Goods Train

A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (UIC) hauled by a locomotive on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain. Trains may haul bulk, intermodal containers or specialized cars. Under the right circumstances, freight transport by rail is more economic and energy efficient than by road, especially when carried in bulk or over long distances. Rail freight is often subject to transshipment costs since it must be transferred from one mode to another in the chain; these costs may dominate and practices such as containerization aim at minimizing these. Bulk is less susceptible, with distances down to thirty kilometers (twenty miles) sufficient to cover transshipment costs. Freight trains are less flexible than road transport, and much freight has been transferred from rail to road or sea.