page_title: Double-stack rail transport
section_title: North America
hierarchical_section_title: Double-stack rail transport / Operations / North America
caption_attribution_description: English: DTTX 724681, a portion of a Pacer Stacktrain (Concord, CA) 5-unit container car (a specialized type of gondola) seen passing through Rochelle Railroad Park, Rochelle, Illinois, on May 29, 2005. Photo by Sean Lamb (User:Slambo)
context_page_description: Double-stack rail transport is a form of intermodal freight transport where railroad cars carry two layers of intermodal containers. Introduced in North America in 1984, double stack has become increasingly common there, being used for nearly seventy percent of United States intermodal shipments. Using double stack technology, a freight train of a given length can carry roughly twice as many containers, sharply reducing transport costs per container. On most North American railroads, special well cars are used for double-stack shipment to reduce the needed vertical clearance and to lower the center of gravity of a loaded car. In addition, the well car design reduces damage in transit and provides greater cargo security by cradling the lower containers so their doors cannot be opened. A succession of larger container sizes have been introduced to further increase shipping productivity on shipments within North America.
  Double-stack rail operations are growing in other parts of the world, but are often constrained by clearance and other infrastructure limitations.
context_section_description: Intermodal containers shipped by rail within North America are primarily 53 feet (16.15 m) long, with trailer-on-flat-car (TOFC) units used as well. The 53-foot length reflects a common maximum length for highway semi-trailers, which varies by state. Major domestic intermodal carriers include:
  JB Hunt
  Swift
  Schneider National
  Hub Group
  Containers shipped between North America and other continents consist of mostly 40-foot (12.19 m) and some 45-foot (13.72 m) and 20-foot (6.10 m) containers. Container ships only take 40's, 20's and also 45's above deck. 90% of the containers that these ships carry are 40-footers and 90% of the world's freight moves on container ships; so 81% of the world's freight moves by 40-foot containers. Most of these 40-foot containers are owned by non-U.S. companies like Maersk, MSC, and CMA CGM. The only U.S. 40-foot container companies are leasing companies like Textainer, Triton International, and CAI Leasing.
  Low bridges and narrow tunnels in various locations prevent the operation of double-stack trains until costly upgrades are made. Some Class I railroad companies in the U.S., often in partnership with government agencies, have implemented improvement programs to remove obstructions to double-stack trains. Double-stack projects include:
  Heartland Corridor (Norfolk Southern Railway) — $320 million
  Norfolk Southern Crescent Corridor — $2.5 billion (estimate)
  National Gateway (CSX Transportation) — $700 million 
  Commonwealth Railway — $69 million
  Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program — $3 billion (estimate)
  Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel proposed to connect rail freight lines in New Jersey with Long Island, New York. — $10–14 billion (estimate)
  Continental Rail Gateway (Canadian Pacific Railway), proposed tunnel between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario to replace the existing Michigan Central Railway Tunnel. — $400 million
caption: Part of a double-stack train, with 53-foot containers
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