Car mile

unitStandard termRailroad

A metric representing one railcar moving a distance of one mile.

A standard unit of measurement used in railroad accounting and logistics to track equipment usage. It is calculated by multiplying the number of cars in a train by the miles they travel. Railroads use this metric to compute trackage rights fees, maintenance schedules, and equipment lease payments.

Heard on the job

The accounting department is auditing our loaded versus empty car miles for the quarter.