Tennessee | GoRail

State Rail Network

Class I Railroads

BNSF Railway	137
Canadian National	157
Canadian Pacific Kansas City	5
CSX Transportation	976
Norfolk Southern	718
Union Pacific	17
Total	2,010

Short Line Railroads

Caney Fork and Western Railroad	61
Chattooga & Chickamauga Railway	1
East Tennessee Railway	7
Grenada Railroad	10
Heritage Railroad Corp.	7
Knoxville & Holston River Railroad	26
Knoxville and Cumberland Gap Railroad	128
KWT Railway	82
Mississippi Central Railroad	4
Mississippi Tennessee Railroad	1
R. J. Corman Railroad – Memphis Line	36
R. J. Corman Railroad – Tennessee Terminal	22
R.J. Corman Railroad – Nashville & Eastern Line	145
R.J. Corman Railroad – Nashville & Western Line	20
Sequatchie Valley Switching	8
South Central Tennessee Railroad	52
Tennessee Southern Railroad	129
Tennken Railroad	43
Union City Terminal Railroad	8
Walking Horse Railroad	8
West Tennessee Railroad	178

Total	976

2022 Source: Association of American Railroads (AAR). Data represents most recent available annual reporting.

Moving Tennessee's Economy. Connecting Communities.

With multiple state-of-the-art intermodal yards and a solid grounding in the “four R’s” of rail, road, river and runway, Memphis is challenging Chicago as the nation’s principal rail hub.

Originating

Top Commodities Originating

Intermodal 4.7M Tons | 346K Cars

Stone, Clay & Glass Products 1.8M Tons | 17.8K Cars

Chemicals 1.7M Tons | 19.2K Cars

Food Products 1.1M Tons | 11.5K Cars

Steel Products 0.8M Tons | 8.7K Cars

Other 4.2M Tons | 83.8K Cars

Received

Top Commodities Received / Terminated

Chemicals 4.6M Tons | 49K Cars

Intermodal 4.5M Tons | 373.3K Cars

Farm Products 2.8M Tons | 26.8K Cars

Food Products 2.6M Tons | 27K Cars

Coal 2.6M Tons | 23.2K Cars

Other 6.6M Tons | 86.6K Cars

TENNESSEE'S

State Grants

Short Line Railroad Preservation Grant Program

Rail

Why Freight Rail Matters

Supports Manufacturing

Rail connects manufacturers with suppliers and customers across North America, efficiently moving raw materials and finished goods.

Strengthens Agriculture

Rail helps move crops, forest products, fertilizers and other agricultural goods efficiently and affordably.

Reduces Congestion

Moving freight by rail removes trucks from highways, helping reduce traffic and wear on road infrastructure.

Protects the Environment

Freight rail is significantly more fuel efficient than moving freight by truck, helping reduce fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Rail at Work

See All

Policy Issues

Op-ed: Congress should not put Tennessee’s freight network at risk

Nashville, TN — RJ Gibson, Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry, discusses federal rail policy and freight…

Advocacy

Rep. Burchett Tours Timken Facility in Tennessee

MASCOT, TENN. — U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (TN-02), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and its railroad subcommittee, toured the Timken facility…

Safety

FRA Data Shows Major Rail Safety Gains in 2025

Washington, D.C. – New data from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) shows 2025 was a historic year for freight rail safety. Accident and injury rates…