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| Terminology |
Definition |
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286
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286,000 lbs.
Rail track segments with 286,000 lbs. or 143-ton car capacity restrictions.
A section of track with a 286 restriction cannot handle cars with
lading weight of 143 tons or more.
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3PL
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Third Party Logistics
Third-party logistics and/or service provider who acts on behalf
of a shipper or carrier. A 3PL may also be referred to as an IMC
(Intermodal Marketing Company), freight forwarder, transportation
broker or intermediary.
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AAR
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Association of American Railroads
The Association of American Railroads represents North America's
major freight railroads and Amtrak. Association members include
the BNSF, UP, KCS, CSXT, NS, CP, CN, TFM and FNM.
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ABI
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Automated Broker Interface
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Absorbed Switching
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Switching Payables
Payment by a carrier, out of its revenue on a shipment, of the charges
assessed by others for switching of its cars.
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Accesorial Charges
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Charges for a wide variety of services and privileges that are
made available in connection with the transportation of goods. They
include all charges other than freight charges. E.g., charges for
services such as detention, spotting, rejected loads, equipment
furnished but not used, reconsignment storage etc.
Glossary Top
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ACH
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Automatic Clearing House
Electronic means of receiving payment for linehaul charges from
customers.
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ACI
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Any system to provide for automated identification of cars in a
train. The commonly used system consists of a set of 13 reflective
"modules" on each side of a car, caboose, locomotive, container,
or trailer, which identifies the owner, number and equipment.
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ACS
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Automated Commercial System
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Actual Placement (AP)
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Car placed at a customer location waiting for loading or unloading.
Also known as Active Placement.
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AEI
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Automatic Equipment Identification (AEI) Reader or Tag
- AEI Readers (interrogators) are installed at strategic points
such as plant entrance and/or exit points, railroad junction points
etc. to read AEI tags. Also known as Automatic Car Identification
or Rail Car Identification tags.
- AEI tags (transponders) store certain information about the
rail car, such as the owner and car number. Tags can be mounted
on trailers, railcars, containers and locomotives. As tagged equipment
passes a reader, the tag identifies the equipment and the reader
relays the time, date or other programmed information to a host
computer.
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Allowance Contract
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Incentive Agreement
Rail agreements specifying a contract allowance or incentive payment
based on a minimum threshold. The minimum threshold may involve
volume increases, improved balance, private equipment or equipment
conversion, street time improvement etc.
Glossary Top
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AMS
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Automated Manifest System. Means of speeding the flow of cargo through an electronic release notification system.
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Ancillary Agreement
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Multi-party agreement ancillary to a contract usually signed by
a railroad and its customers for large volumes of business. These
agreements involve the beneficial owner, the railroad, and the appropriate
channel participant(s).
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Assigned units
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Rail-controlled units assigned to a nonasset-based shipper such
as an IMC. The purpose of taking units under assignment is so that
the units will not be returned empty to the ramp and will constantly
be re-loaded and shipped in a high volume lane on the rail. In return,
the customer typically receives a lower per diem rate
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Availability
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Arrival times for intermodal and over-the-road freight. Cutoff-
to-availability tables reflect transit times of shipments.
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Availability Time
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Time equipment is grounded and available for pick-up by the customer.
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Back Haul
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- Haul a shipment over part of the reverse route the car traveled
with the initial load.
- Shipment hauled back over part of or the entire route of the
car.
- Shipment moving in the direction of the light flow of traffic.
- Picking up a load in a piece of equipment that normally runs
empty.
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Bad Order
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Car awaiting or undergoing repairs
A freight car loaded improperly, mechanically defective, or with
safety violations
Glossary Top
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Ballast
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Stone or gravel placed in a roadbed to provide a sturdy surface
for the track and to facilitate drainage.
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Bare Table
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Intermodal flat cars moving empty, with no vans or containers on them.
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Beneficial Owner
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Person or legal entity who owns or has title to the freight being
transported. Beneficial owners may use freight third parties such
as IMCs to negotiate transportation services and rates on their
behalf.
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Bill of Lading (BOL)
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See Shipping Instructions
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Bill Road
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Billing Carrier
Carrier performing the first line haul service of the movement.
This carrier is responsible for preparing the waybill document and
transmitting the information to any following carriers.
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Blocking or Bracing
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Wooden, metal, or other approved support to keep shipments in place
on railcars or within containers and trailers.
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Bonded Warehouse
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Warehouse owned by persons approved by the Treasury Department,
an under bond or guarantee for the strict observance of the revenue
laws; utilized for storing goods until duties are paid or goods
are otherwise properly released.
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Bonds
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61 - IT: Immediate Transportation
62 - T&E: Transportation and Exportation
63 - IE: Immediate Exportation
69 – Transit
70 – Multi-transit
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Box Car
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Enclosed car used for general service and for freight that must
be protected from the weather.
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Bridge Move
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Railroad movement involving at least three roadhaul carriers at
which BNSF is neither the first or last carrier.
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Broker
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Individual who acts as an agent for a customer, who is attempting
to route a car to a customer in Mexico or Canada. Equipment destined
to a locale in Mexico is billed only to the border. At that time
a broker, in cooperation with a broker in Mexico, prepares the proper
paperwork. This allows the car to cross the border and proceed to
its destination.
Glossary Top
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Bundled Price
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- Line haul rate that includes the cost of drayage services and
accessorial charges such as "free days" or per diem
relief. (Intermodal freight)
- Line haul rate that includes the combination of rail and transload
costs. (Carload freight)
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Bulk Freight
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Loose freight, such as coal, sand, and grain handled in its natural
state, and not packaged, or boxed in individual units or containers.
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Bulkhead Flat
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Flat cars equipped with fixed or permanently attached movable bulkheads
or ends a minimum of 3 feet in height and flat floor for general
commodity loading.
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CAMIR
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Customs Automated Manifest Interface Requirements. Specific procedures for the importing trade communities that are interested in participating in the AMS.
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Capacity
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- General Capacity: Rail demand or volume. The factors affecting
capacity for a railroad are numerous. These include for example;
crews, track, locomotives, equipment etc.
- Car Capacity: Cubic foot capacity of a railcar with the exception
of a flat car. The nominal car capacity refers to numeric capacity,
in thousands of pounds, as stenciled on the car and defined by
the AAR.
- Line or track Capacity: Maximum number of trains that can operate
safely and reliably in each direction over a given segment of
track during a given period of time (e.g., 24 hours)
- Locomotive Capacity: Locomotives available to move demand
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Capitalized Costs
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Expenditures that have future benefit and thus are recorded as
assets
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Car
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Freight car bearing railroad reporting marks
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Car Init & Number
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Car Initial and Number (Sometimes referred to as CARINO)
Initial and number given to a railcar by the AAR in conjunction
with owner's initials as a means of car identification
Glossary Top
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Car Initial
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4-byte initial of the unit that carried the commodity. Usually
this 4-byte initial is stenciled on the equipment. A unit is a car,
van or container. Trailer initials usually ends in Z as in JBHZ
and container initials in U, e.g., JBHU.
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Carload
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Shipment of not less than 5 tons of one commodity
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Car Hire
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Compensation to be paid by a user to an owner for use of a car.
Such compensation may include, but need not be limited to, hourly
and mileage rates.
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CBP
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Customs and Border Protection
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Chassis
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Supporting frame of a vehicle, trailer, or container, usually including
the wheels or engine onto which the metal container or trailer is
fixed for transportation
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Claim
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Demand, supported by evidence, showing the claimant has sustained
a loss through the negligence of a carrier. The principal kinds
are:
- Damage Claim: Claim due to physical injury to shipment
or because shipment was not delivered within a reasonable time.
- Loss Claim: Claim due to failure to deliver goods.
- Overcharge Claim: Claim when more than the legally published
charges are collected.
- Reparation Claims: Claim for a refund of charges that,
while in accordance with legally published tariffs, are unreasonable
or unjust and the carrier has since published the lower reasonable
rate.
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Class I Railroad
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Railroad with operating revenues of more than $259.4 million annually
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Classification
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Grouping of railcars in a yard in accordance with train movement
requirements, usually by destination station or junction
Glossary Top
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Classification Yard
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Yard in which cars are classified and grouped in accordance with
movement requirements
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Clearance
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Limiting dimensions of a rail shipment that allow it to clear tunnels
and bridges
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Collect
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In interline moves, the amount of transportation and other charges
are paid at the point of termination of the final rail carrier
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Conductor
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Person responsible for the safe and proper management of the train
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Connecting Carrier
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Carrier that has a direct physical connection with another or forming
a connecting link between two or more carriers
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Connection
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Railroad or station at which a rail carrier interchanges traffic
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Consignee
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Receiver
Company receiving the shipment at destination
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Consignor
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Shipper
Company sending the rail shipment at origin
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Consist
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- Make-up of a freight train in terms of the car types
- List of locomotive units, cars in train
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Constructive Placement (CP)
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Car that cannot be placed for loading or unloading due to some
disability on the part of a shipper or receiver. The CPed car is
subject to demurrage charges, the same as if it was actually placed.
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Container
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Receptacle that resembles a truck trailer that is lifted onto flatcars
without the chassis. Most containers are 20, 45, 48 or 53 feet in
length.
Glossary Top
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Container on Flatcar (COFC)
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Movement of a container on a railroad flat car. This movement is
made without the container being mounted on a chassis.
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Conventional Car
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Intermodal single platform flat car for conventional piggyback
loading as opposed to stack loading. Designed to carry single stacked
trailers or containers. They are equipped with one or two stanchions,
depending on length, for shipment of one or two trailers and are
about 89ft long with a tare weight of about 35 tons.
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COT
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Certificate of Transportation
Futures issued by Railroads to grain customers as a guarantee to
present empty covered hoppers for loading at a specific location
with the option to lock in a price. If the railroad does not deliver
the railcar at the prescribed location and time, it pays a penalty
at a rate specified in the COT.
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Crew District
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Railroad operations territory with distinct crew characteristics
such as crew rates, over mile rates, arbitraries etc.
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Crossdock
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Distribution facility used for the transfer of intermodal traffic
for rail or truck interchange. The idea is to transfer incoming
shipments directly to outgoing trailers without storing them in
between. Shipments typically spend less than 24 hours at the facility,
sometimes less than an hour.
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Customer 6-3-3
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Abbreviated 12-digit customer name
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Customer Destination Instructions (CDI)
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Rail location of a customer’s facility
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Customs Broker
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Company or individual licensed by the Treasury Department to act
on behalf of importers/exporters in handling U.S. customs transactions
Glossary Top
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Cutoff Time
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Time a container or trailer must be ingated at the terminal to
meet a scheduled train loading for departure. If a unit comes in
after the scheduled cutoff, it is scheduled for the train coinciding
with a later cut-off time. Cutoff-to-availability tables reflect
transit times of shipments.
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Cycle Time
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Velocity
Length of time consumed by a freight car from one loading to the
next
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Damage Free (DF)
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Car equipped with special bracing devices to decrease the possibility
of damage to lading
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Deadhead
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- Paid crew moving on trains, without performing service, from
one terminal to another at railroad's convenience
- Any railroad employee traveling on a pass
- Locomotive hauled by another
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Dedicated Train
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Train that, by design, transports a dedicated commodity or type
of cars. In the case of intermodal shipments, trains only carry
trailers and/or containers.
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Demurrage
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- A penalty charge assessed by railroads for the detention of
cars by shippers or receivers of freight beyond a specified free
time
- Detention of a railcar by the shipper or receiver beyond the
time allowed for loading, unloading
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Deramp
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Lifting of intermodal containers or trailers off intermodal flatcars
by special lift machines
Glossary Top
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Derailment
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Term used when rolling equipment leaves the rail tracks
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Destination
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Station where rail movement terminates
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Detention
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Charge made on trailers or containers held by or for a consignor
or consignee for loading or unloading, forwarding directions, or
any other purpose
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Detention Free Time
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Amount of time that a vehicle detained due to improper or incomplete
shipping instructions can remain at an intermodal facility without
incurring detention charges
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Distributed Power (DP)
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Addition of a locomotive at the back of a train
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Diversion
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Change made in the route of a shipment in transit, the destination
or consignee of a freight movement triggering a potential change
in the rate and/or availability of the shipment
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Dog Catcher
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Rescue crew sent out to pick-up trains that had a crew run out
of time on the train
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Door-to-Door
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Movement from the door or dock of the shipping customer to the
door or dock of the receiving customer
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Door-to-Ramp
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Movement from the customers front door or dock to the destination
intermodal ramp closest to the receiver
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Department of Transportation (DOT)
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U.S. government agency having jurisdiction over matters of all
modes of transportation. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
is the branch of the DOT that establishes safety standards for rail
equipment.
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Double Track
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Parallel sets of main line tracks typically found in areas with
high densities of traffic
Glossary Top
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Double-Stack
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- Movement of containers on articulated rail cars that enable
one container to be stacked on another container for better ride
quality and car utilization
- Flat cars enabling containers to be stacked one atop another
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Drayage
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Dray
Transportation of intermodal freight over-the-road from a rail head
to a customer’s facility. There are 6 types of drayage:
- Shuttle Drayage: Movement of an intermodal unit either
loaded or empty from a hub to another parking lot because the
railroad runs out of room at the hub
- Expedited Drayage: Special movement of an intermodal
unit over-the-road to get it there on time. This exceptional drayage
usually involves time-sensitive freight.
- Crosstown or Inter-Carrier Drayage: Dray movement of
an intermodal unit "across town" to the intermodal hub of a competing
or interchange rail carrier.
- IMX or Intra-Carrier Drayage: Movement of an intermodal
unit from a carrier's rail hub to the same carrier's intermodal
hub. An IMX dray extends the reach of an intermodal hub.
- Door-to-door Drayage: Retail dray involving over-the-road
movement of a unit to a customer location
- Pier Drayage: Over-the-road movement of an intermodal
unit from a carrier’s rail hub to a port’s dock or pier
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Drayman
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Person employed to pick up or drop off a container or trailer at
an intermodal terminal
Glossary Top
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Dwell
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Number of hours a car spends without line haul movement. Same as
Demurrage.
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Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
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Process of sending and retrieving information electronically
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EDI 322
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EDI Terminal Operations Activity
This transaction set can be used to provide all the information necessary for a terminal operator or port authority to communicate terminal activities (e.g., ingates and outgates) to authorized parties to a shipment |
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EDI 404
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EDI Bill of Lading
The EDI transaction set used in transmitting bill of lading information.
This transaction set can be used to transmit rail carrier-specific
bill of lading information to a railroad. It is the initial tender
of a shipment between a consignor and a rail carrier and can be
used as notification of equipment release and/or a legal bill of
lading.
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EDI 410
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EDI Rail Carrier Freight Details and Invoice
This transaction set can be used to provide detailed information
of changes associated with a rail movement. The information is provided
by a rail carrier and is sent to the freight payer.
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EDI 417
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EDI Rail Carrier Waybill Interchange
The EDI transaction set used in transmitting rail carrier waybill
interchange information. This transaction set can be used to provide
the rail carrier with detailed movement instruction pertinent to
a rail carrier shipment and is used by all Class 1 rail carriers
in the United States and Canada.
Glossary Top
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EDI 418
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EDI Rail Advance Interchange Consist
The EDI transaction set can be used to transmit advanced information
on equipment being interchanged to a connecting carrier, from a
consignor or to a consignee.
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EDI 456
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EDI Railroad Equipment Inquiry or Advice
The EDI transaction set providing multiple functions in support
of a wide variety of tracing and monitoring functions including:
Waybill Contents, Trip Plan Contents, and Event Data.
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EDI 622
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EDI Intermodal Ramp Activity
This transaction set can be used to transmit specific intermodal
ramp activities to consignors and other carriers or shipper agents,
when the activity takes place. This activity includes in-gate, out-gate,
train arrival, train departure and deramp.
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EDI 821
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EDI Payment Order/Remittance Advice
This transaction can be an order to a financial institution to make
a payment to a payee. The remittance advice can go directly from
a payer to a payee through a financial institution, or through a
third party agent.
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EDI 824
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EDI Application Advice
This transaction set can be used to provide the ability to report
the results of an application system’s data content edits of the
transaction sets. The results of editing transaction set can be
reported at the functional group level or transaction set level
in coded or free format.
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EDI 997
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Functional Acknowledgement
This transaction set can be used to define the control structure
of a set of acknowledgements to indicate the results of the syntactical
analysis of the electronically encoded documents.
Glossary Top
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Embargo
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To resist or prohibit the acceptance and handling of freight. An
embargo may be caused by acts of God such as tornadoes, floods,
inclement weather, congestion, etc.
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End-of-Train device (EOT)
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Device that is installed at the rear of the train to transmit information
to the train engineer
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Engineer
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Person who drives the train
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FIRMS
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Facility Information and Resources Management System. Code representing the location of the goods.
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Freight All Kinds (FAK)
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- General rate levels offered to various types of customers (domestic,
international, contract/non-contract holders) for transporting
intermodal shipments
- Freight in mixed shipments. Commodities representing 2 or more
major STCC groups, where it is impossible to determine the predominant
group.
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Fuel Surcharge
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Incremental charge added to a freight charge, separate from the
line-haul charge, to offset increases in fuel price against the
assumed cost of fuel in the initial freight charge
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Flat Car
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Freight car that has a floor without any housing or body above.
Frequently used to carry containers and/or trailers or oversized/odd-shaped
commodities. Three types of flat cars used in intermodal transportation
are conventional, spine and stack cars.
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Flip
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Transfer of a container from one chassis to another, from the ground
to a chassis or from a chassis to the ground
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Foreign
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All other railroads or belonging to another railroad
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FRA
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Federal Railroad Administration
The FRA is the branch of the DOT that establishes safety standards
for rail equipment. The FRA deals specifically with transportation
policy as it affects the nation's railroads and is responsible for
enforcement of rail safety laws.
Glossary Top
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Free Time
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Period allowed the owner of a rail container or trailer to accept
delivery before storage or detention charges begin to accrue
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Freight
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- Cargo or goods carried by a vehicle
- Shipment transported
- Compensation paid to a railroad for transporting a commodity
- Total charges for the rail shipment from the waybill origin
to the waybill destination. This does not include miscellaneous
charges such as a stop to partially unload.
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Freight Bill
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Statement given to the customer of charges for transportation.
This is information taken from the waybill.
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Freight Forwarder
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Person or organization that assembles small shipments into one
large shipment which is then tendered to a regulated over the road
carrier. Upon reaching destination, the shipment is separated into
small shipments and delivered.
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FSAC
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Freight Station Accounting Codes
5- or 6-digit reference numbers used by railroads in timetables
to identify their stations
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Gateway
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Station or point through which freight commonly moves from one
territory or carrier to another
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Gondola
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Freight car with sides and no roof
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Grade
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Degree of inclination of a railroad track or slope
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Grade crossing
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Crossing of highways, railroad tracks, or pedestrian walks or combinations
of these on the same level
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Grade Separation
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Highway or railroad crossing using an underpass or overpass
Glossary Top
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Hazardous Material
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Haz Mat
Substance or combination that because of its quantity, concentration,
or physical or chemical characteristics, may cause or significantly
pose a substantial hazard to human health or the environment when
improperly packaged, stored, transported, or otherwise managed
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Hopper car
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Freight car with its floor sloping to one or more doors designed
for unloading the contents (such as coal or ore) by gravity
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Horsepower (HP)
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Measure of power. One HP = The force that will raise 33,000 pounds
by 1 foot in 1 minute.
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Hump Yard
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Railroad classification yard in which the classification of cars
is accomplished by pushing them over a summit, known as hump, beyond
which they run by gravity
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Ingate
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- Location within an intermodal ramp where entering trucks are
inspected
- Process of checking a container or trailer into the intermodal
facility. The ingate process includes inspection of the unit,
reservation confirmation, the input of data into a computer system.
When delivering the vehicle to the facility, the drayman must
state the applicable shipper and destination
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Interchange
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Exchange of railcars between connecting railroads at specified
junction points
Glossary Top
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Interchange Agreement
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Agreement between a railroad and a drayage company that allows
a specific drayage company to drop off or pick up railroad or private
intermodal equipment at the said railroad's facilities. Also known
as an Equipment Interchange Agreement.
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Interline Freight
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Freight moving from point of origin to destination over two or
more transportation lines
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Interline Move
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Rail traffic moving over track belonging to two or more railroads,
with interline switching at the gateway
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Intermodal
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Mode of rail transportation that covers the multi-modal transportation
of trailers and/or containers by ship, rail, and truck
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Intermodal Association of North America (IANA)
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Industry trade association representing the combined interests
of intermodal freight transportation companies
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Intermodal Marketing Company (IMC)
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Company that purchases rail and truck transportation services,
uses equipment from multiple sources, and provides other value-added
services under a single freight bill to the ultimate shipper or
beneficial owner
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Intermodal Marketing Extension (IMX)
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Intermodal facility that provides over-the-road transportation
to and from a BNSF intermodal hub
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Interterminal Switching
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Switching move performed by two railroads. The first railroad moves
equipment from an industry, then interchanges equipment with the
second railroad for placement at an industry within the same terminal
switching limits
Glossary Top
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Joint-Line Move
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Move where one interline rate is applicable for the entire movement
from rail origin to rail destination on two or more railroads. It
is published in a single tariff under concurrence of participating
railroads. The rate includes all interchange charges unless otherwise
noted. Usually shipping instructions governing interline rates are
sent to the origin carrier who forwards the shipping instructions
to the other carriers in the route
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Junction
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Station where railroads interchange railcars at a common point
or within the switching limits over their own lines, or intermediate
line or lines
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Lading Tons
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Lading, Lading Weight, Tons or Tonnage
Freight volume in tons excluding the weight of the equipment it
moves in
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Landbridge
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Rail landbridge
Containerized marine traffic that is routed via rail across the
United States on traffic between the Far East and Europe/Canada
in lieu of all water routes
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Less Than Truckload (LTL)
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- Shipment that would not, by itself, fill the truck to capacity
by weight or volume
- Trucking carrier that only accepts multiple small shipments
for a single trailer
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Line Abandonment
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Discontinuation of service and maintenance on certain tracks or
line segments of a railroad subject to approval of appropriate federal
and state agencies
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Line Haul
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Movement of freight over tracks of a railroad from one station
to another (not a switching service). Also known as road haul.
Glossary Top
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Local Freight Train
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Train with an assigned crew that works between predesignated points.
Local trains handle the switching outside the jurisdiction of a
yard switcher.
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Local Move
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Traffic originating and terminating on a railroad's lines without
any interchange. The one carrier serves both the origin and destination
station.
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Loss and Damage
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"Normal" day-to-day losses and damages as a result of moving freight
such as vandalism, damage due to shipping or derailments and accidents.
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Maintenance of Way (MOW)
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Process of maintaining roadbed (rail, ties, ballast, bridges, etc.).
These materials are hauled in special maintenance of way cars, which
also include cars that are equipped with heavy equipment, such as
cranes and tie replacing machines.
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Manifest
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- Document listing the commodities within a vehicle and their
quantities
- Document listing all the railcars on a train and their contents
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Manifest Train
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Scheduled merchandise freight train
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Merchandise Train
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Freight train transporting freight other than bulk commodities
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MIB
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Master In-Bond
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Mileage Allowance
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Allowance based on mileage made by railroads to owners of privately
owned freight cars
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Multilevel Car
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Long flatcar designed with multiple levels for transporting finished
automobiles and trucks
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MVOC
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Master Vessel operating Carrier
Glossary Top
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NACS
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North American Container System
The North American Container System (NACS) is an Intermodal equipment
program designed to facilitate the free interchange of domestic
48’ and 53’ containers between member railroads. NACS is an "unbundled"
transportation product, meaning that transportation costs do not
include equipment detention costs. In other words, the customer
is responsible for detention charges when the equipment is not moving
on a participating NACS railroad system. Members of NACS program
include BNSF, CN, CSXI, KCS, NS and CP
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NITL
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National Industrial Transportation League or NIT League
National trade association of transportation providers
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Notification
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Arrival Notice or Notification
Notice furnished to the consignee of the arrival of freight
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Notify
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Process whereby the railroad informs the drayage provider or shipper
that a unit is available for pickup. The notification will place
the move in a destination dwell status.
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Notify Party
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Party notified at the time a container or trailer is grounded from
a train. Most notify parties are draymen.
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NVOCC
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Non-vessel operating common Carrier
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Off-line Event
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Shipments that occur on rail carriers other than BNSF
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Origin
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Station where rail movement begins
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"Out of route"
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Longer or less competitive route
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Outgate
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Process of checking a container or trailer out of an intermodal
facility. The process includes inspection of the unit, input of
data into a computer system. Draymen at the out gate must indicate
shipper, vehicle initial and number and assigned pick up security
number.
Glossary Top
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Peak Season
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Period of increased seasonal shipments on a railroad. Peak season
for intermodal shipments is defined as September 1 to December 15.
This coincides with the Thanksgiving and Christmas shipping season.
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Per Diem
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Charge made by a transportation line against another for the use
of its cars based on a fixed rate per day
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Per Diem Relief
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Nullification of a charge made by a transportation line against
another for the use of its cars
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Piece Count
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Number of individual cases, packages or bundles in an intermodal
trailer or container. This information is usually required when
the intermodal unit is crossing international boundaries.
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Piggyback
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Transportation of a highway trailer on a railroad flat car
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Placard
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Sign affixed to a rail car or truck, indicating the hazardous designation
of the product being transported in that vehicle
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Plus-car-kind
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3-digit generic car grouping used by the BNSF
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Prepaid
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In interline moves, the amount of transportation and other charges
are paid at the point of origin of the first rail carrier
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Price Authority
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One of the following types of pricing documents:
- Contract or Ancillary
- (Exempt) Quote or Special Quote
- Exempt Memorandum or Circular
- Tariff
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PTT
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Permit to Transfer
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Pup
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28-foot trailer, used mostly in less-than-truckload business
Glossary Top
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Rail Controlled
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System or Rail Controlled Equipment
Railcar, trailer, or container owned or controlled by a railroad
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Rail Foamer
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Person who is a rail fanatic. Rail foamers enjoy train watching
and keep railroad memorabilia.
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Rail Served
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Facility that has rail service directly to the property
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Ramp
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- Lifting of intermodal containers or trailers unto intermodal
flatcars by special lift machines
- Slang word for an intermodal terminal where trailers and containers
are lifted unto departing railcars or lifted off arriving railcars
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Ramp-to-Door
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Movement of lading from the intermodal ramp closest to the customer
to the receivers from door (dock)
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Ramp-to-Ramp
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Movement of lading from the intermodal ramp closest to the customer
to the closest intermodal ramp to the receiver
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Rebill
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Situation where an independent or separate waybill is issued for
each portion of a shipment rather than a single joint waybill, where
the shipment is interchanged among competing railroads. On rebill
traffic, a carrier’s waybill will identify either the actual origin
rail station or the actual destination rail station but not both.
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Receiver
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Consignee
Company receiving shipment at destination
Glossary Top
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Reefer
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Refrigerated boxcar
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Reconsignment
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- Reloading the contents of a railcar, van, or container at a
station to enable resorting for export or import
- Any change, other than a change in route, made in a consignment
before the arrival of goods at their billed destination
- Any change made in a consignment after the arrival of goods
at their billed destination when the change is accomplished under
conditions that make it subject to the reconsignment rules and
charges of the carrier
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Reciprocal Switching
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Switching done by competing railroads to place equipment to industries
located on the railroad
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R-EDI
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Rail industry’s PC-based software that lets a customer input a
bill of lading, which is then translated and transmitted as an EDI
404 transaction
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Regional Railroad
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Non-Class I, line-haul freight railroad that operates at least
350 miles of road and/or has operating revenues of at least $40
million
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REN
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Rate EDI Network
This is the system at the AAR (Railinc) through which railroads
electronically transmit freight transportation prices to each other.
Only the carriers participating in the route are able to access
confidential rates under the REN system.
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RIA
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Rail Industry Agreement
It is a six-part pact signed by AAR Class 1 railroads and the American
Shortline Association in 1998 that governs certain big railroads
and small railroad activities. These activities include car supply,
interchange services etc.
Glossary Top
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Right-Of-Way
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Roadway
Property owned by a railroad over which tracks have been laid
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Rule 11
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Type of interline shipment where each railroad bills the customer
separately. It is the default rate rule governing interline traffic
where a joint-line rate is unavailable. Rule 11 must be indicated
on the original bill of lading along with each price authority for
the rail carriers involved in the movement. A cross-town transfer
is not included on Rule 11 shipments that originate on BNSF.
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Rule 260 Junction
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5-byte On or off-junction station name
Connecting station name. This information represents the beginning
of service for intermediate and interline received rail shipments.
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Run-through Train
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Train interchanged between two roads with locomotive and cars
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Safety Rating
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DOT grants a safety rating to a carrier based primarily on a driver
safety program audit and accident frequency. Applicable ratings
are satisfactory, conditional and unsatisfactory.
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Safe Container Act (SCA)
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or Intermodal Safe Container Act
Federal Highway Administration act relating to overload intermodal
shipments. Under the act, carriers tendering shipments with actual
gross cargo weight of over 29,000 pounds (or 14.5 tons) can certify
the load by providing shipping instructions and other documents
with certain SCA elements. The elements include weight certification,
certifying party, certification date etc. The purpose is to minimize
overweight vehicles on the highway and provide recourse for a motor
carrier if fined for an overload shipment.
Glossary Top
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SCAC
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Standard Carrier Alpha Code
Code used for identifying truckers, railroads, and other conveyors
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Scoot
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Train that operates as a shuttle with as many cars as two engines
can haul
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Shipment Notification
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Notification that a shipment has physically departed the origin
that is shown on the waybill or physically arrived at the destination
on the waybill
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Shipper
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Consignor
Company or customer shipping via rail at origin
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Shipping Instructions
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Bill-of-Lading (BOL)
A shipping form that is both a receipt for property and a contract
for delivery of goods by a carrier. The principal bills of lading
are:
- Straight: A non-negotiable document. Surrender of the
original is not required upon delivery of the freight unless necessary
to identify consignee.
- Order: A negotiable document. Surrender of the original
property endorsed is required by transportation lines upon delivery
of the freight, in accordance with its terms.
- Clean: Either a Straight or Order Bill of Lading in which
the transportation company acknowledges receipt of the property
without noting any exceptions as to shortage or damage to the
property received
- Exchange: Bill of lading given in exchange for another
- Export: Bill of lading given to cover a shipment consigned
to some foreign country
- Government: Special form of bill of lading used in making
shipments for the account of the United States Government
Glossary Top
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Short Haul
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- Short move that is usually under1000 miles
- Process by which an interchange carrier changes gateways to
shorten the distance of the move for the other interchange carriers
and hence reduce revenues paid to them
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Shortline
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Small railroad that originates or terminate traffic and participates
in division of revenue. It is usually less than 100 miles in length.
It is usually affiliated with or sold by a major railroad. An example
of a BNSF shortline is Montana Rail Link (MRL).
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Shuttle
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- Expedited over-the-road service used for time-sensitive freight
to meet service goals
- Dedicated train set cars and locomotives that cycle continuously
between origins and destinations. For corn and wheat the trains
are 110 cars. Also known as a unit train.
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Sideloader
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Lift equipment used in intermodal ramps. Sideloaders lift containers
and trailers from the side of inbound or outbound trains rather
than overhead.
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Siding
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Track adjacent to a main or secondary track for meeting or passing
trains
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SNP
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Secondary Notify Party. Allows AMS participants to nominate up to eight other entities to receive a copy of the status notification for an individual bill of lading.
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Spine Car
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Lightweight articulated car that is assembled in permanent consists
of three or five platforms. Spine cars carry containers or trailers
in single stack configuration.
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SPLC
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Station Point Location Code
4-digit station location code
Glossary Top
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Spot
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To spot a car
Position a car in a designated position or location usually for
loading or unloading. This is usually at a customer location.
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Spur
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A track extending out from the main track that usually serves customers
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Stack Car
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Well car
Intermodal flat car specifically designed to place one container
on top of another for better utilization and economics. Also referred
to as a well car because the cars are depressed in the center to
allow clearance of the double stacked containers when moving under
low-lying structures. A single well stack car has a tare weight
of about 27.2 tons.
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Staggers Act
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Passed by Congress in 1980, the Staggers Rail Act deregulated the
rail industry and greatly enhanced the railroad industry's ability
to compete with other modes of transportation.
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Standing Spotting Instructions (SSI)
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Contains data used by the waybill system to determine the proper
standing spotting instructions from a consignee so that cars will
be sent to correct destination. That instruction is then written
to the waybill for routing to the proper delivery road, zone-track-spot,
care of party, etc.
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Station 3-3-3
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9-byte abbreviated station name
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Station Master
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Book or file containing consolidated rail station numbers and names
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Surface Transportation Board (STB)
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Independent governmental adjudicatory body administratively housed
within the DOT, responsible for the economic regulation of interstate
surface transportation, primarily railroads, within the United States.
The STB's mission is to ensure that competitive, efficient, and
safe transportation services are provided to meet the needs of shippers,
receivers, and consumers.
Glossary Top
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STCC
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Standard Transportation Commodity Code
7-digit reference code for every commodity shipped in transportation
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Storage Charge
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Charge assigned to the shipper or consignee for holding containers
or trailers at an intermodal terminal beyond the free time allotted
to them
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Storage Track
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Auxiliary track used for storage
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Street Time
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Time a container or trailer is away from the possession of the
railroad
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Street Interchange
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Transfer of financial responsibility of a unit from one trucking
carrier to another on a date and time specified by the drayage firm
in control of that container or by an IMC that has financial responsibility
for that particular container
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Switching
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Movement of freight cars between two close locations. Typically
invovles moving cars within a yard or from specific industry locations
to a yard for placement on a train or vice versa.
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Switch Fees
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Railroads charge switch fees to other railroads it allows into
a facility it serves. Unabsorbed charges will be added to the freight
bill.
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System Equipment
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Equipment owned or leased by a railroad. Each railroad considers
its own equipment as system equipment
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Tank Car
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Any car used only for transporting liquids, liquefied gases, compressed
gases, or solids that are liquefied or compressed prior to loading
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Tare Weight
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Tare
Weight of clean, empty equipment, i.e., the car contains no lading
or packing and debris resulting from the lading
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Tariff
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Pricing document that covers strictly regulated shipments. Each
tariff is public record and is on file with the STB. These documents
are usually not customer specific and are often used as reference
for other prices created by a carrier. Tariffs allow customers to
get consistency in pricing by comparing their situation to existing
prices on record.
Glossary Top
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Team Track
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Side track on which cars are placed for the use of the public in
loading or unloading of freight
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Terminal
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Railroad facility used for handling freight and the receiving,
classifying, assembling and dispatching of trains
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Terminal Dwell Time
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Average hours a car is at the specified terminal location expressed
in hours. The measurement begins with a customer release, received
interchange, or train arrival event and ends with a customer placement
(actual or constructive), delivered interchange, or train departure
event. Heavy, bad ordered, stored, and maintenance of way cars are
generally excluded from the calculation.
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Thru-Rate
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Rate applicable from point of origin to point of destination. It
may be a joint rate or a combination of two or more rates.
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Trackage Rights
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Rights that a railroad secures with a competing railroad to move
freight over the foreign road's trackage. The home road pays per
car and mileage fees to the foreign road for trackage rights payments.
The home road uses its own locomotives, crews, fuel etc.
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Track and Trace
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Process of monitoring freight order, freight car or shipment through
its transportation lifecycle. This includes events such as train
arrival, train departure, shipment notification etc.
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Track Lease
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Customer may lease track from a railroad to spot or store their
cars. The railroad usually maintains the track at the customer’s
expense.
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Trailer
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Van
Rectangular shaped box with permanent wheels attached for the transport
of goods on rail, highway, or a combination of both
Glossary Top
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Trailing Ton
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Total lading tons and tare tons of a train
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Transit
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Time that a unit is on the railroad. Intermodal transit starts
from the ingate load at origin and goes until the notification at
destination. Transit calculates the amount of time a railroad was
in possession of a unit and how long it took to ship that unit from
point A to point B.
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Transload
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Facility used for transferring shipments from truck to rail and
vice versa
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Transshipment
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Shipments transferred from one transportation line to another,
particularly from rail to a water carrier or vice versa
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Truckload (TL)
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- Shipment that fills a trailer or a container to its maximum
capacity, either by weight or volume
- Carrier that accepts only truckload shipments
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TTX
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Railcar leasing company
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Unit
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- Carload unit (for non-intermodal traffic)
- Trailer or container unit (for intermodal traffic)
- Measure of rail volume
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Unit Train
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Freight trains moving great tonnages of a single bulk product between
two points without intermediate yarding and switching. Such trains
cut costs because they eliminate intermediate stops in yards and
reduce cycle times. Also known as a shuttle.
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USDA
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United States Department of Agriculture
Glossary Top
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Want Date
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Date and time that a rail shipment is wanted at a customer location
Glossary Top
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Waybill
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Document covering a shipment. A waybill shows the forwarding and
receiving station, the names of consignor and consignee, the car
initials and number, the routing, the description and weight of
the commodity, instructions for special services, the rate, total
charges, advances and waybill reference for previous services and
the amount prepaid. Created from shipping instructions.
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Yard
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System of tracks with defined local boundaries, which provides
for the making up of trains, storing of cars and other related functions
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Yard Block
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Group of cars classified for movement to the same yard
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Yard Move
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Train or rail cars ordered to move from one location to another
in a rail yard
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Zero Mileage
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Car hire for privately owned freight cars that do not earn any
mileage allowance to be paid to the private car owner
Glossary Top
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