Interchange Point

An interchange point is the physical location where an interchange of railcars between two railroads takes place. It is the agreed spot where one road delivers cars and the connecting road receives them, allowing a shipment to continue its journey over a second carrier's tracks.

Where Interchange Happens

Interchange points are usually located where the tracks of two railroads meet or run close enough to be connected by a short stretch of track. The delivering road leaves the cars on a designated interchange track, and the receiving road picks them up and adds them to its own trains. Some interchange points are simple connecting tracks, while busy junctions between major carriers may have extensive yards dedicated to sorting and exchanging large volumes of cars.

Why It Matters

The interchange point is where responsibility for a car passes from one railroad to the next, so it is also where the receiving road inspects cars before accepting them. A car found defective can be refused here, known as a rejection at interchange. The location and ownership of cars moving through interchange points are tracked carefully, because the time a car spends and the condition it is in when handed off both factor into the accounting and repair responsibilities defined by the AAR interchange rules.