Nation’s First Autonomous Railcars on Regulated Short Line Come to Mid-Missouri

• November 12, 2026

Powered by St. Louis innovation, the Columbia Terminal Railroad will deploy autonomous, self-propelled railcars to serve Mid-Missouri business hub

Self-propelled, autonomous railcars will soon run in Missouri between Columbia and Centralia on the Columbia Terminal Railroad – the first time this technology will be deployed on a regulated short line in the nation – after the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration announced a $16.2 million grant to modernize the 21.4-mile COLT railroad.

To find a technology partner for this cutting-edge project, the FRA needed to look no further than elsewhere in Missouri: St. Louis-based Intramotev, which builds battery-powered autonomous freight railcars, will deploy its TugVolt railcars, which on the COLT railroad will begin with remote switching and build to autonomous freight service across the full mainline, pending approval of an FRA test program.

The project will produce a safety record that FRA and America’s more than 600 short lines can use as a template for adopting autonomous railcars, Intramotev said in a LinkedIn post.

The project will also develop comprehensive workforce training, setting up Missouri as a leader not just in this technology, but in workforce readiness.

Businesses in Missouri can efficiently move goods anywhere they need, through Missouri’s access to all U.S. Class I railroads, 33,000 highway miles, international airports and an extensive river barge system, all located at the center of North America. So it’s no surprise that nearly 19,000 companies involved in transportation, warehousing, and wholesale trade are located in Missouri.

These investments in the COLT railroad help secure the future of rail access for Mid-Missouri businesses along a corridor that drives hundreds of millions of dollars in sales, supports hundreds of jobs and generates critical tax revenue.

“COLT has been Columbia’s link to the national rail network for nearly 40 years, and the businesses that depend on it support hundreds of local jobs. This federal investment lets us modernize the railroad, strengthen service for our customers, and put Columbia at the forefront of rail innovation,” said Erin Keys, Utilities Director at the City of Columbia, which owns COLT, according to Business Facilities.

The project, which is part of the FRA’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program, includes an additional $4.6 million in non-federal funding contributed by private sector partners and the City of Columbia, bringing the total investment to $20.8 million for a project that will also upgrade rail infrastructure along the 21.4-mile COLT railroad.