Shipping Heavy Equipment By Rail – Understanding The Basics

If you need to ship heavy equipment and are exploring options for cost-effective transportation, you may be considering using rail shipping rather than a flatbed truck. But is sending heavy equipment by rail a good idea? What can you expect if you choose this shipment method? In this guide from A-1 AT, we’ll discuss everything you need to know, and help you decide if dispatching heavy equipment by railing is a good choice for you.

Heavy Equipment Pricing & Time To Ship Examples

How Does Shipping Heavy Equipment By Rail Work?

The process of shipping machinery by rail is fairly easy to understand. You find a rail carrier willing to ship your vehicle, transport it to a freight station, and load it onto a train. Then, it will be shipped to your destination. Depending on the end destination for your shipment, you may also need to hire a flatbed truck for last-mile hauling from the rail freight station.

Shipping heavy equipment by rail is quite common. While it’s rare to find a rail shipper willing to ship smaller vehicles like cars and pickup trucks individually, heavy-duty equipment is large, bulky, and ideal for shipping on a flatbed rail car.

In most cases, flatbed rail cars are the best method for sending heavy machinery by rail, unless you’re dispatching smaller pieces of machinery that can fit in a standard cargo container. These rail cars are similar to the flatbeds you’d find on a tractor-trailer, though they’re usually a bit larger.

It’s sometimes possible to fit two pieces of machinery onto a single flatbed rail car – but in most cases, you’ll only be able to fit one piece of machinery per flatbed car, so you should prepare accordingly.

Why Should I Use Rail Shipping For Heavy Equipment?

Rail shipping for heavy equipment can sometimes be cheaper than using a flatbed and a tractor-trailer. Though this is not always the case, it’s always a good idea to check the price of hauling your gear by rail because you could save a significant amount of time and money in some cases.

As mentioned in the previous section, rail moving is not typical for small private vehicles like cars and trucks, because it’s not cost-effective. However heavy and bulky machinery is much more common because trains are much more suitable for shipping extremely heavy loads, including oversize loads.

However, it should be pointed out that rail delivery for machinery is not always cheaper than hiring a freight-hauling company to ship your kit using a tractor-trailer and a flatbed. The cost depends on how near you are to major rail moving points, your equipment's route, and various other factors.

It’s a good idea to consider rail shipping and overland shipping with a truck and compare each method's cost, timeframe, and other benefits.

How Much Will It Cost To Ship My Heavy Equipment By Rail?

The cost will be different for each shipment. Several factors can affect how much you’ll pay to ship your gear, such as its overall weight and dimensions, whether or not it’s an oversized load, how far it’s being shipped, and more. Let’s take a deeper look at these factors now.

• Weight & dimensions – Depending on the size of your machinery and machinery, you may need one or more flatbed rail cars. Each flatbed has a set maximum weight capacity, so even if you could fit multiple pieces of machinery on a single flatbed, they may need to be split up if they exceed this capacity.
• Oversize load—Oversize load fees are not as high in rail transport as they are in trucking, but they still require specialized rail cars and precautions. Typically, each rail conveyance company has a different definition of an oversized load, so you can get further details about oversized loads when getting a quote.
• Distance of shipment – Just like any other conveyance method, the cost of sending your heavy equipment by rail is significantly affected by the distance of your shipment.
• Border crossing—Sending equipment to Canada or Mexico will incur additional customs fees and other costs, so inquire about these costs when getting a quote from a rail transport provider.
• Additional freight services – If you cannot transport your machinery to the rail freight station yourself or retrieve it from the destination rail freight station, you’ll need to factor in the cost of hiring a flatbed truck to ship your equipment to and from the rail station.

How Long Does It Take To Ship Heavy Equipment By Rail?

In most cases, it will take slightly longer to ship heavy equipment by rail than it would to ship a piece of machinery directly using a truck and a flatbed. Trains operate on a fixed schedule, and unlike trucks, they are not a “point-to-point” delivery system.

In other words, with rail hauling, you must first ship your machinery to the freight station, load it onto the train, and then unload it at its destination. And once it arrives at the final freight station, you’ll have to hire a last-mile shipping company to haul it to the final destination.

In contrast, a truck can pick your machinery up at your chosen site, load it, drive to the destination, and unload it. This leads to faster overall transit time since there is less downtime, and the truck can load your equipment at your specified pick-up and drop-off point.

However, rail transportation is still a great option if time is not a serious concern. Because trains run on set schedules, the estimated shipping time for your heavy machinery is much more accurate, and it will always be delivered to its destination on time. As mentioned above, hauling heavy equipment by rail is very cost-effective—particularly for very large, bulky, and oversize loads.

Want To Ship Machinery By Rail? Contact A-1 AT Now

At A-1 Auto Transport, we specialize in intermodal hauling. We can help you haul machinery by rail, truck, and even internationally with maritime transport. If you’re interested in learning more, call (888) 230-9116 to speak to an agent now and explore your shipping options for heavy equipment.