Q. I'm new to rail. How do I get started?
A. Review
New to CSX or Rail. This will help start you off on the right track.
Do you have questions about shipping by rail? Contact our New Business Development team at
NBD@csx.com, or call 1-877-ShipCSX (1-877-744-7279), option 5, option 1.
Q. How do I become a CSX customer?
A. There are 4 steps you need to take before you can initiate a shipment with CSX. That process is explained in
Become a Customer.
Q. How can I get a price quote from CSX?
A. Use the ShipCSX
Price Look-Up 
tool to get a price for a specific general merchandise move. You can search by origin, destination and commodity to find the price for your specific shipping requirements.
To get a price for Coal, contact a
coal representative; for Finished Vehicles, call 904-633-4931; for Auto Parts, call 904-633-4922; and for Dimensional Machinery, call 904-359-1581.
For a price on an Intermodal move, see
CSX Intermodal pricing.
Q. Can I retrieve Interline prices?
A. A+B Pricing is a new feature of the ShipCSX
Price Look-Up tool. It allows the instant creation of interline prices with participating Class 1 carriers. If you enter a query from CSXT or its shortline partners to a participating Class 1 carrier using the STCC/Commodity search option, you will be presented with equipment options available for a rate. When you select one of those options, a rate is returned if one is available. You will have the option to Accept Price, which will publish your rate for the listed effective period. You can print this screen for a record of this publication.
Q. How do I get a bundled price to include rail, warehouse, and trucking to final destination?
A. CSX and its subsidiary TRANSFLO can offer you many solutions to your logistics needs. Contact your CSX representative today, visit
TRANSFLO.net or call 1-877-ShipCSX (1-877-744-7279), option 3.
Q. Can I see private contract prices?
A. If you are logged in to ShipCSX, you can look up any published private contract price for the company name registered with your ShipCSX ID.
Q. What is a price authority?
A. A price authority is a written agreement that may contain rates, routes, and/or provisions for specific services. A price authority may be a contract, quote or public tariff.
Q. What is a STCC?
A. A STCC (pronounced "stick") is a Standard Transportation Commodity Code. It is up to seven digits and defines a unique product (e.g. coiled steel, flour, coal, etc.)
Q. How do I go about making a transaction with CSX?
A. To get information and manage the day-to-day business transactions necessary for shipping by rail, we recommend using electronic transaction tools. Read about
transactions and the tools available at CSX.
Q. How do I apply for credit with CSX?
A. CSX requires all customers who are responsible for freight bills to apply for credit. This policy applies to shippers, receivers and third parties. CSX's credit terms are 15 days, which begin with the date of the freight bill and end with the payment due date.
Fill out the
credit application and follow the instructions to submit.
Q. How should I make payments to CSX?
A. CSX recommends that payments be made electronically. Read about our
electronic payment options.
If you have questions about establishing credit, freight bill receipt or payment preferences, call the Credit Administration department at 904-366-3807.
Q. If I don't have established credit with CSX, how is payment handled?
A. If you have not established credit with us, two policies apply:
For prepaid shipments, freight and other accrued transportation charges must be paid prior to release of the shipment to the railroad.
For collect shipments, all transportation charges must be paid prior to placement of the shipment at the destination.
Q. What is Rule 11?
A. Freight Mandatory Railway Accounting Rule 11 is invoked for interline shipments that don't have "through pricing." The rule means that each rail carrier in the route will create freight bills for its portion of the movement.
Q. What is demurrage?
A. Demurrage is a fee charged when railroad-owned assets are held for loading or unloading longer than the specified number of days. Demurrage is intended to encourage timely loading and unloading of rail cars.
To learn more about demurrage, visit the
demurrage section of the 8100 Tariff, or call the number listed at the bottom of your freight bill.
Q. Where can I find out about the fuel surcharge?
A. Visit the
fuel surcharge overview page.
Q. What is Rule 29?
A. Rule 29, (Uniform Freight Classification Tariff-UFC 6000) applies to shipments requiring two or more open cars to accommodate long or bulky articles. No series of more than four car minimum weights will apply on all lead cars with 24,000 minimum (unless tariff excepted) on each idler.
Q. How do I order an empty car to be loaded?
A. Order a car online with
ShipCSX Car Order. ShipCSX allows you to order all of your cars at any time of day, and you get immediate, on-screen confirmation of your order.
Q. What are the guidelines for ordering cars?
A. Some customers regularly order cars every week; others order cars as needed. Car orders for the following week should be placed by noon every Thursday. Car orders may be placed up to 6 weeks in advance and it is recommended that orders be input 3 weeks before the equipment is required. A car order is in effect for a calendar week - Monday through Sunday. All car orders expire on Sunday night and unfulfilled demand is not carried over to the next week.
Q. If empty cars are on their way to my company, but the cars have not yet been placed on my siding, do I need to re-order these cars?
A. If cars you ordered for the current week have not been placed or constructively placed (when a car is delivered but cannot be received by the customer for some reason) by Sunday night, the cars must be re-ordered. Unfulfilled orders are not carried over to the next week since all car orders expire on Sunday night. If you have received a constructive placement notice for the cars, you do not need to re-order them.
Q. What do I do if my car order is not met in full?
A. If you determine on a Monday that you did not receive all the cars you ordered for the prior week, change your car order for the current week to include the number of cars you still need. Be sure that your car order reflects all the cars you will need for the current week.
For example: If you need to load 20 cars over a 2-week period, you might place a car order for 10 cars for each of the 2 weeks. If only 5 cars are placed through Sunday of the first week, you will need to order 15 for the second week.
Remember, the cars must be placed or constructively placed in your siding by Sunday night for them to count toward the week's order.
Q. How do I change or cancel a car order?
A. Use ShipCSX Car Order to change or cancel a car order.
A car order can be changed or canceled any time prior to the ordered car(s) being placed or constructively placed (when a car is delivered but cannot be received by the customer for some reason).
If you find you will not need all the cars ordered prior to their placement, change your car order to reduce the number of cars ordered.
If a portion of the cars you ordered have been placed or constructively placed, and you determine you don't need any more cars, reduce the order to the number of cars already placed.
Q. What is the best way to load my rail cars?
A. Our Load Engineering And Design Services (L.E.A.D.S.) team is widely recognized as one of the best in the business.
Visit the LEADS page for contact information.
Q. How do I release a loaded car, or request a plant switch?
A. To release loaded cars from your facility, or request other car switching activity at your site, you must submit a plant switch request. Learn about CSX
plant switch tools.
Q. What is a bill of lading and why is it important?
A. The bill of lading (or shipping instructions), initiates your shipment and provides CSX with information necessary to release, pull, deliver and properly bill your shipment in a timely manner.
CSX cannot begin movement of your shipment until you have completed and submitted the shipping instructions for that shipment.
CSX requires that shipping instructions be submitted electronically, using ShipCSX Shipping Instructions, EDI or a third party. Read about CSX
shipping instruction tools.
Q. What if my product is damaged while in transit?
A. If you suspect damage occurred in transit, use the
ShipCSX Freight Claims tool to report it or call 1-800-432-1032.
Customer FAQs