[4] Randy Lewis with the Los Angeles Times gave it a three star rating, saying "this isn’t as consistently deeply moving nor as stylistically outside-the-box as his Alison Krauss-produced 2006 collection Like Red on a Rose, just down-the-middle country by one of the most dependably rewarding artists that genre has to offer".

[10] Dave Heaton with PopMatters gave it an eight star rating saying it "felt like an LP" and continuing saying "as an Alan Jackson album, Freight Train is so consistently likable that it makes me imagine that he might keep getting better over time, as well".

[8] Stuart Munro with The Boston Globe called it "a record of slow and midtempo songs", saying "there isn’t anything revelatory or strikingly different here — just the solid, precise craftsmanship of an artist now deep into his career".

[7] Ninian Dunnett with BBC Music gave it a mixed review, saying "Buoyantly produced, it finds the singer leaning a little too comfortably on the conversational Georgia drawl of his baritone, and the writer coming up a little shy on the sort of detail and wordplay that lifts a cliché [...] The eight originals compare poorly to the 17 on 2008’s Good Time".

[5] Matt Bjorke with Roughstock gave the release 3½, saying "Ultimately this record is neither groundbreaking nor is it lacking in future radio hits; while many artists are always constantly changing their sound, Alan remains true to what made him a star in the first place.