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Association of American Railroads

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Association of American Railroads

  • Login
  • Publications
  • Join AAR
  • Data Center
  • News & Events
  • Blog
  • COVID-19

Association of American Railroads

  • Railroad 101
    • Industry 101
      • Supply Chain
      • COVID-19
      • Economic Regulation
      • Forced Switching
      • Integrated Rail Network
      • Positive Train Control
    • Freight Rail Resources
      • Signal Newsletter
      • Fact Sheets
      • Facts & Figures
      • Videos
      • Podcasts & Interviews
      • Railroad Chronology
  • Impact
    • Investments
    • Economic Impact
    • Freight Rail in Your State
    • Railroad Jobs
    • Consumers
    • Amtrak
    • Supply Chain
  • Policy
    • Economic Regulation
      • Forced Switching
      • Final Offer Rate Review
      • Revenue Adequacy
      • Competition
      • Staggers Rail Act 40th Anniversary
    • Operational Regulation
      • Crew Size
      • Mexican Crew Interchange
      • Hazmat/Tank Cars
      • Emerging Safety Technologies
    • Cybersecurity Legislation
    • Climate Change Policies
    • Trade
    • Infrastructure Priorities
      • Highway Trust Fund
      • Truck Size & Weight
      • Section 130
      • CREATE
      • Environmental Permitting
      • Passenger Rail
      • Railroad Right of Way Access
  • Climate Change
    • Climate Change Policies
    • Sustainable Technology
    • Carbon Calculator
  • Safety
    • COVID-19
    • Employee Safety
    • Positive Train Control
    • Safety Record
    • Hazmat Safety
      • Liquified Natural Gas (LNG)
      • Crude Oil by Rail (CBR)
    • Network Safety
    • Pedestrian & Drivers
      • Occupied Crossings
    • Preparedness & Response
      • Community Planning
      • First Responder Training
      • Natural Disasters
      • Physical & Cybersecurity
  • Technology
    • Workforce
    • Safety
      • Positive Train Control
      • Track
      • Equipment
    • Sustainability
    • Service
  • Industries We Support
    • Agriculture
      • Grain
      • Food Products
      • Fertilizers
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals
    • Construction
      • Lumber
      • Steel
      • Stone, Sand & Gravel
    • Energy
      • Coal
      • Ethanol
      • Crude Oil
    • Intermodal
    • Forest Products
      • Lumber
      • Pulp & Paper

Freight Rail in Your State

In a typical year, U.S. freight railroads move around 1.7 billion tons across nearly 140,000-miles of track, running through 49 states and the District of Columbia.

American freight railroads make massive investments across the country that enable the most efficient freight rail network in the world; moving the goods that make modern life possible, and connecting American businesses to markets from coast to coast and beyond. If railroads did not move freight in the United States it would take over 99 million additional trucks traveling on public roadways and would take four times more fuel than rail to handle the freight Americans rely on every day.

Explore more in the interactive unit below.

STATE REPRESENTATIVES DIRECTORY

STATE RAILROAD ASSOCIATIONS DIRECTORY

STATE RANKINGS 2019

FUN SOCIAL POSTS

 

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U.S. Freight Railroad Industry Snapshot

Select a state from the dropdown or map.

Map of the United States
Number of Freight Railroads 632 Freight Railroad Miles 136,650 Freight Railroad Employees 159,720 Avg. Wages and Benefits Per Freight Railroad Employee $126,170 Railroad Retirement Beneficiaries 502,900

Railroads are the most fuel efficient way to move freight over land. On average, railroads move one ton of freight nearly 500 miles on one gallon of fuel. One train can carry as much as several hundred trucks. It would have taken approximately 99 million additional trucks to handle the 1.8 billion tons of freight that moved by rail in United States in 2019.

Download State Fact Sheet

Originating In United States

Commodities Carloads Pct
Coal 4,041,000 14.7%
Chemicals 1,896,000 6.9%
Intermodal 12,514,000 45.4%
Nonmetallic Minerals 1,663,000 6.0%
Farm Products 1,394,000 5.1%
Food Products 954,000 3.5%
Petroleum Products 790,000 2.9%
Metallic Ores 750,000 2.7%
Primary Metal Products 566,000 2.1%
Glass & Stone 485,000 1.8%
Other 2,496,000 9.1%
Total 27,549,000 100%
bar-chart pie-chart

Terminating In United States

Commodities Carloads Pct
Coal 3,942,000 13.9%
Chemicals 2,014,000 7.1%
Intermodal 12,916,000 45.7%
Nonmetallic Minerals 1,610,000 5.7%
Farm Products 1,264,000 4.5%
Food Products 1,001,000 3.5%
Petroleum Products 822,000 2.9%
Metallic Ores 707,000 2.5%
Primary Metal Products 568,000 2.0%
Glass & Stone 496,000 1.8%
Other 2,948,000 10.4%
Total 28,288,000 100%
bar-chart pie-chart
*data from 2019

United States Rail Lines

Association of American Railroads

America’s freight railroads operate the safest, most efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally sound freight transportation system in the world — and the Association of American Railroads (AAR) is committed to keeping it that way. Founded in 1934, AAR is the world’s leading railroad policy, research, standard setting, and technology organization that focuses on the safety and productivity of the U.S. freight rail industry. AAR Full members include the major freight railroads in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as Amtrak. Affiliates and Associates  include non-Class I and commuter railroads, rail supply companies, engineering firms, signal and communications firms, and rail car owners.

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