Can train cargo go faster than truck cargo?

Question

Can train cargo go faster than truck cargo?

Answer 1

Ah, this gets my favorite answer:  "It depends".  For any given cargo, source and destination, the answer will differ according to the rail routes in between, the distance, the size of the cargo, the arrangement of highways, and so on.  In the North-east United States where there are lots of rails, rail shipping between, say, New York and Boston might well be faster, but out West where there are fewer trains, going from Bakersfield to Santa Barbara might favor the truck.  

Often trucks have more flexibility of scheduling, since they carry smaller units of stuff, but trains don't get caught in traffic.

For any given shipment, you have to weigh the alternatives and make a new decision.

Answer 2

Yes, and no depending on where you are going.  Example;  Daily there are 4 trains running 100 cars of freshly squeezed from FL to The big Apple.  One unloading, one loading and two in transit.  Um how many trucks would that be on I95.  

Same w/ a mail train from CA to NY.  It takes 3 days for that train to go from CA to NY.  I don't know of a truck that can do that.  W/ Hours of service you would need 3 drivers non stop.  Again over 100 cars.  

But if you want something to go say from PA to NJ, and your not talking about VOLUME, a truck is quicker.  But for bulk cargo, Got to go w/ the Train.

Oh and the best now is inter-modal, which is basically a truck trailer on a train, so in that case I'd say..... Both.

Answer 3

Rail transport has always been most effective with bulk commodities and in large quantities.  These are the slower plodding beasts, and where regular freight winds up.

However, there are expedited schedules for inter-modal transport, which is where one usually finds finished items.  Most recipients maintain the "just in time" inventory system so that warehousing and distribution is not a consideration, and therefore large costs for these are avoided.

So, it really does depend.  But, short of team driving, I'd be willing to bet a container leaving Long Beach, Ca., by rail can keep pace with the same type of container with similar tonnage departing Long Beach at the same time by highway, when moving coast to coast.

This of course is dependent upon the truck driver maintaining legal speed limit along the way.  But, these guys never speed, do they?

Answer 4

it can move day and night ,but so can trucks with two drivers,trains spend a lot of time on sidings and only go from rail yard to rail yard.trains are cheaper as they carry more( about .13 cents per mile)An example of oneshippment i recieved.vancouver to edmonton,15 hrs by truck and 15 days by train,it sat a lot here and there on it way to me. And in most cases it still gets to the train by truck and to the customer by truck,although some places do have train docks but very few

Answer 5

Most likely not, as the trains very rarely go direct any more.  We de-commissioned the "train business", in the 50s, - electing to have "interstate highway system" instead, the track right of way was all sold, off, and now it will cost billions to get the "mass transit" coast-to-coast rail system going again.

Due to switching yard delays, and route changes, it can take several weeks to get something from L.A.-to-NYC (for instance), -- in the 50s, it could be done in a week or less!  The trains only adveraged about 45mph in those days too (but they ran 24 hours

a day!)

Now they can go faster in places, but in general they are running as low as 30 mph to keep from derailing on the neglected roadbeds, and having to wait so often for other trains to go through, -- since where there were origionally 3-4 tracks between main junctions, - now there are only 2 - or only 1 in some cases!

On some short direct runs, they may actually beat truck freight!

Answer 6

h**l yes and a lot more than one truck load at a time