| AAR: |
Association of American Railroads
|
| Bad order: |
Taking a railcar out of
service for repair. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
guidelines must be adhered to by all railroads. All railcars,
as well as locomotives, are inspected for safety violations; if
a defect is detected, the car is tagged to prevent further
line-of-road movement until necessary repairs are made. Most
repairs are made by Mechanical Department personnel in Car Shop
areas; some defects can be corrected in the train yard or along
line-of-road. “Bad orders” can create unexpected delays.
|
| Bill of
Lading: |
Legal document which authorizes a
railroad to move a loaded railcar; in effect, the
contract between the shipper and the railroad covering movement
of the railcar, whether empty or loaded. |
| Car pool: |
Assignment method of keeping
a customer supplied with the same rail cars. |
|
COFC:* |
Container On Flat Car. Also referred to as an “intermodal or
piggyback” shipment. |
|
Collect:
|
Indicates freight charges
will be billed by destination railroad. If the receiver has credit
with the destination railroad, the railcar can be delivered upon
arrival; otherwise, payment must be made prior to delivery. |
|
Commodity:
|
The product being
shipped. |
|
CP: |
“Constructive
Placement” means that a car has been offered to a customer but the
customer is unable to accept delivery. Charges can be assessed
unless it is a private car placed on private property. |
|
Cut of cars: |
Any number of railcars is a group. |
|
Demurrage: |
The monetary penalty
for not releasing a car before the free time is up. The A&O
assesses demurrage charges based upon criteria outlined in public
demurrage tariffs. Privately owned or leased cars are not subject
to demurrage when spotted on private tracks. |
|
Diversion: |
The changing of a destination of a railcar by the shipper while
it is in route. Charges apply. (Do not confuse with
“reconsignment”) |
|
FRA:
|
Federal Railroad
Administration |
|
Hazmat: |
Hazardous Materials. Such loads are identified and labeled
by the government and require special handling, paperwork,
railcar types, etc. |
|
High-Wide: |
Outsized (height or width exceeding standards) or overweight
loads. |
|
Idler car:
|
An empty flat car
coupled to one or more railcars carrying an overhanging load.
|
|
Line of road: |
Refers to track between terminals. |
|
Mode: |
The type of transportation
(i.e., rail, truck, ship, barge, air, or pipeline. Note:
Intermodal refers to a combination of modes utilized to
transport commodity from origin to destination. |
|
Per diem: |
The daily fee charged by a railroad when a railcar owned by that
railroad is on another railroad’s track. |
|
Prepaid: |
The origin railroad will bill the customer at the time the
railcar is shipped. Industry standard requires payment of
the freight bill within 15 days of date of mailing.
|
|
Private cars: |
Rail cars now owned or leased by
railroads. These bear other than railroad reporting marks.
A railcar with owner initials including an “X” indicates it is a
private car. |
|
Reconsignment: |
The changing of the consignee after the railcar has reached the terminal
area of its destination. |
|
Reporting marks: |
The owner initials painted on
locomotives or railcars followed by number identification. |
|
Route/Routing: |
The legal direction as to exactly how a railcar will move from origin to
destination. The alpha code assigned to each railroad the
car will move over, along with junction city if more than one
railroad is involved, is included in the “route” for each
movement. |
|
STB: |
Surface Transportation Board and the Federal government’s
railroad regulatory body. |
|
STCC: |
“Standard Transportation Commodity Code” is a 7-digit number
assigned to each particular commodity. An additional
7-digit number is assigned to hazardous commodities. It is
cross-referenced alphabetically and numerically in a national
tariff publication. The STCC number must be shown on all bills of lading. |
|
Switching: |
Indicates the movement of railcars into or out of trains and/or
industries. |
|
Team Track: |
A track located on railroad property where anyone can load or
unload a railcar without charge. Restrictions may apply;
check with Marketing Department. |
|
TOFC:*
|
Trailer On Flat Car. Also
referred to as an “intermodal or piggyback” shipment |
|
Transit Time: |
The time it takes for a railcar to move between cities. Most often
this does not include time at terminals |
|
Unit Train: |
Refers to the movement of 25 or more carloads of one commodity
at one time from origin to destination. |
|
* Note: The A&O does not handle
TOFC or COFC shipments. |
