Railroad Logistics

Trains are used throughout the country to transport people and materials. Rail transportation offers a significant economic advantage over trucks when shipping freight long distances. Using trains to move freight is not only less expensive, it’s better for the environment, since trains consume less fuel than trucks.

Railcars come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including boxcars, refrigerator cars, tankers, hopper cars, and gondola cars. A freight planner determines which type of car is best for transporting particular materials and how much material can fit into each railcar.

At stops along the way, the train picks up and drops off railcars. Freight planners also decide the order in which the cars are attached to the engine. Removing the last car on the train is easiest. When possible, the cars to be left at a particular stop should be the last cars. In this project, you will be the freight planner. You will compute the volume of materials to be transported and figure out how many cars are needed to carry the freight to its destination. Let’s get started, there’s a lot to do before the train leaves the station.