What is a 53-foot domestic container, and how is it moved?
A 53-foot domestic container is built for the train and the truck. It rides the train between CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan and cities across Canada. A truck does the leg at each end, between the ramp and the dock. Here is its size, its weight limits, who brings the chassis, and what we need to move it.
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What is a 53-foot domestic container?
A closed steel or aluminum container, 53 feet long. Outside, it is about 102 inches (2.6 m) wide and about 9 feet 6 inches high.
On the train, it rides in well cars, often stacked two high, with the containers locked together. On the road, it rides a chassis.
It is about 6 inches wider than an ocean container, which is 8 feet wide. Most ocean ships cannot carry it.
The railways own many of them. CN and CPKC run their own fleets. CN also offers containers from a shared pool and from partner companies.
Some are heated, to keep freight from freezing. Some are refrigerated.
- Montreal
- Vancouver
- Halifax
- Saint John
- Winnipeg
- Regina
- Calgary
- Edmonton
How big is a 53-foot domestic container inside?
CN lists three kinds of 53-foot container. Each one is a little different inside.
52 ft 4 in by 98 in by 109 in
About 15.95 m by 2.49 m by 2.77 m. The door opens 98 by 109 inches. 3,901 cubic feet, about 110 cubic metres.
52 ft 2 in by 97 in by 106 in
3,620 cubic feet inside. The door opens 97 by 107 inches.
50 ft 1 in by 97 in by 101 in
3,410 cubic feet inside. The door opens 96 by 102 inches.
A typical 53-foot dry van trailer is about 101 inches wide and 110 inches high inside.
So the container is a few inches narrower and a little lower. Freight that only just fits a trailer may not fit the container. Measure first.
- The inside length
- The inside width
- The inside height
- The door opening
Containers from other owners differ by a few inches. Check the spec sheet or the plate for your container. CN publishes its 53-foot container specs.
How much weight can a 53-foot container carry?
Three limits apply, and the lowest one wins.
67,200 lb with the freight
The railway loading rules cap a 53-foot container at 67,200 lb (about 30,480 kg), container and freight together. Never load past the maximum marked on it.
A cargo limit by chassis
CPKC allows up to 48,000 lb (about 21,770 kg) of cargo in a dry 53-foot container on a two-axle chassis inside Canada. On a tri-axle chassis, CPKC allows 60,000 lb (about 27,220 kg). The empty container itself weighs about 10,000 lb or more. So under the 67,200 lb cap, it holds at most about 57,000 lb (about 25,850 kg) of freight. On CN, ask CN or your forwarder for the limit.
Ontario's axle limits
Ontario counts the weight on each group of axles and on the whole truck. The truck, the chassis and the empty container count too.
A heavy load can reach the road limit before the container reaches its marked maximum. The limit depends on the truck and the chassis, so we do not publish one number. A shipper whose load puts the truck over the limit can be charged with an offence too.
Tell us the cargo weight in each container on the quote, and dispatch confirms the chassis before we confirm the truck move. More on heavy and overweight containers.
Who supplies the chassis for a 53-foot container?
A 53-foot container needs a 53-foot chassis. A standard 40 to 45-foot extendable chassis does not stretch that far.
At CPKC Vaughan, CPKC's tariff says each driver brings their own chassis, unless your rail quote includes one. CPKC supplies its own chassis only at its discretion, and charges by the day when the container is private.
If no chassis comes for the container, CPKC can hold it on the railcar. It can also lift it to the ground and charge for the lift.
At CN Brampton, the yard rules make the driver responsible for using the right chassis pool for each container. CN's own door-to-door service uses CN's trucks and chassis.
We bring our own tri-axle 53-foot chassis, so at CPKC Vaughan your container does not wait for a railway chassis. A tri-axle chassis also carries more weight than a two-axle one.
- CPKC Vaughan: the trucker
- CN Brampton: the driver, with the right chassis
- Railway door service: the railway's
- With us: we bring our own
What does the trucker need to pick up a domestic container?
The railway checks the trucking company, the driver and the paperwork before a container leaves.
The trucking company must be set up with the railway. Each driver must also be registered with the railway.
CN needs a completed bill of lading before it releases an inbound container. Both railways want any storage paid before the container leaves.
Some containers need a pickup number from the railway. Send it to dispatch with the container number.
At CN Brampton, the out-gate reads the container and chassis numbers. If either is hard to read, the truck waits for an operator.
- The ramp
- The container number
- The pickup number, if any
- Your address and dock hours
- The cargo weight
- Live unload or drop
How long can a 53-foot container sit before charges start?
The railway, or whoever supplied the container, sets the free time at the ramp and at your dock. Check your rail booking.
No ocean line is involved, so there is no ocean line demurrage or per diem.
At CPKC Vaughan, a privately owned domestic container gets 48 hours before storage starts. Every day the terminal is open counts, weekends and holidays included.
CPKC's own dry 53-foot containers earn two free-day credits at the loading end and two at the unloading end. CPKC nets the credits against the days used each month, per terminal. Its heated and refrigerated containers get one day.
When your trucker, not CPKC, does the truck leg, CPKC runs a clock on its own containers. At the loading end, it starts at 00:01 the day after the container leaves the ramp. At the unloading end, it starts at 00:01 the day after the container is available for pickup. It runs to the end of the day the container comes back in.
At CN Brampton, CN sets its storage charges in its own tariff.
- Book the truck before it arrives
- Unload it soon
- Bring the empty back quickly
More on storage and demurrage and live unload or drop.
How do you load a 53-foot container for the train?
The freight rides a train, so block and brace it. The railways follow the loading rules of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) for closed containers.
Spread the weight evenly, front to back and side to side. Fill the gaps and block the load so it cannot shift.
Put no more than 25,000 lb (about 11,340 kg) on any 10 feet of floor. If the load stands higher than about 98 inches in CN's high cube, ask the origin railway first.
Do not count on the doors to hold the load. The rules allow that only for some loads, and never for dangerous goods. Do not nail into the walls.
Seal the container with the seal the railway asks for. CN wants a CN seal on every outbound load. Send the railway the bill of lading before the container reaches the ramp.
CPKC charges for loads that are overloaded, shifted, unbalanced or not secured.
- Weight spread evenly
- Load blocked and braced
- The railway's seal on the doors
- The bill of lading sent
At the other end, send the empty back clean, with all the blocking and bracing taken out.
For the empty to your dock and the loaded container back to the ramp, the truck steps match an export. The booking comes from the railway, not an ocean line. See export container drayage.
What does Setara Transport do?
We do the truck leg between the ramp and your dock, in both directions, across the GTA and Ontario.
We pull 53-foot domestic containers between CN Brampton or CPKC Vaughan and your dock. We bring our own tri-axle 53-foot chassis.
We do not book the rail. Book it with the railway or your forwarder, then send us the container details.
If you booked the railway's own door service, its trucks do this part.
- Ramp to your dock
- Your dock to the ramp
- Live unload or drop
Dispatch, at (905) 745-2322, Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 18:00 ET, or dispatch@setara.ca.
53-foot container questions.
Words like chassis, free time and railway storage are explained in drayage terms in plain English.
How big is a 53-foot domestic container inside?
How much weight can a 53-foot domestic container carry?
Who supplies the chassis for a 53-foot container?
Is a 53-foot domestic container the same as a 53-foot trailer?
Can a 53-foot domestic container go on a ship?
Do you book the rail move?
More answers for importers.
What are storage and demurrage at the ramp?
Two charges, two clocksHow is a heavy container moved?
Heavy containers on tri-axle chassisWhat does arrived at the rail ramp mean?
Arrived, deramped and available, and what comes nextLive unload or drop?
Which delivery fits your dockHow does an export reach the ramp?
Empty to your dock, loaded back to the rampAll answers
Every answer for importers and forwardersHave a 53-foot container at the ramp? Send us the number.
The container number, the ramp, any pickup number and your delivery address.