure of many minor lines, railcarload shipping between companies remains common.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
Railroads were early users of automatic data processing equipment, starting at the turn of the twentieth century with punched cards and unit record equipment.<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mcc/023/0001.jpg Hollerith's Electric Tabulating Machine] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530004330/http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mcc/023/0001.jpg |date=30 May 2015 }} ''Railroad Gazette'', 19 April 1885.</ref> 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.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
Freight railroads' relationship with other modes of transportation varies widely. There is almost no interaction with airfreight, 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.<ref name="IRS">{{cite web|url=https://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Railroad-Industry-Overview-Series---Information-Systems-and-Industry-Operating-Procedures---October-2007|title=Information Systems and Industry Operating Procedures|date=October 2007|work=Railroad Industry Overview Series|publisher= IRS|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621064600/http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Railroad-Industry-Overview-Series---Information-Systems-and-Industry-Operating-Procedures---October-2007 |archive-date=21 June 2013}}</ref>
Freight trains are sometimes illegally boarded by individuals who lack the money or desire to travel legally, a practice known as "hopping". 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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Modes |first=Wes |url=http://modes.io/how-to-hop-a-freight-train/ |title=How To Hop a Freight Train, by Wes Modes |publisher=modes.io |access-date=18 December 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220103318/http://modes.io/how-to-hop-a-freight-train/ |archive-date=20 December 2013 }}</ref>
==Bulk== [[Image:Wagons 550.jpg|thumb|Freight wagons filled with limestone await unloading, at sidings in Rugby, Warwickshire, England]] {{main|Bulk cargo}}
Bulk cargo constitutes the majority of tonnage carried by most freight railroads. Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. These cargoes are usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or solid, into a railroad car. Liquids, such as petroleum and chemicals, and compressed gases are carried by rail in tank cars.<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Stopford |title=Maritime Economics |publisher=Routledge |location=London |year=1997 |pages=292–93}}</ref>
[[File:Mack Point (ME) rail yard weigh station.jpg|thumb|Bulk freight car scales at the MMA Mack Point yard, Searsport, Maine]]<nowiki> </nowiki>Hopper cars are freight cars used to transport dry bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, 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 hand in hand with the development of automated handling of such commodities, including 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 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 cars instead of hoppers.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
===Heavy-duty ore traffic=== The heaviest trains in the world carry bulk traffic such as iron ore 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, it was the busiest freight line in the world<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQQ/is_8_49/ai_n32458308/ |title=Heavy-haul heavyweight: China's Daqin heavy-haul railway has undergone a major upgrade to enable it to carry more than three times its original design capacity. David Briginshaw reports from the Ninth International Heavy-Haul Conference in Shanghai on the innovative technology that made this possible | International Railway Journal | Find Articles at BNET |publisher=Findarticles.com |date=2 June 2009 |access-date=1 February 2010}}</ref> Such economies of scale drive down operating costs. Some freight trains can be over 7 km long.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
==Containerization== [[File:Dispolok-es64u2003-00.jpg|thumb|right| A container train in Germany]] {{main|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 cars, and trucks. Containerization has revolutionized cargo shipping. {{As of|2009}} approximately 90% of non-bulk cargo worldwide is moved by containers stacked on transport ships;<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Ebeling | first = C. E. | title = Evolution of a Box | journal = Invention and Technology | volume = 23 | issue = 4 | pages = 8–9 | date =Winter 2009 | issn = 8756-7296}}</ref> 26% of all container transshipment is carried out in China.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.SHP.GOOD.TU |title=Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) | Data | Table |publisher=Data.worldbank.org |access-date=28 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127204913/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.SHP.GOOD.TU |archive-date=27 November 2011 }}</ref> {{As of|2005}}, some 18 million total containers make over 200 million trips per year.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
The use of the same basic container sizes across the globe has reduced problems caused by incompatible rail gauges in different countries by making transshipment between trains of different gauges easier.<ref name=forbes2016>See e.g. the description of container transfer process at Alashankou railway station in: {{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2016/01/28/why-china-europe-silk-road-rail-transport-is-growing-fast |title=Why The China-Europe 'Silk Road' Rail Network Is Growing Fast |last=Shepard |first=Wade |date=28 January 2016 |website=Forbes |type=Blog |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827144645/https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2016/01/28/why-china-europe-silk-road-rail-transport-is-growing-fast/ |archive-date=27 August 2017 }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/freight/swiss-operators-optimise-short-haul-railfreight.html|date=20 September 2012|title=Swiss operators optimise short-haul railfreight|author=Anitra Green|periodical=International Railway Journal|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605225755/http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/freight/swiss-operators-optimise-short-haul-railfreight.html|archive-date=5 June 2015}}</ref>
===Double-stack containerization=== [[File:BNSF 5216 West Kingman Canyon AZ (293094839).jpg|thumb|Train in Arizona, with 20-, 40- and-53 foot containers double stacked in well cars]] {{main|Double-stack rail transport}}
Most flatcars (flat wagons) cannot carry more than one standard {{convert|40|ft|m|1|adj=on}} 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 can accept a container and still leave enough clearance for another container on top. Both China and India run electrified double-stack trains with overhead wiring.<ref name=spotlight />
In the United States, the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), with Malcom McLean, developed the first double-stack intermodal car in 1977.<ref name=CudahyB-TRN-2006-Sep-Oct>Cudahy, Brian J., - [http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/trnews/trnews246.pdf "The Containership Revolution: Malcom McLean’s 1956 Innovation Goes Global"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304190442/http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/trnews/trnews246.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }} ''TR News''. - (c/o National Academy of Sciences). - Number 246. - September–October 2006. - (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document)</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/uprr-chr.shtml |title=Chronological History |author=Union Pacific Railroad Company |author-link=Union Pacific Railroad Company |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060810170628/http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/uprr-chr.shtml |archive-date=10 August 2006 }}</ref> SP then designed the first car with ACF Industries that same year.<ref>Kaminski, Edward S. (1999). - ''American Car & Foundry Company: A Centennial History, 1899-1999''. - Wilton, California: Signature Press. - {{ISBN|0963379100}}</ref><ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-9055386.html "A new fleet shapes up. (High-Tech Railroading)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017160711/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-9055386.html |date=17 October 2008 }}. - ''Railway Age''. - 1 September 1990</ref> At first, it was slow to become an industry standard, then in 1984 American President Lines started working with the SP. 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. 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.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
Double stacking is also used in Australia between Adelaide, Parkes, Perth and Darwin. These are diesel-only lines with no overhead wiring. Saudi Arabian Railways use double-stack in its Riyadh-Dammam corridor. Double stacking is used in India for selected freight-only lines.<ref name=spotlight>{{cite web |last = Das |first = Mamuni |title = Spotlight on double-stack container movement |publisher = The Hindu Business Line |date = 15 October 2007 |url = http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/10/15/stories/2007101551550600.htm |access-date = 11 February 2013 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100402022133/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/10/15/stories/2007101551550600.htm |archive-date = 2 April 2010 }}</ref>
===Rolling highways and piggyback service=== {{main|Rolling highway|Piggyback (transportation)}} In some countries rolling highway, or rolling road,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transport-bbhandel.de/en/train-freight/blog/rail-freight-an-ancient-method|title=Rail freight - an ancient method|last=Rieper|first=Michael|date=29 May 2013|publisher=BB Handel|access-date=31 May 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607044602/http://www.transport-bbhandel.de/en/train-freight/blog/rail-freight-an-ancient-method|archive-date=7 June 2013}}</ref> 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 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 is. ''Piggyback'' trains are common in the United States, where they are also known as ''trailer on flat car'' or TOFC trains. Still, 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.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
==Special cargo== {{Unreferenced section|date=August 2025}}[[Image:Diesel Freight Train NSW.ogg|thumb|right|{{center|Steel train, <br />western New South Wales, Australia}}]]
Several types of cargo are not suited for containerization or bulk transport; they 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== {{See also|Containerization#Less-than-container load}} Less-than-carload freight is any load that does not fill a boxcar or box motor or less than a boxcar load.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
Historically in North America, trains might be classified as either '''way freight''' or through freight. 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 via through freight.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
With the difficulty of maintaining an exact schedule, many freight trains yielded to scheduled passenger and through trains.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.theweebsite.com/trains/freight.html |first=Ragnar |last=Torfason |title=Freight Trains: Way Freights |website=TheWeebsite.com |date=28 December 2005 }}</ref> They were often mixed trains that served isolated communities. As with passenger service generally, wayfreights and their smaller consignments became uneconomical. In North America, the latter ceased,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://pgnewspapers.pgpl.ca/fedora/repository/pgc:1977-07-25-01 |work=Prince George Citizen |date=25 July 1977 |via=Pgpl.ca |title=End of an era in rail service |first=Al |last=Irwin |page=1 }}</ref> and the public sector took over passenger transportation.
==Regional differences== {{update section|date=February 2016}} [[File:Rail gauge world.svg|thumb|A map of the world showing regions by principal rail track gauge. ]] 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 in the Southern Hemisphere, that remains the primary use of freight railroads. Greater connectivity opens the rail network to other freight uses, including non-export traffic. Rail network connectivity is limited by many factors, including geographical barriers such as oceans and mountains, technical incompatibilities, particularly differences in track gauges and railway couplers, 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.){{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
Many countries are moving to increase the speed and volume of rail freight to win markets, relieve overburdened roads, and speed up shipping in the age of online shopping. In Japan, trends towards adding rail freight shipping are more due to the availability of workers rather than other concerns.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
Rail freight tonnage as a percent of total moved by country: * Russia: about 12% in 2016<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.joc.com/rail-intermodal/international-rail/europe/russian-rail-monopoly-plans-faster-servies-win-cargo_20171006.html|title=Russia's RZD speeds up rail service to attract cargo|website=www.joc.com|access-date=8 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007120132/https://www.joc.com/rail-intermodal/international-rail/europe/russian-rail-monopoly-plans-faster-servies-win-cargo_20171006.html|archive-date=7 October 2017}}</ref> up 11% * Japan: 5% in 2017<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/17/business/corporate-business/japan-firms-shifting-trains-move-freight-amid-dearth-new-truckers|website=The Japan Times|title=Japan firms shifting to trains to move freight amid dearth of new truckers|access-date=8 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028044344/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/17/business/corporate-business/japan-firms-shifting-trains-move-freight-amid-dearth-new-truckers|archive-date=28 October 2017}}</ref>
Rail freight ton-milage as a percent of total moved by country: * USA: 27.4% in 2020 <ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Ton-Miles of Freight |url=https://www.bts.gov/content/us-ton-miles-freight |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530120644/https://www.bts.gov/content/us-ton-miles-freight |archive-date=30 May 2023 |access-date=25 November 2023 |website=Home}}</ref> * China: 15.9% in 2022 <ref>{{Cite web |date=6 June 2023 |title=2022年交通运输行业发展统计公报-政府信息公开-交通运输部 |url=https://xxgk.mot.gov.cn/2020/jigou/zhghs/202306/t20230615_3847023.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016181537/https://xxgk.mot.gov.cn/2020/jigou/zhghs/202306/t20230615_3847023.html |archive-date=16 October 2023 |access-date=25 November 2023 |website=Ministry of Transport}}</ref> * EU28: more than 20% of all "inland traffic" in 2021 <ref>{{Cite web |title=File:Modal split of freight transport, EU, 2011-2021 (%, based on tonne-kilometres).png |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=File:Modal_split_of_freight_transport,_EU,_2011-2021_(%25,_based_on_tonne-kilometres).png |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230509185821/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=File:Modal_split_of_freight_transport,_EU,_2011-2021_(%25,_based_on_tonne-kilometres).png |archive-date=9 May 2023 |access-date=25 November 2023 |website=ec.europa.eu}}</ref>
===Eurasia=== {{Unreferenced section|date=August 2025}}thumb|Coal awaiting shipment to an electric generating plant in Germany [[File:Nancha, Yichun, Heilongjiang, China - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Freight train on the Suihua–Jiamusi Railway in Yichun, Heilongjiang]] There are four major interconnecting rail networks across the Eurasian landmass, 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 Marmaray project connects Europe with eastern Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East via a rail tunnel under the Bosphorus. 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 to 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, clearances prevent 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 and Asia, but lacks the clearances required to carry double-stack containers. Numerous connections are available between Russian-gauge countries and their standard-gauge neighbors in the west (throughout Europe) and in the 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 several 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 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 networks. Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts currently restricts 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 connect to neighboring countries and to one another at several break of gauge points. Containerization has facilitated greater movement between networks, including a Eurasian Land Bridge.
===North America=== [[File:ATSF Downhhill Caliente Aug 90xRP - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg|thumb|Mixed freight running downhill in Caliente, California]] Canada, Mexico and the United States are connected by an extensive, unified standard gauge rail network. The one notable exception is the isolated Alaska Railroad, which is connected to the main network by rail barge.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
Due primarily to external factors, including geography and a commodity mix that favors coal, the modal share of freight rail in North America is one of the highest worldwide.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Manuel Bastos Andrade Furtado |first1=Francisco |title=U.S. and European Freight Railways: The Differences That Matter |journal=Journal of the Transportation Research Forum |date=Summer 2013 |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=65–84 |url=https://trforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2013v52n2_04_FreightRailways.pdf |access-date=3 August 2023 }}</ref>
Rail freight is well standardized in North America, with Janney couplers and compatible air brakes. The main variations are in loading gauge and maximum car weight. Most trackage is owned by private companies that also operate freight trains on those tracks. Since the Staggers Rail Act 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 locomotives, even on the electrified Northeast Corridor.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
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 several improvements are underway or proposed to eliminate bottlenecks there.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/us/chicago-train-congestion-slows-whole-country.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |title=Freight Train Late? Blame Chicago |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 May 2012 |access-date=28 February 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627233027/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/us/chicago-train-congestion-slows-whole-country.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |archive-date=27 June 2017 |last1=Schwartz |first1=John }} Chicago Rail Congestion Slows the Whole Country, New York Times, 8 May 2012</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.railjournal.com/in_depth/precision-scheduled-railroading-evolution-revolution|title=Precision Scheduled Railroading Evolution-Revolution|first=Kieth|last=Barrow|date=17 September 2019|publisher=International Railway Journal}}</ref>
===Central America=== The Guatemala 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.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
===South America=== Brazil has a large rail network, mostly meter-gauge, with some broad-gauge lines. It runs some of the heaviest iron ore trains in the world on its metre-gauge network.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
Argentina has Indian-gauge networks in the south, standard-gauge networks in the east, and meter-gauge networks in the north. The meter-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.'') Most other countries have few rail systems. The standard gauge in the east connects with Paraguay and Uruguay.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
===Africa=== [[File:SNIM ore train Nouadhibou.jpg|thumb|right|Iron ore train in Mauritania]] {{main|African Union of Railways}}
The railways in Africa were mostly built by colonial powers to bring inland resources to ports. There was little regard for eventual interconnection. As a result, there are a variety of gauge and coupler standards in use. A {{RailGauge|3ft6in|lk=on}} gauge network with Janney couplers serves southern Africa. East Africa uses metre-gauge. North Africa uses standard gauge, but a potential connection to the European standard gauge network is blocked by the Arab–Israeli conflict.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
===Australia=== [[Image:NR22 NR52 DL49 1PM5 Kewdale 190306.jpg|thumb|right|Pacific National intermodal service from Perth in Western Australia]] {{main|Rail transport in 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.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
==Statistics== {{main|List of countries by rail usage}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Rail freight by network, billion tonne-km<br />2019<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.RRS.GOOD.MT.K6|title=Railways, goods transported (million ton-km) - Data|website=data.worldbank.org|access-date=8 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623011029/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.RRS.GOOD.MT.K6|archive-date=23 June 2017}}</ref> |- ! scope="col" |Network ! scope="col" | Gt-km ! scope="col" | Countries |- |North America || 2,863 || U.S., Canada, Mexico |- |China || 4,389||<ref>https://www.mot.gov.cn/tongjishuju/tielu/202005/t20200511_3323807.htmlf {{Dead link|date=February 2022 | fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
|- |Russia || 2,351 || CIS, Finland, Mongolia |- |India ||1,637.13|| Data for Year ending March 2024 <ref>https://elocos.railnet.gov.in/Analysis/GTKMs/Summary.html{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
|- |European Union ||400 || 27 member countries<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Railway_freight_transport_statistics|title = Railway freight transport statistics}}</ref> |- |Brazil || 269 || includes Bolivia (1) |- |South Africa || 115 || includes Zimbabwe (1.6) |- |Australia || 64 || |- |Japan || 20 || |- |South Korea || 10 || |}
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%).<ref>[https://www.aar.org/StatisticsAndPublications/Documents/AAR-Stats-2013-02-07.pdf Class I Railroad Statistics] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103071634/https://www.aar.org/StatisticsAndPublications/Documents/AAR-Stats-2013-02-07.pdf |date=3 November 2013 }}, Association of American Railroads, 7 February 2013</ref>
Railways carried 17.1% of EU freight in terms of tonne-km,<ref name="lewandIJEIT">{{Cite journal|first=Krzysztof|last=Lewandowski|title=New coefficients of rail transport usage|journal=International Journal of Engineering and Innovative Technology |volume=5|issue=6|year=2015|pages=89–91|issn=2277-3754|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294534165|format=PDF|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006111248/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294534165_New_coefficients_of_rail_transport_usage|archive-date=6 October 2016}}</ref> compared to road transport (76.4%) and inland waterways (6.5%).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/refreshTableAction.do?tab=table&plugin=1&pcode=tsdtr220&language=en|title=Error|website=epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu|access-date=8 May 2018}}</ref>
==Named freight trains== Unlike passenger trains, freight trains are rarely named.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} Some, however, have gained names either officially or unofficially: * ''Super C'' * "Juice Train" * Coke Express * ''La Bestia'' * Condor
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Trainyard.bradleygee.jpg|A typical U.S. classification yard in Denver, Colorado. The intermodal terminal is on the right File:Electric locomotive VL80T-831.jpg|Freight train in Rostov Oblast, 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 {{convert|53|ft|m|2|abbr=on}} containers used for shipments within North America File:Mc250-3.jpg|A M250 series, multiple unit freight train running in Japan </gallery>
==See also== {{portal|Trains}} {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * Demurrage * Wagonload freight {{div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist|2}} {{commons category}} {{Freight cars}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Rail freight transport Category:Articles containing video clips