GE is also piloting new technology that will help rail yard managers get the right railcar on the right train more quickly. Currently railcars sit idle in a rail yard about 40% of the time. That lack of productivity irks customers like Ford Motor, whose chief operating officer, Mark Fields, met with railroad officials last year to plead for faster turnaround times after its vehicles were piling up in parking lots waiting for enough rail carriers to take them to dealerships. That problem has largely been resolved, Ford says.