The rail market, measured.
Rail intelligence for the people who build, supply and fund it. Passenger, transit and freight data for the US and Canada in one place: fleets, costs, service metrics, safety, funding programs and live procurements.
Win more rail and transit work
Every public rail and transit bid in the US and Canada, scored for relevance and tied to the fleet it's for. Fleets, overhaul timing, funding and awards.
The freight market, measured every week
Class I, regional and short line railroads: STB R-1 financials, EP 724 service metrics, freight flows to 2050, fleets, crossings and safety, in one platform.
We analyze freight railroads...and you can too.
Six Class I railroads file what they spend, buy, rebuild and retire with the STB every year. Almost nobody reads it. We read all of it, 2020 to 2025, and put it next to their 10-K financials, locomotive fleets, who owns the freight cars, fuel surcharges, the STB rail cost index, 600+ regional and short line railroads, FRA safety records and every grade crossing in the country. Every number has a definition one hover away. Separate portal, same login.
This week in freight rail (EP 724, week ending 2026-10-28)
Class I R-1 scoreboard
Costs, capex and operating stats by line item for every Class I, straight from the STB R-1 filings.
Locomotive fleets
Units by model, builder and age, rebuilds vs new buys, retirements and cost per unit-mile.
Fuel, surcharges and cost escalation
Each Class I's fuel bill against its fuel surcharge revenue every quarter, the AAR fuel index, and the STB Rail Cost Adjustment Factor, with costs restated in rail-cost dollars.
Financials and investor reporting
Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow and operating ratio, all Class Is side by side, plus parent 10-K figures and investor-site links.
Fleet facts and live bids, in one place
General bid services see the RFP when it lands. Consist starts from the fleet: who runs what, how hard it works, what it costs and when it comes due.
Rail bid feed
Overhauls, component repair, parts, onboard systems and shop equipment from 154 rail agencies and their portals, each scored 0 to 100 for rail vehicle relevance.
Fleet explorer
869 fleets with builder, model, age, active cars, subsystem suppliers and power supply, from NTD records and researched sources.
Duty cycle and cost
Estimated miles per car, maintenance cost per car-mile against peers, and cost trends since 2015 for every operator.
Overhaul pipeline
Which fleets come due for midlife and engine overhauls each year, years before the RFP is written.
Award analytics
Who wins rail maintenance work, at what price and against how many bidders, by category and agency.
AI analyst
Ask in plain English. It queries the fleet and bid data and answers with figures and tables, and writes a fit brief for any bid.
See the work coming, years ahead
Cars reaching midlife overhaul, engine overhaul or end of useful life each year, across every rail fleet we track in the US and Canada. Paid members see each fleet behind these numbers.
Try Pro freeActive cars by projected year. Source: Consist overhaul model on NTD and researched fleet data.
From signal to shortlist in a minute a day
Tell us what you do
Pick categories, subsystems, agencies or keywords. Save them as searches.
We watch every source
Agency portals, Bonfire, OpenGov, PlanetBids, BidNet, Bid Express and Canadian open data, every day.
You get the ones that matter
Instant or daily email with the fleet behind each bid, and an AI brief when you want one.
Start free. Upgrade when it pays.
Free
$0 / month
Sample everything: bids, fleets and freight markets.
Passenger & Transit Analyst
$99 / month
Every passenger rail and transit fleet, and every rail bid.
Freight Markets Analyst
$99 / month
The full Freight Rail Analytics Portal.
US & Canada - Rail Expert
$249 / month
Passenger, transit and freight rail across the US and Canada.
Investor
$299 / month
Everything in Rail Expert, plus data export for investment research.
How Consist compares
Honest, side-by-side comparisons with the tools rail suppliers already use.
Consist vs BidPrime
BidPrime finds bids across every public sector category. Consist covers only rail: public rail and transit procurement with the fleet data behind each bid, plus freight rail market data.
Consist vs GovSpend
GovSpend shows what state and local governments buy, down to purchase orders. Consist goes deep on rail: every fleet, its condition and the bids that follow.
Consist vs BidNet Direct
BidNet Direct is where many agencies post bids. Consist watches BidNet and the other portals of over 150 rail agencies and keeps only the rail work.
Consist vs SCI Verkehr
SCI Verkehr's database covers the world's rail markets for strategists. Consist covers US and Canadian rail fleets car by car, with live bids and freight rail market data.
Consist vs RAILMARKET
RAILMARKET helps rail suppliers get found, worldwide. Consist tells US and Canadian rail suppliers which fleets and agencies need their work next, and sends the bids when they post.
Consist vs Rail Market Research
Rail Market Research sells one-off market reports. Consist is a live subscription: every US and Canadian fleet, refreshed monthly, and the bids that come out of them, daily.
Consist vs Global Mass Transit
Global Mass Transit covers transit projects and news worldwide. Consist goes deep on US and Canadian rail: every fleet, its condition and the bids that follow.
Consist vs FTR Rail Equipment Monthly
FTR covers the freight railcar market for builders, lessors and investors. Consist covers the railroads themselves, from their own filings, alongside every passenger fleet.
Questions
What is the best rail procurement intelligence tool?
It depends on scope. General bid services such as BidPrime and BidNet Direct cover every public sector category. GovSpend adds purchase order history for state and local government. Consist is built only for rail fleets and rail work in the US and Canada and is the only one of these that ties each bid to fleet age, utilization and overhaul timing.
Where can I find rail car overhaul bids?
Rail agencies post them on their own portals and on platforms such as Bonfire, OpenGov, PlanetBids, BidNet Direct and Bid Express. Consist watches over 150 rail agencies across those platforms and Canadian open data and sends the relevant ones to you.
Is there a database of US transit rail fleets?
The FTA National Transit Database publishes vehicle inventories each year. Consist builds on it with researched fleets, subsystem suppliers, estimated duty cycles, costs per car-mile and overhaul forecasts for over 860 active fleets.
Where can I find Class I and short line railroad data?
The STB publishes Class I annual R-1 reports and weekly EP 724 service data; the FRA publishes operations, safety and crossing data for every railroad. The Consist Freight Rail Analytics Portal puts them together with 10-K financials, freight and tank car fleets, freight flows to 2050 and rail cost indexes, with a definition on every number.
See the whole rail market
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