Empire State’s Economy Rides on Freight Rail
In the 19th century, it was railroads that united small towns and big cities, farms and factories, truly making New York the Empire State. From Long Island to Western New York and the North Country – and everywhere in between – freight rail still supports businesses and drives innovation and economic opportunity for New Yorkers.
New York’s 37 freight railroads operate over 3,279 miles of track and employ 2,909 in the Empire State.* It would have taken approximately 3.6 million additional truckloads to move the 64.5 million tons of freight that moved by rail in New York in 2017. Intermodal and waste and scrap materials make up the majority of freight rail shipments beginning in New York. Intermodal shipments and chemicals are the state’s largest rail imports.
*2017 data
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New York
4x
more fuel efficient
than trucks.
Moving freight by rail instead of trucks reduces greenhouse gas emissions an average of 75 percent.
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