Last Updated: May 2022

There is a lot to know about America’s critical freight rail network. For in-depth information, check out our Railroad 101 page or our fact sheets. For just the facts and figures at-a-glance, take a look below.

On This Page

Private Investments
Safety
Fuel-efficiency & Climate Change
Workforce
Economic Impact & Trade
Capacity & What We Haul

Private Investments

  • From 1980 to 2021, America’s freight railroads, the vast majority of which are privately owned, spent approximately $760 billion — averaging well over $20 billion a year over the past five years — on capital expenditures and maintenance expenses related to locomotives, freight cars, tracks, bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure and equipment. That is more than 39 cents out of each revenue dollar between 1980 and 2021.
  • In the last 10 years, U.S. Class I railroads have spent more than $250 billion on infrastructure and equipment and have laid approximately six million tons of new rail.
  • The average U.S. manufacturer historically spends about 3% of revenue on capital expenditures. The comparable figure for U.S. freight railroads between 2011 and 2020 has been around 19%, or six times higher.
  • The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) awarded America’s rail network the highest grade in its last two report cards.

Safety

  • Between 2000 and 2021, the train accident was down 33% and between 2000 and 2020, the hazmat accident rate was down 60%. The rail employee injury rate in 2020 was an all-time low.
  • America’s railroads today have lower employee injury rates than most other major industries, including trucking, manufacturing, construction — even grocery stores.
  • More than 99.99% of all hazmat moved by rail reaches its destination without a release caused by a train accident.
  • Grade crossing collisions have declined 39% since 2000.

Fuel-efficiency & Climate Change

  • Freight railroads account for roughly 40% of U.S. long-distance freight volume (measured by ton-miles) — more than any other mode of transportation. However, they account for just 0.5% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions according to EPA data, and just 1.9% of transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Railroads are the most fuel-efficient way to move freight over land, moving one ton of freight nearly 500 miles per gallon of fuel, on average.
  • On average, railroads are three to four times more fuel-efficient than trucks. A single freight train can replace several hundred trucks.
  • Today’s fuel-efficient locomotives have emitted fewer criteria pollutants and GHGs over the past decade. Idling-reduction technology, such as stop-start systems, can reduce unnecessary idle time by 50%. Advanced software improves fuel efficiency up to 14% by calculating the most efficient speed, spacing and timing of trains.
  • Greenhouse gas emissions are directly related to fuel consumption. That means moving freight by rail instead of truck lowers greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75%, on average.
  • AAR analysis of federal data finds: If 25% of the truck traffic moving at least 750 miles went by rail instead, annual greenhouse gas emissions would fall by approximately 13.1 million tons; If 50% of the truck traffic moving at least 750 miles went by rail instead, greenhouse gas emissions would fall by approximately 26.2 million tons.
  • If 10% of the freight shipped by the largest trucks were moved by rail instead, greenhouse gas emissions would fall by more than 17 million tons annually. That’s the equivalent of removing 3.4 million cars from our highways or planting 262 million trees.
  • In 2021 alone, U.S. freight railroads consumed 790 million fewer gallons of fuel and emitted nearly nine million fewer tons of carbon dioxide than they would have if their fuel efficiency had remained constant since 2000.
  • 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.
  • Increased use of zero-emission intermodal cranes reduces ambient noise and pollution at ports and in rail yards.
  • Expanding use of positioning locomotives throughout the train (aka distributed power) reduces horsepower needed to move a train.

Workforce

  • In 2020, U.S. Class I freight rail employees earned an average annual compensation of  $135,700, including wages and benefits. The average Class I freight railroad employee earns total compensation higher than the average compensation of industries that employ 94% of U.S. workers.
  • Rail industry employees are covered by the Railroad Retirement System, which is funded by railroads and their employees. In 2020, more than 500,000 beneficiaries received retirement and survivor benefits totaling $13.5 billion from the system.

Capacity & What We Haul

  • Around 1/3 of U.S. exports move by rail.
  • The interconnected freight rail network includes seven Class I railroads (railroads with 2021 revenue of at least $900 million) and approximately 630 short line railroads (Class II and III). Short lines and Class I railroads operate in 49 states and the District of Columbia, with short lines running over about 45,000 route miles and Class I railroads running over about 92,000 route miles. Class I railroads account for around 68% of freight rail mileage, 88% of employees and 94% of revenue.
  • Approximately 70% of the miles traveled by Amtrak trains are on tracks owned by freight railroads.
  • Freight rail is part of an integrated network of trains, trucks and barges that ships around 61 tons of goods per American every year.
  • Freight rail accounts for around 40% of long-distance ton-miles — more than any other mode of transportation.
  • The Federal Highway Administration forecasts that total U.S. freight movements will rise from around 19.3 billion tons in 2020 to 25.1 billion tons in 2040 — a 30% increase.
  • Since the Staggers Act was passed in 1980, average rail rates adjusted for inflation have fallen 44%. This means the average rail shipper can move much more freight for about the same price it paid more than 40 years ago.
  • In a typical year, freight railroads haul around 1.7 billion tons of raw materials and finished goods. Redesigned railcars have helped increase average tonnage. In 2021, the average freight train carried 4,082 tons, up from 2,923 tons in 2000.
    • Agricultural & Food Products: Freight railroads move some 1.6 million carloads of food products and around 1.6 million carloads of grain and other farm products in a typical year. Agricultural and food products include wheat, corn, soybeans, animal feed, beer, birdseed, canned produce, corn syrup, flour, frozen chickens, sugar, wine and countless other food products. Railroads typically originate more than 60,000 carloads of food and agricultural products per week.
    • Chemicals: Freight railroads moved 2.2 million carloads of plastics, fertilizers and other chemicals in 2021. Chemicals help clean our water, fertilize our farms, package our food, build our cars and homes, protect our health, and enhance our well-being in thousands of other ways.
    • Coal: Freight railroads moved 3.3 million carloads of coal in 2021. While rail coal volumes have declined in recent years, railroads account for around 70% of U.S. coal deliveries to power plants.
    • Construction: Freight railroads move around three million carloads of construction-related materials in a typical year. One rail car to carry as much crushed stone, sand and gravel as five trucks.
    • Crude Oil: In 2021, U.S. Class I railroads terminated 236,069 carloads of crude oil.
    • Intermodal: In 2021, U.S. rail intermodal volume was 14.1 million units and intermodal accounted for approximately 27% of revenue for major U.S. railroads, more than any other single rail traffic segment. It’s been the fastest growing major rail traffic segment over the past 25 years and set new volume records in the first half of 2021. Around half of rail intermodal volume consists of imports or exports, reflecting the vital role intermodal plays in international trade.
    • Motor Vehicles & Parts: Freight railroads carry 1.8 million carloads in a typical year. With a single train capable of carrying hundreds of cars, freight rail transports around 75% of the new cars and light trucks purchased in the U.S.
    • Paper & Lumber: Freight railroads moved 1.1 million carloads of lumber and paper products in 2021. Paper and lumber include wood to build homes, newsprint and magazine paper and cardboard for packaging. Railroads also haul tens of thousands of carloads of recycled paper and cardboard each year.