For a land mass as big as North America, sometimes, the most effective way to transport goods isn’t by road or by air, but by rail. For generations, freight trains have been a vital logistics lifeline for the continent, bringing goods from one coast to the other, but that doesn’t mean it works flawlessly all the time, or that you shouldn’t invest in protection like cold chain packaging. Freight trains can, and do, get delayed, and here are some of the reasons why.
Read more: Freight Trains Aren’t Immune To DelaysWeather Events
Just like air freight or trucks, trains may be vulnerable to extreme weather events; however, the types of events that affect freight trains are fewer and different from those affecting other modes of transportation. However, severe storms, such as winter storms, tornadoes, or hurricanes, can have a huge impact on freight trains, especially if these weather events cause damage or blockage to the tracks these vehicles use. As with trucks, trains require a clear path to move, and a damaged or blocked track doesn’t just affect one train, but all the trains behind it. This can become even more problematic on the more isolated portions of a route, such as going through the mountains. An avalanche blocking a critical tunnel is going to spell trouble for everyone.
Mechanical Failures
Freight trains in North America are the “workhorses” of the continent, and they are not often upgraded or replaced. Some of the largest freight lines can extend for up to three miles worth of cars, using three or more engines to carry the load. If there is a breakdown in a car, or worse yet, in the train engines, this can stall the entire freight line, which may extend for miles. This is not helped by the fact that freight trains aren’t necessarily meticulously maintained, nor are they frequently replaced with new, improved models. Some freight trains are still in use even though they are over 50 years old, because it is often cheaper to repair and maintain individual parts than to invest in a brand new vehicle. And if the breakdown is to something ancillary, like a reefer unit car, cold chain packaging is essential to protect temperature-sensitive products.
Poor Management
Finally, there is the human element. As with air freight that relies on air traffic management, and personnel in storage and loading, or trucks that require drivers, freight trains are reliant on smooth organization at the train yard to get out safely and on schedule. All it takes is poor decision-making or work at the rail yard itself to delay trains from leaving. But even once they’re out of the rail yard, they still may rely on switching decisions later in their route to stay on schedule. Even if a train is on schedule, if another is behind schedule, forcing the rail switching to change to accommodate it, this will have a knock-on, domino effect. That can have a huge impact on all the other trains, causing delays for everyone.
If you’re shipping products that require cold chain packaging and want to know which shipping method will safely transport them to their destination, we can help. Contact us to discuss your shipping needs and obtain a quote.
