Freight rail moves 40% of long-distance goods in the U.S., but the industry's biggest challenge isn't infrastructure, it's intelligence. In this episode of The Peggy Smedley Show, host Peggy Smedley sits down with V. Krishnan, industry advisor for Microsoft manufacturing & mobility, to explore how AI agents and realtime decision tools are reshaping the future of rail.

They discuss:

• Why railroads are drowning in data but struggling to act on it
• How CSX used AI to transform customer experience
• The Rumo case study: cutting lookup times from 4 minutes to 3 seconds
• Fuel optimization and how AI can cut costs 3–7% without new infrastructure
• Weather analytics, workforce challenges, and the retiring knowledge crisis
• Why the next 10% of performance won't come from more track — it'll come from smarter decisions

Whether you're in logistics, supply chain, or enterprise tech, this conversation is a must-listen.