Which statement best describes non-revenue service?

• A. Movements carrying fare-paying passengers.
• B. Movements that are planned but not executed.
• C. Movements not carrying fare-paying passengers; includes training, testing, repositioning.
• D. Movements on a freight-only corridor.

Answer: (C)

Non-revenue service describes movements that do not carry fare-paying passengers. These are runs that exist to support the system but don’t generate passenger revenue, such as training trips, testing and calibrating equipment, and repositioning trains to different yards or service points. The key idea is the absence of passenger fares being collected during the movement.

Movements that do carry fare-paying passengers are revenue service, so they aren’t non-revenue. A plan that isn’t executed isn’t about whether passengers are paying, and a freight-only corridor isn’t defining non-revenue service either—non-revenue status is about the passenger revenue (or lack thereof) during the movement, not the track’s freight status.