How long does is take to load or unload a typical intermodal trailer of container train? I have heard anywhere between 35 min. to 9 hrs.
It all depends on the length, priority, location of loading, and unloading, and if it is single stack or double stack.
I would think at least a day most likely more. Especially those big mama’s that BNSF, and UP runs.
Justin
How many cars and containers are on the typical BNSF or UP train - 280? I found this on a German website for the port of Hamburg:
The container terminal Burchardkai (CTB) of HHLA is the largest and oldest facility for container handling in the port of Hamburg on an area of 1.6 square kilometers. CTB handles one of three containers for the port of Hamburg, or about 2.6 million standard containers per year. 5,000 vessels moor here every year. Modern twin-Forty-container cranes can load or unload
The biggest detirminant in how long it takes is the number of un/loading machines that are in use on the train at the same time. More machines, less time required.
It generally takes an 2 hours to unload 8,000 feet and 2 hours to reload the same 8000 feet , but generally you are looking 6 hours because you need to get the train inspected and Bad Ordered cars repaired . Granted it can be a lot shorter but it generally it is 5 to 6 hours .
So how many containers is that 8000 feet of train?
It depends , if it is all double stacked 40 foot or larger containers usually about 270 to 280 containers ,
If there are all 2 20 foot containers on the bottom and a 40 foot or larger container on top over 400 containers
Wow, that is fast, 140 containers per hour.
Shouldn’t the Bad Ordered cars be already repaired before they start loading the train? How long does it take to inspect a train?
Why don’t they put AEI reader cards on the sides of trailers/containers to make organiztion in the yard better and speed up to whole process?
Generally if you have 4 inspectors it will take about an hour maybe a little more to inspect 8000 feet .
Yes Bad Orders have to be repaired before the car is loaded and usually the loaders work around the Bad Orders , and in some cases a Bad Ordered car has to be set out , to wait on a particular part or a repair that will take longer than the alotted time to get the repair completed .
They don’t really need AEI tags on the containers and Chassis , the loaders are pretty efficent and they use a very good computer system in their trucks that track every load .
Look closely and you may find that they’re already there…
That said - it’s probably like sending out a sonar ping in the middle of a minefield - you’ll get back hundreds of responses. Sometimes the eyes work best.
In most terminals at present, as soon as cars are emptied they are reloaded…inspectors will begin inspecting parts of the train upon arrival. Cars are not moved from the points where they are unloaded to a different reloading point…they stay at the same location and are reloaded where they stand. If bad orders are detected that cannot be reloaded, they will be identified and not reloaded, they will have to be switched out of the track for a trip to the shop track (most discovered defects can be repaired on site and the car can be reloaded).
Presumably you’re asking about piggyback trailers / TOFC, and / or COFC - either single-level or double-stack; neither RoadRailer nor CP’s Exxpressway/ Iron Highway type operations.
It would also depend on the capabilities of the loading/ unloading equipment - the giant portal/ gantry cranes, the smaller Travelifts, or a PiggyPacker type unit ?
Are they just being set on the ground - unlikley with the 1st 2, but possible with a PiggyPacker ?
And in the latter case - how far does it have to carry the container ?
How available are either the yard tractor/ hostler and/ or over-the-road truck drivers to then move out the unloaded containers to clear the area for t
Folks within BNSF quote 3 hrs to strip and re-load a TOFC train and 6 hrs with a COFC train.
You’ll usually see 2-4 cranes working a given train and could be a dozen hostlers. BNSF uses pretty much 100% gantry / straddle cranes.
At Corwith in Chicago on a given day, you might see 8 cranes and 50 hostlers running around.
The planner sets up the train, assigns boxes within their planning system then that gets communicated electronically to an in-cab device to the hoster (i.e. pick up box trailer xyz and place next to rail car TTRX … on track 111. ) when the hostler shows that complete, it flips to the work queue of the crane operator to lift onto the same car. Once the crane operator shows that complete, the customer gets an EDI message (CLM) indicating the trailer has been loaded. The system measures hostler productivity, crane operator productivity, etc.
For unloading, the crane just sets them down beside the car and the hostler does the rest, hence the greater # of hostlers per crane, but the greater productivity of the crane in terms of units. With COFC, the hostler is pulling loads up and are removing bare chassis, if its the first deck. For the 2nd deck, the chassis “can” stay at trackside if a COFC train is inbound to that track after the current train departs. Pool chassis would make that part easier.
Figure about 2 minutes per box per unloading machine on the average.
Something not mentioned by the responders is at some ramps where a lot of international boxes are handled is having to mate the correct chassis to the incoming box. If the previously loaded boxes were Mearsk,K-Line, & OOCL 40 footers and you need NYK & OOCL 20’s and Cosco 40’s, then the chassis have to be moved to storage and the correct ones spotted. Other factors include whether there is a chassis pool for multiple shippers, but irregardless, you still have to make sure the correct chassis mates with the correct box.It is a lot easier to spot for a train full of domestic & JB Hunt containers. The railroads maintains a pool for EMP, Hub, etc.boxes and Hunt maintains their own pool. If a train has a lot of TOFC, then that is even easier. Though in my experience, when working a lot of TOFC, the jockeys may be stripping and spotting a different track from the one being unloaded so as not to interfere with the cranes or packers. Also, the truckers may pull some of the trailers away from the track, especially UPS, and anything the jockey doesn’t have to touch can save their time for other work. Also, an overhead crane is usually faster than a sideloader, but I can attest to the fact that a really good sideloader operator can match the speed of a crane. I hope this helped a little.
I work a fairly big yard in Illinois (CN Harvey) it takes us about 30 mins to an hour to unload, when we load it can’t take up to 3 hours. Our first train in the morning is a god 4 miles long I wana say, but it depends on how many people are working on the train once the first car is cleared of inbound we start to bring out outbound. Sometimes we have to wait for containers to get there. Priority is first to go in this order UPS, J.b. Hunt, FedEx, Schneider, and after those it’s what ever else can be loaded on.
We just had an analysis of this with Fred Frailey’s story in the December issue. Fred’s 24 Hours at the BNSF Willow Springs yard, which handles only the premium cargos for its Z trains, paints a vivid picture.
When you read Fred’s story you will see that there are many forseeable variables, with unforseeable Items occasionaly having influence. And one might conclude that there is no 'typical" TOFC/COFC load or train after reading the story.
Which is typical railroading, anywhere, anytime. It’s the same thing every day but no two days are ever the same.
Every day has it’s own set of problems that must be solved in real time to keep the operation moving and fluid.