Just about any packaged or unitized product can move by temperature-controlled rail.

Common products include:

• Frozen foods
• Refrigerated foods
• Fresh produce
• Juice and specialty beverages
• Wine and spirits
• Food ingredients
• Chemicals
• Other temperature-sensitive products

Because railcars are available in both refrigerated and insulated configurations, temperature-controlled rail can support a wide variety of cold chain transportation needs.

Many companies use temperature-controlled rail to increase transportation flexibility while moving large volumes of product across long distances.

Potential benefits include:

• Transportation cost savings
• Additional transportation capacity
• Equipment availability
• Greater network flexibility
• Environmental advantages compared to truck-only transportation

The right transportation strategy depends on the product, lane and supply chain requirements, but rail can often provide an effective alternative for long-haul movements.

A refrigerated railcar can move significantly more product than a typical truckload.

Depending on the product, a single refrigerated railcar can hold:

• Up to 180,000 pounds of product
• Up to 8,700 cubic feet of cargo
• Approximately 84 conventional grocery pallets

In many cases, a single railcar can carry the equivalent of more than four truckloads of freight.

Rail and truck transportation each serve different roles in the cold chain.

Rail is often less expensive for long-distance transportation and can move larger volumes of product in a single shipment. It can also provide environmental benefits due to its efficiency. However, rail requires rail-served facilities and generally involves more planning than truck transportation.

Many companies use both rail and truck transportation together. Rail handles the long-haul movement, while truck transportation supports first-mile pickup and final-mile delivery. Lineage helps customers coordinate both.

LINX railcars are part of Lineage's private fleet of refrigerated and insulated railcars.

For customers, LINX railcars provide access to dependable equipment supported by Lineage's rail operations, maintenance programs and transportation expertise. They are designed specifically for temperature-controlled transportation and help provide additional peace of mind when moving temperature-sensitive products.

A reefer is a refrigerated railcar that uses an onboard refrigeration system to actively maintain product temperatures throughout transit.

Reefers are commonly used to transport frozen foods, refrigerated foods and other products that require precise temperature control from origin to destination.

An insulated railcar is designed to help protect products from outside temperature fluctuations during transportation.

Unlike a reefer, an insulated railcar does not use an active refrigeration unit. Instead, it relies on highly insulated walls, ceilings and floors to help maintain product temperatures throughout the journey.

Managing rail transportation involves much more than simply providing railcars.

Lineage supports customers through:

• Railcar management
• Transportation planning and network design
• Railroad negotiations
• 24/7 rail tracking and reporting
• Door security monitoring
• Temperature monitoring
• GPS location monitoring
• Refrigeration system maintenance and support
• Loading and unloading coordination

This allows customers to incorporate rail into their transportation strategy while relying on a team experienced in temperature-controlled logistics.

Rail-served cold storage facilities are warehouses that can receive and ship products directly by rail.

These facilities help connect transportation and storage, allowing products to move efficiently between railcars, warehouse storage and truck transportation. Lineage operates approximately 80 rail-served facilities across its network, helping customers connect rail transportation with broader cold chain operations.

Rail transportation is designed to move large volumes of freight efficiently across long distances.

Because a single railcar can carry the equivalent of multiple truckloads, rail often provides transportation cost advantages on certain lanes. The ability to move more product in a single shipment can help improve transportation efficiency while reducing reliance on truck capacity alone.

Temperature-controlled rail can help companies move large volumes of product while improving transportation efficiency. Because a single railcar can carry the equivalent of multiple truckloads, rail may help reduce emissions compared to truck-only transportation strategies. For customers using Lineage Rail Services (LRS), these benefits can add up over time.

In 2025, Lineage Rail Services (LRS) helped customers achieve:

• 308,586 metric tons of CO₂ savings
• 30,727 shipments moved by rail
• 109,940 truckloads removed from the road

These figures represent LRS activity during calendar year 2025.

Rail transloading is the process of transferring products between railcars and trucks.

This approach allows companies to take advantage of rail transportation for long-haul movements while still reaching locations that are not directly served by rail. Transloading can help improve flexibility, support distribution strategies and connect rail transportation with broader cold chain networks.

Temperature-controlled rail is one part of a larger cold chain.

Lineage helps customers connect rail transportation with cold storage warehousing, managed transportation, import and export services and supply chain expertise. Rather than treating rail as a standalone service, Lineage helps integrate it into broader transportation and logistics strategies.

This connected approach can help customers build transportation networks that balance capacity, efficiency and product protection while maintaining visibility across the cold chain.