For more than a decade we’ve had the concept of “megaship” in the ocean container shipping sector.
Supply Chain Digest Says...
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In Fort Worth, Texas, the fire department sometimes sends two trucks from different directions in case there is a blocked crossing. |
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Now it appears, we can add “monster trains” the shipping lexicon.
According to an article last week in the Wall Street Journal, rail carriers are now often running over three miles in length, and the reason is simple - longer trains generate higher profits for carrier, allowing the companies to move the freight with fewer locomotives and less total crew.
There are currently no federal limits on train length. The Journal reports that federal regulators are looking into the impact of long trains and considering possible restrictions.
More than a dozen states have introduced bills to limit train length to 1.6 miles, but states can’t enforce them because of federal preemption of freight transportation regulations.
At Union Pacific, trains can reach around an amazing 20,000 feet, or 3.8 miles. In Q2 2024, its average train length was 1.8 miles, up from 1.3 miles in 2018.
Jim Vena, chief executive of Union Pacific, told the Journal that the railroad seeks to balance safety, customer demand, efficiency and the trains’ impact on communities.
The Journal notes that a three-mile train traveling at 25 miles an hour takes 7 minutes and 12 seconds to clear a crossing, plus around 20 seconds for the gate warning and close and opening.
The Journal article says drivers in many communities are becoming increasingly unhappy about the growing wait at crossings.
“People can’t get to work on time in the mornings or get back home in the evenings. And now our babies are crawling underneath the trains to cross the railroad tracks,” Letitia Plummer, a Houston City Council member said to the Journal.
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In Fort Worth, Texas, the fire department sometimes sends two trucks from different directions in case there is a blocked crossing.
Extra-long trains also often come apart, Greg Hynes, national legislative director of SMART-TD, the union that represents train conductors, told the Journal. Train crews said it can take them around half an hour to walk their length and recouple them.
Longer trains also add to operational complexity for single lane tracks.
To combat congestion, the Journal reports railroad companies said they have placed parallel tracks on some routes to handle traffic both ways at the same time and increased the length of sidings as trains got longer.
“But sometimes, those efforts remain insufficient. Some routes are single-tracked, and they get traffic both ways. Sidings on a single lane allow a train to pull over to allow another train to pass,” the Journal notes.
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