Freight Rail Links Multifaceted North Carolina Economy to Global Marketplace
Freight rail connects the Tar Heel State’s ports, power plants, farms, mines and manufacturers to markets across the nation and worldwide. Continuous investment and innovation from railroads will take center stage as North Carolina carves out its place in an ever more integrated global supply chain.
North Carolina’s 22 freight railroads operate over 3,161 miles of track and employ 2,141 in the Tar Heel State.* It would have taken approximately 5.2 million additional truckloads to move the 93.6 million tons of freight that moved by rail in North Carolina in 2017. Intermodal and waste and scrap comprise the majority of freight rail shipments beginning in North Carolina. Coal is the largest rail import to the state.
*2017 data
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Featured Rail Advocates
North Carolina
43 percent
decrease
in rail rates, 1981-2014.
That means the average rail customer today can ship nearly twice as much freight for about the same price it paid more than 30 years ago.
State Director
North Carolina
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