Rail [beta]
With intermodal rail tracking enabled, container milestones reported by the railways will be included in the API's reference update payload, providing comprehensive insights into the shipment process
With Vizion, you can track cargo on Class I railways across North America and seamlessly monitor your containers' entire journey within a consolidated API response. There's no need to create separate transactions for ocean and rail tracking.
A significant portion of US ocean import shipments doesn't end at marine terminals; rather, they're transported by rail to inland facilities. This occasionally results in visibility gaps, particularly when marine terminals lack significant Last Free Date or availability events.
We are filling in those gaps and providing you with real-time visibility, even in tight windows like inland rail yards where free time is more strict. Avoid demurrage headaches by staying informed every step of the way.
Supported railways
| Name | Support | Location | Events Available | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Pacific | Beta | North America | "Arrival, Departure, Discharge, ETA to Inland Destination, Equipment Available, Interchange, Last Free Day, Load" | |
| BNSF | Beta | North America | "Arrival, Departure, Discharge, ETA to Inland Destination, Equipment Available, Interchange, Last Free Day, Load" | |
| Norfolk Southern | Beta | North America | "Arrival, Departure, Discharge, ETA to Inland Destination, Equipment Available, Interchange, Last Free Day, Load" | |
| CSX | Beta | North America | "Arrival, Departure, Discharge, ETA to Inland Destination, Equipment Available, Interchange, Last Free Day, Load" | "ETA, Available and LFD Require Ocean MBL #" |
| Canadian National | Beta | North America | "Arrival, Departure, Discharge, ETA to Inland Destination, Interchange, Last Free Day, Load" | |
| Canadian Pacific | Beta | North America | "Arrival, Departure, Discharge, ETA to Inland Destination, Interchange, Last Free Day, Load" | |
| Kansas City Southern | Requires LOA | North America |
Rail events
With intermodal rail tracking enabled, container milestones reported by the railways will now be included in the API's reference update payload. Below, you will find the full list of milestone events that will be linked to a rail event within an API reference update payload in the order that they would typically occur.
| Railway Milestone Event Name | Railway Milestone Event Description |
|---|---|
| Container available for pickup | The container has been cleared of holds and can be out-gated from the facility |
| Discharged from rail | Container has been discharged from rail, but the facility's relationship to the shipment is unknown |
| Discharged from rail at inland destination | Container has been discharged from rail at its terminal rail station. This is likely where the container will be picked up by truck |
| Discharged from rail at interchange facility | Container has been discharged from rail at an interchange facility. It will be loaded onto a new rail car, and possibly transferred from one operator to another (e.g., Union Pacific -> Norfolk Southern) |
| Free time to expire | Last date the container can remain on the railway premises before incurring demurrage charges |
| Loaded on rail | Container has been loaded on a railcar, but the facility's relationship to the shipment is unknown |
| Loaded on rail at destination port | Container has been loaded on a railcar at its final marine terminal |
| Loaded on rail at interchange facility | Container has been loaded on a railcar at an interchange facility. This could be a transfer from one railcar to another by the same operator (e.g. Union Pacific), or it could be a transfer from one operator to another (e.g., Union Pacific -> Norfolk Southern) |
| Rail arrival | The railcar moving a container has arrived at a facility, but the facility's relationship to the shipment is unknown |
| Rail arrival at inland destination | The railcar moving a container has arrived at its terminal rail station |
| Rail arrival at interchange facility | The railcar moving a container has arrived at an interchange facility and will be discharged to be loaded onto another railcar |
| Rail arrived at destination | The train has arrived at its final inland rail facility |
| Rail departure | The railcar moving a container has departed a facility whose relationship to the shipment is unknown |
| Rail departure from destination port | The railcar moving a container has departed from the marine terminal |
| Rail departure from interchange facility | The railcar moving a container has departed from an interchange facility |
Frequently asked questions
Will I see rail events when subscribing to a container that is already completed?
No, you are not guaranteed to see rail events when subscribing late to a container that has already arrived at the destination port or has already been delivered to its inland destination. The API will not create a rail subscription for that container if the reference does not meet qualifications.
Due to the timed availability of extracting rail data, we encourage Pro users to subscribe to containers as early as possible to ensure that they receive timely rail events in their update payloads.
The criteria for receiving rail events include:
- The API key in use has rail events enabled
- The container is being transported by a supported railway
- The container has not already departed from the destination port terminal by rail
At this time, the Vizion API does not include rail milestones when requesting historical tracking information for containers that have already completed their journey.
Enabling Rail events
Please contact support if you are interested in taking advantage of this offering.
Updated 3 months ago