A weekly view of rail service.

Follow a railroad’s train speed, terminal dwell and operating activity over time, using its reports to the Surface Transportation Board.

CN8 reviewed reporting weeksJuly 24–September 11, 2026

Four measures · Eight reviewed weeksWeeks ending July 24–September 11, 2026. Earlier history is not yet available. Source notes accompany the reported values.

REPORTING PERIOD
Read this as a CN trend. Railroads may measure service differently. This page does not rank railroads or establish that their measures are directly comparable.

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Weekly snapshot

Values reported by CN to STB · Changes calculated by RailStats.org

Select one to four cards to compare measures. One measure shows original units; two or more show relative change.

WITHIN-RAILROAD TREND

Coverage: weeks ending July 24–September 11, 2026. Earlier history has not yet been validated for this view.

Swipe horizontally to see the full chart.

Trains held: reported causesCrew, locomotive power and other

Average trains holding per day

Reported values · Weekly average

How to read this

Why a decimal?
CN counts trains at 12:01 a.m. Eastern that exceed their scheduled time at that location by one hour, then averages the daily counts.
What does “Crew” mean here?
It is the railroad’s reported cause category. This report does not provide the specific circumstances behind each hold.
What does the number leave out?
It does not measure hours of delay or count all unique trains delayed during the week.

Reported causes over time

Swipe horizontally to see all reporting weeks.

Weekly values by reported cause
Average trains holding per day · Two decimal places
Week endingCrewLocomotive powerOtherTotalOfficial source
Selected-week details by train type
Train typeCrewLocomotive powerOtherReported totalRailroad note
Reporting details and limitations

Trains held is a reported daily average, not a weekly count of unique delayed trains. The three reported causes are crew, locomotive power and other. Collection methods differ across railroads.

CN counts trains at 12:01 a.m. Eastern that exceed their scheduled time at that location by one hour, then averages the daily counts.

Open selected official workbook ↗

CN reporting methodology ↗

Exact reported values and calculated changes
Source review notes

Charts preserve the individual workbook’s reported values and precision. Differences between totals and their components are disclosed without adjusting the figures. Missing values remain unavailable, not zero. The original sources are linked for each week.

STB consolidated reference ↗

A CLOSER LOOK

Terminal dwell, by location

Average hours at the ten terminals listed in the selected CN report. The terminal list can change over time. Cars on run-through trains are excluded. Locations stay in source order; this is not a terminal ranking.

The system average is reported separately. It is not calculated here by averaging these ten locations.

SOURCES AND MEANING

Know what each number measures.

This page uses eight individual weekly STB workbooks, checked against the consolidated reference. Sources were retrieved September 20, 2026. Reporting periods and file dates are shown separately.

Open selected official workbook ↗STB Rail Service Data page ↗
Reported values and calculated changes

The four measures come from CN’s “Service Metrics (items 1-6)” worksheet: U.S.-system train speed (B14), U.S.-system terminal dwell (B27), cars online (B38), and trains held (E56). Cars online and trains held retain the scope of CN’s STB report.

Weekly change = selected week − preceding week. Percent change = weekly change ÷ preceding week × 100. A zero or unavailable prior value leaves the percentage unavailable. Displayed values are rounded; calculations use source precision.

When two or more measures are selected, index = reported value ÷ value in the first displayed week × 100. The baseline is the same reporting week for every selected measure and resets when the displayed starting week changes. A zero or missing starting value leaves that measure’s index unavailable. Original units remain in the cards and table. An increase is not automatically an improvement, and shared movement does not establish cause.

What these measures do—and do not—tell you

Train speed is an operating measure, not an end-to-end delivery promise. Terminal dwell describes time at terminals and is separate from train speed. Cars online is a weekly average, not carloads originated or delivered. Trains held is an average number per day, not a weekly total.

More or less activity is not automatically better or worse service. No composite score or national average is calculated.

Coverage and source limitations

This explorer offers four reviewed measures for eight weeks. Grayed-out cards identify measures unavailable in the loaded coverage. Individual reporting does not establish cross-railroad comparability.

Other railroads have eight reviewed weeks of all four measures in their individual views. The comparison tab has a separate, bounded methodology review. CN is available individually while its terminal-time treatment needs clarification for comparisons.

Reporting populations and terminal lists can change. This review does not establish historical continuity beyond the eight weeks shown. Source notes explain precision differences and non-additive totals.

Individual measures: methodology and source notes · Download data and source records (JSON)