Operations/Rail network
Operations · Rail network

Rail network

Port-to-hub corridors run as one railway: IC track at the ports and on short lines, co-invested track between, every train dispatched by The Brain.

Phase 6 · 2033+Planned
Los Angeles to Chicago
≈ 47 hours
Average train speed
80 km/h
Rail dwell at the port
2.0 days
Crew aboard
0
The network
Port-to-hub corridors, lit as they carry traffic
SeattleLos AngelesHoustonChicagoNew YorkAtlantaDenverDallasMiamiKansas City
Owned
On-dock yards at IC terminals and the short lines from the ports to the inland hubs: ≈ 3,000 route miles.
Run over
Long-haul corridors co-invested with their owners. IC trains run over ≈ 20,000 route miles by agreement.
Dispatched
Every IC train on owned or shared track runs to one plan from The Brain, meets and passes solved ahead.
I · The operating model

Own the ends, run the middle.

IC starts at the dock. It runs the on-dock yards at IC terminals, buys the short lines that link ports to inland hubs, and co-invests in the long-haul corridors its trains run over.

01 · On-dock

Trains built the day the ship works

Each IC terminal loads about seven 3 km trains out and seven in a day. Every box is assigned its train before it leaves the ship.

Terminals →
02 · Short lines

The first and last mile

IC buys short lines where they connect ports and inland hubs, and rebuilds them for 120 km/h double-stack trains: ≈ 3,000 route miles.

Track system →
03 · Corridors

Co-invested, shared

On long-haul corridors IC funds sidings, clearances and power in return for running rights. IC trains run over ≈ 20,000 route miles this way.

04 · Hubs

Twelve inland hubs

Hubs refuel hydrogen in 20 minutes, swap boxes between trains and hand them to IC trucks. Refuelling points sit every 400 km along each corridor.

Trucking →
05 · Train

Three kilometres, three locomotives

Three 6 MW locomotives lead 47 double-stack well cars: 141 wells, 564 TEU, ≈ 7,000 t.

Locomotive →
06 · People

No crew aboard

Thirteen supervisors a shift watch the network, about four trains each, and set the next step when a train meets something it cannot settle alone.

II · Owned and run over

One plan over every mile.

IC owns the track where boxes change hands and shares the long-haul track between. The Brain dispatches its trains over both as one railway.

One route, port to customer
Owned
≈ 3,000 route miles
on-dock yards, hubs and short lines
Run over
≈ 20,000 route miles
co-invested corridors, by agreement
IC trains
≈ 56 a day
seven out and seven in at each of four IC terminals
Boxes
≈ 18,600 a day
332 boxes a train, 564 TEU
III · A corridor

Los Angeles to Chicago in two days.

Each line is one train: sloped where it moves, flat where it takes hydrogen. Trains run at 80 km/h between refuelling points 400 km apart and stop 20 minutes at each.

Los Angeles – Chicago, 3,540 km, 72 hours
3,540 km at 80 km/h is 44.3 hours moving; eight 20-minute refuelling stops add 2.7 hours: ≈ 47 hours dock to hub.
Top speed
120 km/h
every car on ECP brakes; stops in ≈ 1 km
Ruling grade
1% at ≈ 70 km/h
on hydrogen alone, 7,000 t, three locomotives
Hydrogen
≈ 41 kg a box
Los Angeles to Chicago; water is the only exhaust
Rail dwell
2.0 days
from ship to departing train; 6.75 days today
IV · The equipment

Every car, locomotive and rail built by IC.

The network runs on IC rolling stock and IC track. Each links to its own page.

Power

Locomotive

Six megawatts from hydrogen, battery and wire, six axle motors, no cab.

Locomotive →
Containers

Double-stack well car

Three articulated wells, six 53 ft boxes, ECP brakes and sensors on every bearing.

Well car →
Liquids

Tank car

Crude, products and chemicals between the Gulf, the hubs and the ports.

Tank car →
Vehicles

Autorack

Cars from the Ro-Ro berth to inland ramps, sealed and watched on the way.

Autorack →
Track

Track system

Welded rail on concrete ties with fibre sensing in the shoulder.

Track system →
Overview

Rail

The locomotive, the cars and the track as one system.

Rail →
V · On The Brain

Every train, car and box, one plan.

The Brain carries the whole network in its digital twin. It solves meets and passes ahead of every train, books the hub slot and the hydrogen, and re-plans the moment the line changes.

Runs on The Brain
How a train takes its orders
Common pictureEvery IC train, car and box, positioned each second; track condition from fibre sensing along the rail
Digital twinThe network run forward hours ahead: every meet, pass, hub slot and refuelling stop
Data modelOne record per box: the same record on the ship, in the terminal, on the train and on the truck
Decision layerWhich box rides which train; speeds and meets set so trains keep moving on shared track
OrchestrationPort cut-off, train build, corridor slot, hydrogen and hub hand-off booked together
AgentsOne per train, one per car, one per box
RedundancyEvery sensor is wired to both compute modules. Each module is primary for its zone and hot standby for the other.
SafetyA software fault can never drive the train outside its certified safe envelope. The SIL 4 channel has its own wheel tachometers, ground-speed radar, balise readers and brake-pressure sensors
LinkTrackside radio, corridor 5G and satellite; ≈ 1 Mbit/s a train. Braking and speed limits close aboard
The Brain dispatches; the train runs. Commands pass from the train agent through the certified safety channel to traction and brakes, never around it.
VI · Operating figures

The first network.

Design specification.

Train length
3 km
Locomotives
3 × 6 MW a train
Well cars
47 · 564 TEU
Train weight
≈ 7,000 t
Top speed
120 km/h
Average speed
80 km/h
Refuelling
20 min every 400 km
IC trains
≈ 56 a day
Locomotives / well cars
≈ 220 / 3,400
Owned
≈ 3,000 route miles
Run over
≈ 20,000 route miles
Supervisors
13 a shift
Today vs IC
US freight rail today beside the IC network
Today · US freight railIC design
Train speed20.7 to 25.1 mph system average across the largest railroads (Sep 2026)80 km/h (50 mph) average, 120 km/h top
Terminal dwell19.5 to 22.8 hours a car at terminals (Sep 2026)Cars stay with their train; 20 minutes for hydrogen at a hub
Rail dwell at the port6.75 days at San Pedro Bay (Aug 2026)2.0 days from ship to departing train
Network≈ 135,000 route miles; the largest railroads hold ≈ 67%≈ 3,000 route miles owned, ≈ 20,000 run over by agreement
Short lines603 railroads on 47,500 route miles, 29% of the networkBought where they link ports and inland hubs
The IC column is the design shown on this page. Sources for the Today column are listed in BUILD_NOTES.md.
Runs on The Brain
Every train, car and box is planned in The Brain’s digital twin, with each meet and pass solved before the train reaches it.
See how it works →