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== Finding Specific Railroad Frequencies==
 
== Finding Specific Railroad Frequencies==
A great place to start is the [http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db Database] for your particular area. Sometimes, there is not any information to be had and this is where it can be fun! Many scanners have a built-in search feature for different radio services, including railroads.
+
A great place to start is the RRDB for your particular area. Sometimes, there is not any information to be had and this is where it can be fun!  
  
If you live in the USA you can find all the railroad licenses in your area with a visit to the [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/General_Menu_Reports/engineering_search.cfm?accessible=NO FCC's website].
 
  
Select your state from the drop-down menu. Then select your county, or leave it on "All Counties". Be aware that large or populous states can return a long list of results, and it may take some time to appear.
+
If you live in the USA you can find all the railroad licenses in your area with a visit to the [https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/General_Menu_Reports/engineering_search.cfm?accessible=NO&wild_select=on FCC's website]
  
On the Frequency line, enter '''160.215''' in "Begin" and '''161.565''' in "End".
+
Next, select one of the '''Frequency (Range)''' queries and then enter '''160.2150''' and '''161.5650''' for the begin and end search frequencies.  
  
Scroll to the bottom of the page and hit "Submit Query".
+
For '''Service''' select '''Land Mobile - Private [LP]'''
 +
 
 +
For '''Radio Service''' select '''Industrial/Business Pool - Conventional [IG]'''
 +
 
 +
 
 +
You can then download the results or search them and make a custom spreadsheet with only the fields you want and download it.  
  
 
As always, be sure to submit any new information for inclusion in the RRDB!
 
As always, be sure to submit any new information for inclusion in the RRDB!
  
If you don't find it here or in the database, feel free to post a message in the [http://www.radioreference.com/forums/railroad-railfan-monitoring-forum/ Railroad-Railfan Monitoring Forum] on RadioReference.
+
If you don't find it here or in the database, feel free to post a message in the RadioReference's {{Forum|railroad-railfan-monitoring-forum|Railroad-Railfan Monitoring}}.
  
 
Amtrak routes and frequencies can be found on the [http://on-track-on-line.com/amtrak-freqs.shtml On Line On Track Amtrak] page
 
Amtrak routes and frequencies can be found on the [http://on-track-on-line.com/amtrak-freqs.shtml On Line On Track Amtrak] page
  
 
== VHF Frequencies==
 
== VHF Frequencies==
Railroad radios display the transmit and receive frequency as AAR channel numbers. For example, these numbers will be referred to over-the-air as "1616" for AAR channel 16 (160.350) or "1180" for AAR channels 11 and 80 in full duplex use (Dispatch transmits on one channel and the train transmits on the other channel).
+
Railroad radios display the transmit and receive frequency as American Association of Railroads (AAR) channel numbers. For example, these numbers will be referred to over-the-air as "1616" for AAR channel 16 (160.350) or "1180" for AAR channels 11 and 80 in full duplex use (Dispatch transmits on one channel and the train transmits on the other channel).
  
 
  AAR Ch Frequency
 
  AAR Ch Frequency
  02 159.810 Canada Only
+
  02 159.8100 Canada Only
  03 159.930 Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
+
  03 159.9300 Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
  04 160.050 Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
+
  04 160.0500 Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
  05 160.185 Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
+
  05 160.1850 Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
  06 160.200 Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
+
  06 160.2000 Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
  07 160.215
+
  07 160.2150
  08 160.230
+
  08 160.2300
  09 160.245
+
  09 160.2450
  10 160.260
+
  10 160.2600
  11 160.275
+
  11 160.2750
  12 160.290
+
  12 160.2900
  13 160.305
+
  13 160.3050
  14 160.320
+
  14 160.3200
  15 160.335
+
  15 160.3350
  16 160.350
+
  16 160.3500
  17 160.365
+
  17 160.3650
  18 160.380
+
  18 160.3800
  19 160.395
+
  19 160.3950
  20 160.410
+
  20 160.4100
  21 160.425
+
  21 160.4250
  22 160.440
+
  22 160.4400
  23 160.455
+
  23 160.4550
  24 160.470
+
  24 160.4700
  25 160.485
+
  25 160.4850
  26 160.500
+
  26 160.5000
  27 160.515
+
  27 160.5150
  28 160.530
+
  28 160.5300
  29 160.545
+
  29 160.5450
  30 160.560
+
  30 160.5600
  31 160.575
+
  31 160.5750
  32 160.590
+
  32 160.5900
  33 160.605
+
  33 160.6050
  34 160.620
+
  34 160.6200
  35 160.635
+
  35 160.6350
  36 160.650
+
  36 160.6500
  37 160.665
+
  37 160.6650
  38 160.680
+
  38 160.6800
  39 160.695
+
  39 160.6950
  40 160.710
+
  40 160.7100
  41 160.725
+
  41 160.7250
  42 160.740
+
  42 160.7400
  43 160.755
+
  43 160.7550
  44 160.770
+
  44 160.7700
  45 160.785
+
  45 160.7850
  46 160.800
+
  46 160.8000
  47 160.815
+
  47 160.8150
  48 160.830
+
  48 160.8300
  49 160.845
+
  49 160.8450
  50 160.860
+
  50 160.8600
  51 160.875
+
  51 160.8750
  52 160.890
+
  52 160.8900
  53 160.905
+
  53 160.9050
  54 160.920
+
  54 160.9200
  55 160.935
+
  55 160.9350
  56 160.950
+
  56 160.9500
  57 160.965
+
  57 160.9650
  58 160.980
+
  58 160.9800
  59 160.995
+
  59 160.9950
  60 161.010
+
  60 161.0100
  61 161.025
+
  61 161.0250
  62 161.040
+
  62 161.0400
  63 161.055
+
  63 161.0550
  64 161.070
+
  64 161.0700
  65 161.085
+
  65 161.0850
  66 161.100
+
  66 161.1000
  67 161.115
+
  67 161.1150
  68 161.130
+
  68 161.1300
  69 161.145
+
  69 161.1450
  70 161.160
+
  70 161.1600
  71 161.175
+
  71 161.1750
  72 161.190
+
  72 161.1900
  73 161.205
+
  73 161.2050
  74 161.220
+
  74 161.2200
  75 161.235
+
  75 161.2350
  76 161.250
+
  76 161.2500
  77 161.265
+
  77 161.2650
  78 161.280
+
  78 161.2800
  79 161.295
+
  79 161.2950
  80 161.310
+
  80 161.3100
  81 161.325
+
  81 161.3250
  82 161.340
+
  82 161.3400
  83 161.355
+
  83 161.3550
  84 161.370
+
  84 161.3700
  85 161.385
+
  85 161.3850
  86 161.400
+
  86 161.4000
  87 161.415
+
  87 161.4150
  88 161.430
+
  88 161.4300
  89 161.445
+
  89 161.4450
  90 161.460
+
  90 161.4600
  91 161.475
+
  91 161.4750
  92 161.490
+
  92 161.4900
  93 161.505
+
  93 161.5050
  94 161.520
+
  94 161.5200
  95 161.535
+
  95 161.5350
  96 161.550
+
  96 161.5500
  97 161.565
+
  97 161.5650
  -- 161.610 Shared with Marine (Existing railroad users are grandfathered)
+
  -- 161.6100 Shared with Marine (Existing railroad users are grandfathered)
  
 
== UHF Frequencies ==
 
== UHF Frequencies ==
Line 131: Line 135:
 
  452.9000 / 457.9000
 
  452.9000 / 457.9000
 
  452.9125 / 457.9125 Telemetry
 
  452.9125 / 457.9125 Telemetry
  452.9250 / 457.9250 Remote Control/Remote Indicator (DPU - Distributed Power Units)
+
  452.9250 / 457.9250 Remote Control/Remote Indicator
 
  452.9375 / 457.9375 Telemetry/Remote Control/Remote Indicator
 
  452.9375 / 457.9375 Telemetry/Remote Control/Remote Indicator
  452.9500 / 457.9500 Remote Control/Remote Indicator (DPU - Distributed Power Units)
+
  452.9500 / 457.9500 Remote Control/Remote Indicator
 
  452.9625 / 457.9625 Telemetry/Remote Control/Remote Indicator
 
  452.9625 / 457.9625 Telemetry/Remote Control/Remote Indicator
  
== Narrowbanding (Refarming) the Railroad Service ==
+
==Frequencies and Links==
Many rumors have circulated regarding the [[refarming]] of the railroad radio band and whether or not people will be able to monitor it once the changes are made. First of all, don't worry... These changes will progress very slowly. There isn't going to be a point where everything changes in a day, or even a month. It will take years before the whole rail system adopts a totally new standard. Once it does, you will still be able to monitor it. The way you monitor it may change, but it will still be open.
+
* [[Railfan Radio FAQ]]
 +
* [[Current VHF Railroad Frequencies]]
 +
* [[Narrowband VHF Railroad Frequencies]]
 +
* [[UHF Railroad Allocations]]
 +
* [http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?action=genre&genre=3 Radio Reference Live Rail Feeds]
 +
* Railroading/Railscanning/Railfanning links
 +
** [[General Railfan links]]
 +
** [[Railfan links -alphabetic sort]]
 +
* [http://www.batlabs.com/rrspectra.html Motorola Spectra Railroad radio]
 +
* [[Federal Railroad Administration]]
 +
* [[Advanced Train Control System (ATCS) Frequencies]]
  
The basis for these changes are the various mandates that the FCC has imposed for radio systems... Their overall goal is to reorganize the radio spectrum so there's more room for all of the wireless equipment being put into use today, and also to try and create more interoperability between various services. One of the ways they're creating more space, is by narrowing the channel spacing in different service bands by splitting them.
+
==Forum Threads==
 +
*{{Thread|railroad-railfan-monitoring-forum|313043-derailment-recovery-company-frequencies.html|Derailment Recovery Company Frequencies}}
  
The original AAR railroad radio band has a 15 kHz spacing between each channel. Modern technology allows channels to be spaced much closer together now, which creates more channels in a much smaller amount of radio spectrum. The FCC mandates that new radio systems use a smaller 12.5 kHz spacing by 2013. They also want new radio systems to eventually be capable of an even smaller channel spacing, mandating that manufacturers make all new equipment capable of a 6.25 kHz spacing by 2011, and that end users of new systems use a 6.25 kHz spacing by 2018. The new railroad band plan shown below is the one that would be adopted for the first 12.5 kHz mandate by 2013. This plan does not require radios to be digital. However, due to technical limitations for the much tighter 6.25 kHz channel spacing that will eventually
+
==Related Software Applications==
happen, that plan will most likely require radios to be digital. It's this second new plan due in 2018 that has railroads experimenting with digital and trying to decide how exactly they will go about the change. Most radios being purchased now are capable of both analog and digital, or they're at least capable of being modified to digital.
+
* [http://www.coaa.co.uk/trainplotter.htm TrainPlotter]
 +
* [http://www.atcsmon.com/ ATCS Monitor]
  
So what will digital mean? For now it's hard to say exactly how it will all work. The most important thing to emphasize though, is that this will be a very slow change, and it will most likely NOT include any encryption on normal voice channels. For now, two digital protocols seem to be getting tested by the railroads and evaluated. The earliest one is [[APCO-25]] or 'P25'. This protocol is already widely in use around the US on various civil and private radio systems. However, Motorola has indicated that they don't seem to have much interest in the railroad industry at this point, due to the fact that they've discontinued both the railroad Spectra and Astro Spectra radio models. Also in the running for the new digital protocol for railroad radio is the Kenwood / Icom format called NXDN. This protocol is newer and proprietary to
 
Kenwood and Icom equipment. It's also cheaper to implement than P25. Having a proprietary digital protocol for the rail industry wouldn't be that much of a problem, because unlike civil services, the rail industry is fairly self contained. They don't need their system to be compatible with other services. It's been reported that the big roads have been testing not only P25 but also the NXDN protocol. Which one will be the winner is still up in the air; perhaps neither in the end. As of late 2008, some of the new radio equipment being fielded by the large roads is:
 
  
* Norfolk Southern: Kenwood TK-290 portables, unknown mobiles.
 
* CSX: Icom portables, Motorola mobiles and Kenwood portables.
 
* BNSF: Kenwood TK-290 & TK-2180 portables, some Motorolas, Kenwood TK-790 and 740 mobiles.
 
* UPRR: Kenwood TK-290 & TK-2180 portables.
 
  
Motorola no longer produces a dedicated 'clean cab' railroad radio, such as the Spectra or Astro Spectra. Motorola does have the P25 capable XTL2500 and XTL5000 mobiles, but these are not dedicated 'clean cab' style radios. There's basically three known 'clean cab' style radios other than the old Motorolas. They're produced by JEM, Wabtec (refurbished Motorolas), and GE (formerly Harmon). In 2008, Ritron Inc. introduced a newly-designed clean cab radio.
 
  
Article Credit: [http://www.dpdproductions.com/page_traintenna.html DPD Productions - Antennas & Accessories]
 
  
Proceed to [[Narrowbanded Railroad Frequency Chart]]
 
  
==Related Software Applications==
 
* [http://www.coaa.co.uk/trainplotter.htm TrainPlotter]
 
* [http://www.atcsmon.com/ ATCS Monitor]
 
  
==Related Sites==
+
Return to DB page: {{DB|a|7747|Railroads}}<br>
* [http://www.railfanswelcome.com/ N8OAY's Railfan Help Desk]
+
Return to Wiki page: [[Common Frequencies]]
* [http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/RailScan/ Railscan Yahoo Group]
 
* [http://www.atcsmonwiki.org/ ATCS Monitor Wiki]
 
* [[Canadian National Exhibition]]
 
  
[[Category:US and Canadian Common Frequencies]]
+
[[Category:US and Canadian Common Railroads Frequencies]]
[[Category:Railroads]]
+
[[Category:Alabama Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Alabama Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Alaska Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Alaska Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Arizona Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Arizona Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Arkansas Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Arkansas Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:California Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:California Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Colorado Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Colorado Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Connecticut Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Connecticut Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Delaware Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Delaware Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:District of Columbia Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:District of Columbia Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Florida Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Florida Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Georgia Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Georgia Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Hawaii Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Hawaii Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Idaho Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Idaho Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Illinois Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Illinois Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Indiana Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Indiana Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Iowa Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Iowa Railroads Frequencies]]
 +
[[Category:Kansas Railroads]]
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[[Category:Kansas Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Kentucky Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Kentucky Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Louisiana Railroads]]
 +
[[Category:Louisiana Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Maine Railroads]]
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[[Category:Maine Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Maryland Railroads]]
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[[Category:Maryland Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Massachusetts Railroads]]
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[[Category:Massachusetts Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Michigan Railroads]]
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[[Category:Michigan Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Minnesota Railroads]]
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[[Category:Minnesota Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Mississippi Railroads]]
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[[Category:Mississippi Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Missouri Railroads]]
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[[Category:Missouri Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Montana Railroads]]
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[[Category:Montana Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Nebraska Railroads]]
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[[Category:Nebraska Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Nevada Railroads]]
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[[Category:Nevada Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:New Hampshire Railroads]]
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[[Category:New Hampshire Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:New Jersey Railroads]]
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[[Category:New Jersey Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:New Mexico Railroads]]
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[[Category:New Mexico Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:New York Railroads]]
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[[Category:New York Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:North Carolina Railroads]]
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[[Category:North Carolina Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:North Dakota Railroads]]
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[[Category:North Dakota Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Ohio Railroads]]
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[[Category:Ohio Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Oklahoma Railroads]]
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[[Category:Oklahoma Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Oregon Railroads]]
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[[Category:Oregon Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Pennsylvania Railroads]]
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[[Category:Pennsylvania Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Puerto Rico Railroads]]
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[[Category:Puerto Rico Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Rhode Island Railroads]]
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[[Category:Rhode Island Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:South Carolina Railroads]]
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[[Category:South Carolina Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:South Dakota Railroads]]
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[[Category:South Dakota Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Tennessee Railroads]]
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[[Category:Tennessee Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Texas Railroads]]
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[[Category:Texas Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Utah Railroads]]
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[[Category:Utah Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Vermont Railroads]]
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[[Category:Vermont Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Virginia Railroads]]
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[[Category:Virginia Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Washington Railroads]]
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[[Category:Washington Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:West Virginia Railroads]]
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[[Category:West Virginia Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Wisconsin Railroads]]
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[[Category:Wisconsin Railroads Frequencies]]
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[[Category:Wyoming Railroads]]
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[[Category:Wyoming Railroads Frequencies]]

Revision as of 19:19, 18 October 2020

Finding Specific Railroad Frequencies

A great place to start is the RRDB for your particular area. Sometimes, there is not any information to be had and this is where it can be fun!


If you live in the USA you can find all the railroad licenses in your area with a visit to the FCC's website

Next, select one of the Frequency (Range) queries and then enter 160.2150 and 161.5650 for the begin and end search frequencies.

For Service select Land Mobile - Private [LP]

For Radio Service select Industrial/Business Pool - Conventional [IG]


You can then download the results or search them and make a custom spreadsheet with only the fields you want and download it.

As always, be sure to submit any new information for inclusion in the RRDB!

If you don't find it here or in the database, feel free to post a message in the RadioReference's Railroad-Railfan Monitoring Forum.

Amtrak routes and frequencies can be found on the On Line On Track Amtrak page

VHF Frequencies

Railroad radios display the transmit and receive frequency as American Association of Railroads (AAR) channel numbers. For example, these numbers will be referred to over-the-air as "1616" for AAR channel 16 (160.350) or "1180" for AAR channels 11 and 80 in full duplex use (Dispatch transmits on one channel and the train transmits on the other channel).

AAR Ch	Frequency
02	159.8100	Canada Only
03	159.9300	Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
04	160.0500	Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
05	160.1850	Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
06	160.2000	Canada Only (Used by Trucking Companies in the US)
07	160.2150
08	160.2300
09	160.2450
10	160.2600
11	160.2750
12	160.2900
13	160.3050
14	160.3200
15	160.3350
16	160.3500
17	160.3650
18	160.3800
19	160.3950
20	160.4100
21	160.4250
22	160.4400
23	160.4550
24	160.4700
25	160.4850
26	160.5000
27	160.5150
28	160.5300
29	160.5450
30	160.5600
31	160.5750
32	160.5900
33	160.6050
34	160.6200
35	160.6350
36	160.6500
37	160.6650
38	160.6800
39	160.6950
40	160.7100
41	160.7250
42	160.7400
43	160.7550
44	160.7700
45	160.7850
46	160.8000
47	160.8150
48	160.8300
49	160.8450
50	160.8600
51	160.8750
52	160.8900
53	160.9050
54	160.9200
55	160.9350
56	160.9500
57 	160.9650
58	160.9800
59	160.9950
60	161.0100
61	161.0250
62	161.0400
63	161.0550
64	161.0700
65	161.0850
66	161.1000
67	161.1150
68	161.1300
69	161.1450
70	161.1600
71	161.1750
72	161.1900
73	161.2050
74	161.2200
75	161.2350
76	161.2500
77	161.2650
78	161.2800
79	161.2950
80	161.3100
81	161.3250
82	161.3400
83	161.3550
84	161.3700
85	161.3850
86	161.4000
87	161.4150
88	161.4300
89	161.4450
90	161.4600
91	161.4750
92	161.4900
93	161.5050
94	161.5200
95	161.5350
96	161.5500
97	161.5650
--	161.6100 Shared with Marine (Existing railroad users are grandfathered)

UHF Frequencies

Frequencies on the same line can be paired for possible full duplex or repeater use. 452.9375 is a common EOT device frequency in Canada. 457.9375 is a common EOT device frequency in the USA.

452.3250 / 457.3250
452.3750 / 457.3750
452.4250 / 457.4250
452.4750 / 457.4750
452.7750 / 457.7750
452.8250 / 457.8250
452.8750 / 457.8750
452.9000 / 457.9000
452.9125 / 457.9125	Telemetry
452.9250 / 457.9250	Remote Control/Remote Indicator
452.9375 / 457.9375	Telemetry/Remote Control/Remote Indicator
452.9500 / 457.9500	Remote Control/Remote Indicator
452.9625 / 457.9625	Telemetry/Remote Control/Remote Indicator

Frequencies and Links

Forum Threads

Related Software Applications




Return to DB page: Railroads
Return to Wiki page: Common Frequencies