RailGuard vs ExpressNS+
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RailGuard
Report issues and disruptions related to freight railroad operations. Your feedback helps improve efficiency and community relations. Some disruptions, like train horns, are unavoidable due to safety regulations.
- Report rail yard disruptions
- Submit feedback on network operations
- Document rail crossing issues
- Provide details for investigation
- Help improve community relations
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Freight railroads like BNSF operate 24/7, sustaining our nation's economy by bringing you the products you need to live your daily lives and by hauling the materials companies need to make those products. Railroads are vital to preserving our way of life, but living next to a rail yard, track, or one of the hundreds of thousands of rail crossings can present unique challenges. Using the RailGuard app to send details about these challenges helps BNSF mitigate disruptions where we can. We value the feedback you send us about our network and our operations. It can help us operate more efficiently and be better neighbors to the communities we serve. Some disruptions are unavoidable, such as sounding train horns at rail crossings or blocking crossings, due to safety considerations or even federal law. Our Resource Protection team will use the information you provide to investigate the situation. Thank you for using BNSF's RailGuard app. We appreciate you helping us to run a great railroad!
ExpressNS+
This app streamlines intermodal facility procedures for drivers, offering features like pre-gate information submission, location visuals, and electronic receipt access. It aims to reduce gate times and improve overall terminal efficiency with a modern user interface and advanced integrations.
- Submit Pre-Gate Information
- Visuals of Parking & Pick up Locations
- Search by Reservation Number or Equipment ID
- Electronic J1 Receipts
- Submit Bad Order Information
- Report equipment damages using camera
- QR Code Scanning for Reduced Gate Time
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ExpressNS+™ is the next generation mobile application created by Norfolk Southern to make the Ingate, Outgate, On-Terminal, and Pre-Gate procedures to our intermodal facilities easier for Intermodal Drivers. The legacy app has been migrated to a new more advanced platform with updates to the application’s user interface, improved user experience, as well as more modern and forward-looking features & integrations. Intermodal Drivers can perform the following functions using ExpressNS+™: * Submit Pre-Gate Information * Obtain Visuals of Parking & Pick up Locations * Search by Reservation Number or Equipment ID * Receive Electronic J1 Receipts * Submit Bad Order Information * Search Intermodal Equipment * Report equipment damages using camera Some immediate benefits you can expect from using ExpressNS+™ include: * Reduced Gate Time via QR Code Scanning * Streamlined Terminal Activity * Mobile Mission Management * Electronic J1 Receipts * Billing Errors and Availability Notifications * Visual Parking and Pick up Information * Unit Lookup by Reservation Number * Dispatcher Pre-Gate Entry via Web App For more information on ExpressNS+™, visit us at: www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en/shipping-options/intermodal/express-ns.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: ExpressNS+ at every 5 weeks against RailGuard's every 22 months. ExpressNS+ also leads on ratings volume (60 vs 5). RailGuard's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 1.8 for RailGuard against 1.8 for ExpressNS+. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ExpressNS+ has 60 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 0% and 0% positive.
RailGuard ships an update every 22 months, ExpressNS+ every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RailGuard | ExpressNS+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.8 (5 ratings) — better | 1.8 (60 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 60 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 22 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | BNSF Railway | Norfolk Southern Corporation |
Customer experience
RailGuard
ExpressNS+
In-app purchases
RailGuard
No in-app purchases
ExpressNS+
No in-app purchases
