Best Rail Traffic Datasets, Databases & APIs

What is Rail Traffic Data?

Rail traffic data is the data that gives an account of the railroad activities ranging from how busy the rail system is with passengers and the commodities transported. Advanced analysis can be done on this data and can be categorized to explain how much of each commodity has been imported and exported through the rail system.

How is Rail Traffic Data collected?

Rail traffic data can be recovered from the authorities like the Association of American Railroads (AAR) who accumulate and update this data over time in their databases. They use a combination of commodity clearance systems as well as the rail station log sheets from the ticket booking services as methods for rail traffic data collection..

What are typical attributes of Rail Traffic Data?

Rail traffic data is attributed to the information that shows the movement of goods and people. Compiled either monthly, weekly, or annually, rail traffic data for freight is attributed to the total number of freight commodities that have been transported or are in transit. The carload traffic for freight transit is classified into major commodity categories such as coal, chemicals, grain, and primary metal goods. This data also shows the rail intermodal traffic that consists of shipping containers and truck trailers moved on the rail cars and are reported separately from the actual freight in transit. From the rail traffic data, another attribute that can be pulled out of this statistic is the Rail Time Indicators Report (RTI). The RTI is made up of more than 15 key economic indicators such as consumer confidence, housing statistics, and industrial production.

How is Rail Traffic Data used?

This data helps determine how healthy the economy is and financial information from the data helps analysts, economists, academics, and government agencies to gauge and analyze the health of the railway system. In most countries where railway transport is advanced, the information on rail traffic can be used to predict the economic growth of a country based on data received ranging from peoples movement and commodities movements. The RTI data that is a core attribute of rail traffic data combines all the information about all the key economic indicators, highlighting the key trends and presenting rail traffic data in the context of specific sectors and the broader economy. From this RTI data, governments and private sectors can gauge how well the economy of a given country is doing.

How can a user assess the quality of Rail Traffic Data?

The rail traffic data quality is majorly determined by how accurate the data is and how current and updated it is. Accuracy in terms of factual information it gives and how reliable this data is. While collecting this data form analysis and interpretation, users should be able to identify the key trends of rail traffic data because trends and shift in patterns are what makes the data any meaningful insight. A database that does not keep and update timely records of rail traffic data may not present any meaningful insight.

Where can I buy Rail Traffic Data?

Data providers and vendors listed on Datarade sell Rail Traffic Data products and samples. Popular Rail Traffic Data products and datasets available on our platform are Road Networks - India - India Road Network, State Highway, National Highways, Route Numbers on Roads, Rail Coverage Network by Lepton Software and Meteomatics Power line oscillation for the past 24 hours and future (as an alert or warning) by Meteomatics.

How can I get Rail Traffic Data?

You can get Rail Traffic Data via a range of delivery methods - the right one for you depends on your use case. For example, historical Rail Traffic Data is usually available to download in bulk and delivered using an S3 bucket. On the other hand, if your use case is time-critical, you can buy real-time Rail Traffic Data APIs, feeds and streams to download the most up-to-date intelligence.

What are similar data types to Rail Traffic Data?

Rail Traffic Data is similar to Marine Traffic Data, Car Traffic Data, and Ride-Sharing Data. These data categories are commonly used for Traffic Analysis and Supply Chain Intelligence.

What are the most common use cases for Rail Traffic Data?

The top use cases for Rail Traffic Data are Traffic Analysis, Supply Chain Intelligence, and Asset Tracking.