Rail freight transport
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Rail freight transport is the use of
.A
When considered in terms of ton-miles or tonne-kilometers hauled, energy efficiency can be greater with rail transportation than with other means. 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 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
Mode | eurocent per tonne-kilometre
|
---|---|
Road (LCV) | 35.6
|
Road ( HGV )
|
4.2
|
Rail (diesel) | 1.8
|
Rail (electric) | 1.1
|
Inland vessel | 1.9
|
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 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 based on a schedule, each long-distance train was 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. 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.[3] 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]
Rail freight uses many types of
Rail transport is very energy-efficient, and much more environmentally friendly than road transport.[2][4] 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.[5] Rail freight transport also has very low external costs.[2] Therefore, many governments have been stimulating the switch of freight from trucks onto trains, because of the environmental benefits that it would bring.[2][4] 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.[2]
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, 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.[citation needed]
Railroads were early users of automatic data processing equipment, starting at the turn of the twentieth century with punched cards and unit record equipment.[6] 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]
Freight railroads' relationship with other modes of transportation varies widely. There is almost no interaction with
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". 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.[8]
Bulk
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 cargo 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.[9]
Heavy-duty ore traffic
The heaviest trains in the world carry bulk traffic such as
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[update] approximately 90% of non-bulk cargo worldwide is moved by containers stacked on transport ships;[11] 26% of all container transshipment is carried out in China.[12] As of 2005[update], some 18 million total containers make over 200 million trips per year.[citation needed]
Use of the same basic sizes of containers across the globe has lessened the problems caused by incompatible
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.[14]
Double-stack containerization
Most flatcars (flat wagons) cannot carry more than one standard 40-foot (12.2 m) 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.[15]
In the United States,
Double stacking is also used in
Rolling highways and piggyback service
In some countries
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 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 or less than a Boxcar load.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
With the difficulty of maintaining an exact schedule, way freights yielded to scheduled passenger and through trains.
Regional differences
This section needs to be updated.(February 2016) |
Railroads are subject to the
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.[citation needed]
Rail freight tonnage as a percent of total moved by country:
Rail freight ton-milage as a percent of total moved by country:
- USA: 27.4% in 2020 [25]
- China: 15.9% in 2022 [26]
- EU28: more than 20% of all "inland traffic" in 2021 [27]
Eurasia
There are four major interconnecting rail networks on the Eurasian land mass, along with other smaller national networks.[citation needed]
Most countries in the European Union participate in an auto-gauge network. The
The countries of the former
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
North America
Due primarily to external factors such as geography and the commodity mix favoring commodities such as coal, the modal share of freight rail in North America is one of the highest worldwide.[28]
Rail freight is well standardized in North America, with
Ongoing freight-oriented development includes
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]
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.[citation needed]
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.) Most other countries have few rail systems. The standard gauge in the east, connect with Paraguay and Uruguay.[citation needed]
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
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]
Statistics
Network | Gt-km | Countries |
---|---|---|
North America | 2863 | U.S., Canada, Mexico |
China | 4389 | [32] |
Russia | 2351 | CIS, Finland, Mongolia |
India | 607 | |
European Union | 400 | 27 member countries[33] |
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%).[34]
Railways carried 17.1% of EU freight in terms of tonne-km,[35] compared to road transport (76.4%) and inland waterways (6.5%).[36]
Named freight trains
Unlike passenger trains, freight trains are rarely named.[citation needed] Some, however, have gained names either officially or unofficially.
- Super C
- "Juice Train"
- Coke Express
- La Bestia
- Condor
Gallery
-
Freight train in Rostov Oblast, Russia
-
Old type of steam-hauled freight train in 1964
-
A container train passing throughJacksonville, Florida, with 53 ft (16.15 m) containers used for shipments within North America
See also
References
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- ^ Armstrong, John H. (1978). The Railroad-What It Is, What It Does. Omaha, Neb.: Simmons-Boardman. pp. 7 ff.
- ^ a b Greene, Scott. Comparative Evaluation of Rail and Truck Fuel Efficiency on Competitive Corridors Archived 6 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine p4 Federal Railroad Administration, 19 November 2009. Accessed: 4 October 2011.
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- ^ See e.g. the description of container transfer process at Alashankou railway station in: Shepard, Wade (28 January 2016). "Why The China-Europe 'Silk Road' Rail Network Is Growing Fast". Forbes (Blog). Archived from the original on 27 August 2017.
- ^ Anitra Green (20 September 2012), "Swiss operators optimise short-haul railfreight", International Railway Journal, archived from the original on 5 June 2015
- ^ a b Das, Mamuni (15 October 2007). "Spotlight on double-stack container movement". The Hindu Business Line. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- ^ Cudahy, Brian J., - "The Containership Revolution: Malcom McLean’s 1956 Innovation Goes Global" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine TR News. - (c/o National Academy of Sciences). - Number 246. - September–October 2006. - (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document)
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