Pigs are trailers riding piggyback on railcars, so a pig train is a train of trailer-on-flatcar traffic, often for parcel and less-than-truckload carriers. These trains run at high priority on tight schedules, and their light weight per foot makes them quick to accelerate and stop. Railroaders use pig loosely for any intermodal train, even one carrying mostly containers.
Heard on the job
DS is putting us in the hole, the pig train is right behind us with parcel trailers due in Chicago tonight.
Also heard as
- piggyback
- TOFC
- pigs