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class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#19th_century"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>19th century</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-19th_century-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Transcontinental_railroad" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Transcontinental_railroad"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1.1</span> <span>Transcontinental railroad</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Transcontinental_railroad-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Rail_gauge_selection" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Rail_gauge_selection"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1.2</span> <span>Rail gauge selection</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Rail_gauge_selection-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Impact_of_railroads_on_the_economy" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Impact_of_railroads_on_the_economy"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1.3</span> <span>Impact of railroads on the economy</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Impact_of_railroads_on_the_economy-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-20th_century" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#20th_century"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>20th century</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-20th_century-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Freight_railroads" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Freight_railroads"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Freight railroads</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Freight_railroads-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Freight railroads subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Freight_railroads-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Railroad_classes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Railroad_classes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Railroad classes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Railroad_classes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Classes_of_freight_railroads" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Classes_of_freight_railroads"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Classes of freight railroads</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Classes_of_freight_railroads-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Traffic_and_public_benefits" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Traffic_and_public_benefits"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3</span> <span>Traffic and public benefits</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Traffic_and_public_benefits-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Freight_rail_working_with_passenger_rail" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Freight_rail_working_with_passenger_rail"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.4</span> <span>Freight rail working with passenger rail</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Freight_rail_working_with_passenger_rail-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Passenger_railroads" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Passenger_railroads"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Passenger railroads</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Passenger_railroads-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Passenger railroads subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Passenger_railroads-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Car_types" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Car_types"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Car types</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Car_types-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-19th_century:_First_passenger_cars_and_early_development" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#19th_century:_First_passenger_cars_and_early_development"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1.1</span> <span>19th century: First passenger cars and early development</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-19th_century:_First_passenger_cars_and_early_development-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-1900–1950:_Lighter_materials,_new_car_types" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#1900–1950:_Lighter_materials,_new_car_types"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1.2</span> <span>1900–1950: Lighter materials, new car types</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-1900–1950:_Lighter_materials,_new_car_types-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-1950–present:_High-technology_advancements" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#1950–present:_High-technology_advancements"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>1950–present: High-technology advancements</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-1950–present:_High-technology_advancements-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-High-speed_rail" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#High-speed_rail"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>High-speed rail</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-High-speed_rail-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Higher-speed_rail" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Higher-speed_rail"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3.1</span> <span>Higher-speed rail</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Higher-speed_rail-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Rolling_stock_reporting_marks" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Rolling_stock_reporting_marks"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Rolling stock reporting marks</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Rolling_stock_reporting_marks-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-List_of_major_United_States_railroads" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#List_of_major_United_States_railroads"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>List of major United States railroads</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-List_of_major_United_States_railroads-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Rail_links_with_adjacent_countries" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Rail_links_with_adjacent_countries"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Rail links with adjacent countries</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Rail_links_with_adjacent_countries-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Regulation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Regulation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Regulation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Regulation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Accidents" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Accidents"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Accidents</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Accidents-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-References-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle References subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Citations" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Citations"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11.1</span> <span>Citations</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Citations-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Sources" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sources"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11.2</span> <span>Sources</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Sources-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">12</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Further reading subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Video" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Video"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">12.1</span> <span>Video</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Video-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">13</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" 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class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrocarril_en_Estados_Unidos" title="Ferrocarril en Estados Unidos – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Ferrocarril en Estados Unidos" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%84_%D9%88_%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84_%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C_%D8%AF%D8%B1_%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA_%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AF%D9%87_%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7" title="حمل و نقل ریلی در ایالات متحده آمریکا – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="حمل و نقل ریلی در ایالات متحده آمریکا" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_ferroviaire_aux_%C3%89tats-Unis" title="Transport ferroviaire aux États-Unis – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Transport ferroviaire aux États-Unis" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Az_Amerikai_Egyes%C3%BClt_%C3%81llamok_vas%C3%BAti_k%C3%B6zleked%C3%A9se" title="Az Amerikai Egyesült Államok vasúti közlekedése – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Az Amerikai Egyesült Államok vasúti közlekedése" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoorwegen_in_de_Verenigde_Staten" title="Spoorwegen in de Verenigde Staten – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Spoorwegen in de Verenigde Staten" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%A1%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AB%E5%90%88%E8%A1%86%E5%9B%BD%E3%81%AE%E9%89%84%E9%81%93" title="アメリカ合衆国の鉄道 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="アメリカ合衆国の鉄道" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jernbane_i_USA" title="Jernbane i USA – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Jernbane i USA" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transporte_ferrovi%C3%A1rio_nos_Estados_Unidos" title="Transporte ferroviário nos Estados Unidos – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Transporte ferroviário nos Estados Unidos" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%96%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%82_%D0%B2_%D0%A1%D0%A8%D0%90" title="Железнодорожный транспорт в США – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Железнодорожный транспорт в США" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA:s_j%C3%A4rnv%C3%A4gar" title="USA:s järnvägar – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="USA:s järnvägar" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%BE%8E%E5%9C%8B%E9%90%B5%E8%B7%AF%E9%81%8B%E8%BC%B8" title="美國鐵路運輸 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="美國鐵路運輸" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q3537832#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div 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screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above">Rail transport in the United States</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:CSX_5349_GE_ES44DC.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/CSX_5349_GE_ES44DC.jpg/220px-CSX_5349_GE_ES44DC.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="143" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/CSX_5349_GE_ES44DC.jpg/330px-CSX_5349_GE_ES44DC.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/CSX_5349_GE_ES44DC.jpg/440px-CSX_5349_GE_ES44DC.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1251" data-file-height="815" /></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">A <a href="/wiki/CSX_Transportation" title="CSX Transportation">CSX</a> train at a <a href="/wiki/Level_junction" title="Level junction">diamond junction</a> in <a href="/wiki/Marion,_Ohio" title="Marion, Ohio">Marion, Ohio</a></div></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #efefef;">Operation</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Major operators</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Amtrak" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a><br /><a href="/wiki/BNSF_Railway" title="BNSF Railway">BNSF Railway</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Canadian_National_Railway" title="Canadian National Railway">Canadian National Railway</a><br /><a href="/wiki/CPKC_Railway" class="mw-redirect" title="CPKC Railway">CPKC Railway</a><br /><a href="/wiki/CSX_Transportation" title="CSX Transportation">CSX Transportation</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Norfolk_Southern_Railway" title="Norfolk Southern Railway">Norfolk Southern Railway</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Railroad" title="Union Pacific Railroad">Union Pacific Railroad</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #efefef;">Statistics</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Ridership" class="mw-redirect" title="Ridership">Ridership</a></th><td class="infobox-data">549,631,632<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><br />29 million (Amtrak only)<sup id="cite_ref-UICRS_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-UICRS-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (2014)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Passenger_kilometer" class="mw-redirect" title="Passenger kilometer">Passenger km</a></th><td class="infobox-data">10.3 billion<sup id="cite_ref-UICRS_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-UICRS-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (2014)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Freight</th><td class="infobox-data">1.71 trillion <a href="/wiki/Ton-mile" class="mw-redirect" title="Ton-mile">ton-mile</a><sup id="cite_ref-UICRS_2-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-UICRS-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (2014)</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #efefef;">System length</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Total</th><td class="infobox-data">160,141 miles (257,722 km)</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #efefef;"><a href="/wiki/Track_gauge" title="Track gauge">Track gauge</a></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Main</th><td class="infobox-data"><span class="nowrap">1,435 mm</span> (<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1154941027">.mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}</style><span class="nowrap">4 ft <span class="frac">8<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="num">1</span>⁄<span class="den">2</span></span> in</span>) <span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Standard_gauge" class="mw-redirect" title="Standard gauge">standard gauge</a></span></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #efefef;">Features</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Longest tunnel</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Cascade_Tunnel" title="Cascade Tunnel">Cascade Tunnel</a>, 7.8 miles (12.6 km)</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1257001546"><table class="infobox collapsible" style="background-color: transparent; color: var( --color-base ); border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0px; border:none; width:100%; margin:0px; font-size:100%; clear:none; float:none"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size: inherit; background-color: #efefef;">Map</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Class1rr.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Class1rr.png/250px-Class1rr.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="252" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Class1rr.png/375px-Class1rr.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Class1rr.png 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="504" /></a></span></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Rail transportation in the United States</b> consists primarily of <a href="/wiki/Rail_freight_transport" title="Rail freight transport">freight shipments</a> along a well integrated network of <a href="/wiki/Standard-gauge_railway" title="Standard-gauge railway">standard gauge</a> private freight railroads that also extend into <a href="/wiki/Canada" title="Canada">Canada</a> and <a href="/wiki/Mexico" title="Mexico">Mexico</a>. The United States has the <a href="/wiki/List_of_countries_by_rail_transport_network_size" title="List of countries by rail transport network size">largest rail transport network</a> of any country in the world, about 160,000 miles (260,000 km). </p><p><a href="/wiki/Passenger_train" title="Passenger train">Passenger service</a> is a <a href="/wiki/Public_transport" title="Public transport">mass transit</a> option for Americans with <a href="/wiki/Commuter_rail" title="Commuter rail">commuter rail</a> in most major American cities, especially on the <a href="/wiki/East_Coast_of_the_United_States" title="East Coast of the United States">East Coast</a>. Intercity passenger service was once a large and vital part of the nation's passenger transportation network, but passenger service shrank in the 20th century as <a href="/wiki/Aviation_in_the_United_States" title="Aviation in the United States">commercial air traffic</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System" title="Interstate Highway System">Interstate Highway System</a> made commercial air and road transport a practical option throughout the United States. </p><p>The nation's earliest railroads were built in the 1820s and 1830s, <a href="/wiki/Railroads_in_New_England" title="Railroads in New England">primarily in New England</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_(United_States)" title="Mid-Atlantic (United States)">Mid-Atlantic states</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Baltimore_and_Ohio_Railroad" title="Baltimore and Ohio Railroad">Baltimore and Ohio Railroad</a>, chartered in 1827, was the nation's first common-carrier railroad. By 1850, an extensive railroad network had taken shape in the rapidly industrializing <a href="/wiki/Northeastern_United_States" title="Northeastern United States">Northeastern United States</a> and the Midwest, while fewer railroads were built in the <a href="/wiki/Southern_United_States" title="Southern United States">South</a>, which was more agricultural than other regions. During and after the <a href="/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a>, the <a href="/wiki/First_transcontinental_railroad" title="First transcontinental railroad">first transcontinental railroad</a> was built, to join <a href="/wiki/California" title="California">California</a> with the rest of the national network, at a connection in <a href="/wiki/Iowa" title="Iowa">Iowa</a>. </p><p>Railroads expanded throughout the rest of the 19th century, eventually reaching nearly every corner of the nation. The railroads were temporarily <a href="/wiki/Nationalize" class="mw-redirect" title="Nationalize">nationalized</a> between 1917 and 1920 by the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Railroad_Administration" title="United States Railroad Administration">United States Railroad Administration</a>, because of American entry into <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a>. Railroad mileage peaked at this time. Railroads were affected deeply by the <a href="/wiki/Great_Depression_in_the_United_States" title="Great Depression in the United States">Great Depression in the United States</a>, and some lines were abandoned. A great increase in traffic during <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> brought a reprieve, but after the war railroads faced intense competition from <a href="/wiki/Car" title="Car">automobiles</a> and <a href="/wiki/Aircraft" title="Aircraft">aircraft</a> and began a long decline. Passenger service was especially hard hit; in 1971 the federal government created <a href="/wiki/Amtrak" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a>, to take over responsibility for intercity passenger travel. Numerous railroad companies went bankrupt starting in the 1960s, most notably <a href="/wiki/Penn_Central_Transportation_Company" title="Penn Central Transportation Company">Penn Central Transportation Company</a> in 1971, in the largest bankruptcy in the nation's history at the time. Once again, the federal government intervened, forming <a href="/wiki/Conrail" title="Conrail">Conrail</a>, in 1976, to assume control of bankrupt railroads in the northeast. </p><p>Railroads' fortunes changed after the passage of the <a href="/wiki/Staggers_Rail_Act" title="Staggers Rail Act">Staggers Rail Act</a> (1980), which <a href="/wiki/Deregulation" title="Deregulation">deregulated</a> railroad companies, who had previously faced much stronger regulation than other modes of transportation. With innovations such as <a href="/wiki/Trailer-on-flatcar" title="Trailer-on-flatcar">trailer-on-flatcar</a> and <a href="/wiki/Intermodal_freight_transport" title="Intermodal freight transport">intermodal freight transport</a>, railroad traffic increased. After the Staggers Act, many railroads merged, forming major systems, such as <a href="/wiki/CSX_Transportation" title="CSX Transportation">CSX</a> and <a href="/wiki/Norfolk_Southern_Railway" title="Norfolk Southern Railway">Norfolk Southern</a>, in the Eastern United States, and <a href="/wiki/BNSF_Railway" title="BNSF Railway">BNSF Railway</a>, in the Western United States; <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Railroad" title="Union Pacific Railroad">Union Pacific Railroad</a> also purchased some competitors. Another result of the Staggers Act was the rise of <a href="/wiki/Shortline_railroad" title="Shortline railroad">shortline railroads</a>, which formed to operate lines that major railroads had abandoned or sold off. Hundreds of these companies were formed by the end of the century. Freight railroads invested in modernization and greater capacity as they entered the 21st century, and intermodal transport continued to grow, while traditional traffic, such as coal, fell. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/History_of_rail_transportation_in_the_United_States" title="History of rail transportation in the United States">History of rail transportation in the United States</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="19th_century">19th century</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: 19th century"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Oldest_railroads_in_North_America" title="Oldest railroads in North America">Oldest railroads in North America</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:FWPNW026HobokenNJSA0266.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/FWPNW026HobokenNJSA0266.jpg/220px-FWPNW026HobokenNJSA0266.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="122" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/FWPNW026HobokenNJSA0266.jpg/330px-FWPNW026HobokenNJSA0266.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/FWPNW026HobokenNJSA0266.jpg/440px-FWPNW026HobokenNJSA0266.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1119" data-file-height="621" /></a><figcaption>The first American locomotive at Castle Point in <a href="/wiki/Hoboken,_New_Jersey" title="Hoboken, New Jersey">Hoboken, New Jersey</a>, <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 1826</span></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Canton_Viaduct,_Southern_view,_west_side.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Canton_Viaduct%2C_Southern_view%2C_west_side.JPG/220px-Canton_Viaduct%2C_Southern_view%2C_west_side.JPG" decoding="async" width="220" height="392" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Canton_Viaduct%2C_Southern_view%2C_west_side.JPG/330px-Canton_Viaduct%2C_Southern_view%2C_west_side.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Canton_Viaduct%2C_Southern_view%2C_west_side.JPG/440px-Canton_Viaduct%2C_Southern_view%2C_west_side.JPG 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1824" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Canton_Viaduct" title="Canton Viaduct">Canton Viaduct</a>, built in 1834, is still in use today on the <a href="/wiki/Northeast_Corridor" title="Northeast Corridor">Northeast Corridor</a>.</figcaption></figure> <p>Between 1762 and 1764 a <a href="/wiki/Gravity_railroad" title="Gravity railroad">gravity railroad</a> (<a href="/wiki/Tramway_(industrial)" title="Tramway (industrial)">mechanized tramway</a>) (<a href="/w/index.php?title=Montresor%27s_Tramway&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Montresor's Tramway (page does not exist)">Montresor's Tramway</a>) was built by British Army engineers up the steep riverside terrain near the <a href="/wiki/Niagara_River" title="Niagara River">Niagara River</a> waterfall's <a href="/wiki/Escarpment" title="Escarpment">escarpment</a> at the <a href="/w/index.php?title=Niagara_Portage&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Niagara Portage (page does not exist)">Niagara Portage</a> in <a href="/wiki/Lewiston,_New_York" title="Lewiston, New York">Lewiston, New York</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-PMat-text_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-PMat-text-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Between the 1820s and 1840s, Americans closely watched <a href="/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_Great_Britain" title="History of rail transport in Great Britain">the development of railways in Great Britain</a>. There, the main competition came from canals, many of which operated under state ownership and from privately owned steamboats plying the nation's vast river system. In 1829, Massachusetts prepared an elaborate rail plan. Government support, most especially the detailing of officers from the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Army_Corps_of_Engineers" title="United States Army Corps of Engineers">U.S. Army Corps of Engineers</a> – the nation's only source of civil engineering expertise – was crucial in assisting private enterprise in building nearly all the country's railroads. Army Engineer officers surveyed and selected routes, planned, designed, and constructed rights-of-way, track, and structures, and introduced the Army's system of reports and accountability to the railroad companies. More than one in ten of the then 1,058 graduates from the <a href="/wiki/U.S._Military_Academy" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Military Academy">U.S. Military Academy</a> at West Point between 1802 and 1866 became corporate presidents, chief engineers, treasurers, superintendents and general managers of railroad companies.<sup id="cite_ref-Smith_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Smith-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Among the Army officers who thus assisted the building and managing of the first American railroads were <a href="/wiki/Stephen_Harriman_Long" title="Stephen Harriman Long">Stephen Harriman Long</a>, <a href="/wiki/George_Washington_Whistler" title="George Washington Whistler">George Washington Whistler</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Herman_Haupt" title="Herman Haupt">Herman Haupt</a>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (March 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>State governments granted charters that created the business corporation and gave a limited right of <a href="/wiki/Eminent_domain" title="Eminent domain">eminent domain</a>, allowing the railroad to buy needed land, even over the owner's objections.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>note 1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Baltimore_and_Ohio_Railroad" title="Baltimore and Ohio Railroad">Baltimore and Ohio Railroad</a> (B&O) was chartered in 1827 to build a steam railroad west from <a href="/wiki/Baltimore" title="Baltimore">Baltimore</a>, Maryland, to a point on the <a href="/wiki/Ohio_River" title="Ohio River">Ohio River</a> and began scheduled freight service over its first section on May 24, 1830. The first railroad to carry passengers, and, by accident, the first tourist railroad, began operating in 1827. Named the <a href="/wiki/Lehigh_Coal_%26_Navigation_Company" title="Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company">Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company</a>, initially a gravity road feeding anthracite coal downhill to the <a href="/wiki/Lehigh_Canal" title="Lehigh Canal">Lehigh Canal</a>, using mule-power to return nine miles up the mountain; but, by the summer of 1829, as newspapers documented, it regularly carried passengers. In 1843, renamed the <a href="/wiki/Summit_Hill_%26_Mauch_Chunk_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Summit Hill & Mauch Chunk Railroad">Summit Hill & Mauch Chunk Railroad</a>, it added a steam powered cable-return track for true two-way operation and ran as a <a href="/wiki/Common_carrier" title="Common carrier">common carrier</a> and tourist road from the 1890s to 1937. Lasting 111 years, the SH&MC is described by some to be the world's first <a href="/wiki/Roller_coaster" title="Roller coaster">roller coaster</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-SH&MCsbRR_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SH&MCsbRR-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>note 2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The first purpose-built common carrier railroad in the northeast was the <a href="/wiki/Mohawk_and_Hudson_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Mohawk and Hudson Railroad">Mohawk & Hudson Railroad</a>; incorporated in 1826. It began operating in August 1831. Soon, a second passenger line, the <a href="/wiki/Saratoga_and_Schenectady_Railroad" title="Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad">Saratoga & Schenectady Railroad</a>, started service in June 1832.<sup id="cite_ref-Stevens_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Stevens-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 1–115">: 1–115 </span></sup> </p><p>In 1835, the B&O completed a branch from Baltimore southward to Washington, D.C.<sup id="cite_ref-Dilts_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dilts-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 157">: 157 </span></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Boston_and_Providence_Railroad" title="Boston and Providence Railroad">Boston & Providence Railroad</a> was incorporated in 1831 to build a railroad between <a href="/wiki/Boston" title="Boston">Boston</a> and <a href="/wiki/Providence,_Rhode_Island" title="Providence, Rhode Island">Providence, Rhode Island</a>; the road was completed in 1835 with the completion of the <a href="/wiki/Canton_Viaduct" title="Canton Viaduct">Canton Viaduct</a> in <a href="/wiki/Canton,_Massachusetts" title="Canton, Massachusetts">Canton, Massachusetts</a>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (March 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>Numerous short lines were built, especially in the south, to provide connections to the river systems and the river boats common to the era. In <a href="/wiki/Louisiana" title="Louisiana">Louisiana</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Pontchartrain_Rail-Road" class="mw-redirect" title="Pontchartrain Rail-Road">Pontchartrain Rail-Road</a>, a 5-mile (8.0 km) route connecting the <a href="/wiki/Mississippi_River" title="Mississippi River">Mississippi River</a> with <a href="/wiki/Lake_Pontchartrain" title="Lake Pontchartrain">Lake Pontchartrain</a> at New Orleans was completed in 1831 and provided over a century of operation. Completed in 1830, the <a href="/wiki/Tuscumbia,_Courtland_and_Decatur_Railroad" title="Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad">Tuscumbia, Courtland & Decatur Railroad</a> became the first railroad constructed west of the <a href="/wiki/Appalachian_Mountains" title="Appalachian Mountains">Appalachian Mountains</a>; it connected the <a href="/wiki/Alabama" title="Alabama">Alabama</a> cities of <a href="/wiki/Decatur,_Alabama" title="Decatur, Alabama">Decatur</a> and <a href="/wiki/Tuscumbia,_Alabama" title="Tuscumbia, Alabama">Tuscumbia</a>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (March 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>Soon, other roads that would themselves be purchased or merged into larger entities, were formed. The <a href="/wiki/Camden_and_Amboy_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Camden and Amboy Railroad">Camden & Amboy Railroad</a> (C&A), the first railroad built in <a href="/wiki/New_Jersey" title="New Jersey">New Jersey</a>, completed its route between its namesake cities in 1834. The C&A ran successfully for decades connecting <a href="/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City">New York City</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Delaware_Valley" title="Delaware Valley">Delaware Valley</a>, and would eventually become part of the <a href="/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad" title="Pennsylvania Railroad">Pennsylvania Railroad</a>. </p><p>By 1850, over 9,000 miles (14,000 km) of railroad lines had been built.<sup id="cite_ref-Wilson_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Wilson-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The B&O's westward route reached the Ohio River in 1852, the first eastern seaboard railroad to do so.<sup id="cite_ref-Stover_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Stover-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: Ch.V">: Ch.V </span></sup> Railroad companies in the North and Midwest constructed networks that linked nearly every major city by 1860. </p><p>Large railroad companies, including the <a href="/wiki/New_York_Central_Railroad" title="New York Central Railroad">New York Central</a>, <a href="/wiki/Grand_Trunk_Railway" title="Grand Trunk Railway">Grand Trunk Railway</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/Southern_Pacific_Transportation_Company" title="Southern Pacific Transportation Company">Southern Pacific</a>, spanned several states. In response to <a href="/wiki/Monopoly" title="Monopoly">monopolistic</a> practices, such as <a href="/wiki/Price_fixing" title="Price fixing">price fixing</a> and other excesses of some railroads and their owners, <a href="/wiki/United_States_Congress" title="United States Congress">Congress</a> created the <a href="/wiki/Interstate_Commerce_Commission" title="Interstate Commerce Commission">Interstate Commerce Commission</a> (ICC) in 1887. The ICC indirectly controlled the business activities of the railroads through issuance of extensive <a href="/wiki/Regulations" class="mw-redirect" title="Regulations">regulations</a>. Congress also enacted <a href="/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law" title="United States antitrust law">antitrust legislation</a> to prevent railroad monopolies, beginning with the <a href="/wiki/Sherman_Antitrust_Act" title="Sherman Antitrust Act">Sherman Antitrust Act</a> in 1890. Industrialists such as <a href="/wiki/Cornelius_Vanderbilt" title="Cornelius Vanderbilt">Cornelius Vanderbilt</a> and <a href="/wiki/Jay_Gould" title="Jay Gould">Jay Gould</a> became wealthy through railroad ownerships.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (March 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Transcontinental_railroad">Transcontinental railroad</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Transcontinental railroad"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/First_Transcontinental_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="First Transcontinental Railroad">First Transcontinental Railroad</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:East_west_shaking_hands_by_russell.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/East_west_shaking_hands_by_russell.jpg/220px-East_west_shaking_hands_by_russell.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="167" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/East_west_shaking_hands_by_russell.jpg/330px-East_west_shaking_hands_by_russell.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/East_west_shaking_hands_by_russell.jpg/440px-East_west_shaking_hands_by_russell.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4505" data-file-height="3417" /></a><figcaption>Celebration of the meeting of the railroad in <a href="/wiki/Promontory_Summit,_Utah" class="mw-redirect" title="Promontory Summit, Utah">Promontory Summit, Utah</a> in May 1869</figcaption></figure> <p>The First Transcontinental Railroad in the U.S. was built in the 1860s, linking the railroad network of the eastern U.S. with California on the <a href="/wiki/Pacific_Ocean" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific</a> coast. Completed on May 10, 1869, at the <a href="/wiki/Golden_spike" title="Golden spike">Golden spike</a> event at <a href="/wiki/Promontory_Summit,_Utah" class="mw-redirect" title="Promontory Summit, Utah">Promontory Summit, Utah</a>, it created a nationwide mechanized transportation network that revolutionized the population and economy of the <a href="/wiki/U.S._West" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. West">American West</a>, catalyzing the transition from the <a href="/wiki/Wagon_train" title="Wagon train">wagon trains</a> of previous decades to a modern transportation system. It was the first transcontinental railroad by connecting myriad eastern U.S. railroads to the Pacific Ocean. However it was not the world's longest railroad, as <a href="/wiki/History_of_Canada_(1763%E2%80%931867)" title="History of Canada (1763–1867)">Canada</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Grand_Trunk_Railway" title="Grand Trunk Railway">Grand Trunk Railway</a> (GTR) had, by 1867, already accumulated more than 2,055 kilometres (1,277 mi) of track by connecting <a href="/wiki/Portland,_Maine" title="Portland, Maine">Portland, Maine</a>, and the three northern <a href="/wiki/New_England" title="New England">New England</a> states with the <a href="/wiki/Atlantic_Canada" title="Atlantic Canada">Canadian Atlantic provinces</a>, and west as far as <a href="/wiki/Port_Huron,_Michigan" title="Port Huron, Michigan">Port Huron, Michigan</a>, through <a href="/wiki/Sarnia" title="Sarnia">Sarnia, Ontario</a>. </p><p>Authorized by the <a href="/wiki/Pacific_Railway_Act" class="mw-redirect" title="Pacific Railway Act">Pacific Railway Act</a> of 1862 and heavily backed by the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Federal_Government" class="mw-redirect" title="United States Federal Government">federal government</a>, the first transcontinental railroad was the culmination of a decades-long movement to build such a line and was one of the crowning achievements of the presidency of <a href="/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln" title="Abraham Lincoln">Abraham Lincoln</a>, completed five years after his death. The building of the railroad required enormous feats of engineering and <a href="/wiki/Labour_(economics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Labour (economics)">labor</a> in the crossing of the <a href="/wiki/Great_Plains" title="Great Plains">Great Plains</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Rocky_Mountains" title="Rocky Mountains">Rocky Mountains</a> by the westbound <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Railroad" title="Union Pacific Railroad">Union Pacific Railroad</a> (UP) and eastbound <a href="/wiki/Central_Pacific_Railroad" title="Central Pacific Railroad">Central Pacific Railroad</a>, the two federally chartered enterprises that built the line.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The building of the railroad was motivated in part to bind the <a href="/wiki/Union_(American_Civil_War)" title="Union (American Civil War)">Union</a> together following the strife of the <a href="/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a>. It substantially accelerated the populating of the West by <a href="/wiki/Homestead_Act" class="mw-redirect" title="Homestead Act">homesteaders</a>, leading to rapid <a href="/wiki/Agriculture" title="Agriculture">cultivation</a> of new farm lands. The Central Pacific and the <a href="/wiki/Southern_Pacific_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Southern Pacific Railroad">Southern Pacific Railroad</a> combined operations in 1870 and formally merged in 1885; the Union Pacific originally bought the Southern Pacific in 1901 and was forced to divest it in 1913, but took it over again in 1996. </p><p>Much of the original <a href="/wiki/Right-of-way_(railroad)" class="mw-redirect" title="Right-of-way (railroad)">roadbed</a> is still in use today and owned by UP, which is descended from both of the original railroads.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (March 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p><br /> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Rail_gauge_selection">Rail gauge selection</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Rail gauge selection"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Track_gauge_in_the_United_States" title="Track gauge in the United States">Track gauge in the United States</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:44._Cape_Horn,_C.P.R.R.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/44._Cape_Horn%2C_C.P.R.R.jpg/220px-44._Cape_Horn%2C_C.P.R.R.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="158" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/44._Cape_Horn%2C_C.P.R.R.jpg/330px-44._Cape_Horn%2C_C.P.R.R.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/44._Cape_Horn%2C_C.P.R.R.jpg/440px-44._Cape_Horn%2C_C.P.R.R.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="717" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Central_Pacific_Railroad" title="Central Pacific Railroad">Central Pacific Railroad</a> at Cape Horn, California, <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 1880</span></figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Impact_of_railroads_on_the_economy">Impact of railroads on the economy</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Impact of railroads on the economy"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <table class="wikitable sortable floatright"> <caption><b>Railroad mileage increase by groups of states</b><br /><small>Source: <a href="/wiki/Chauncey_Depew" title="Chauncey Depew">Chauncey Depew</a> (ed.), <i>One Hundred Years of American Commerce 1795–1895</i> p 111</small> </caption> <tbody><tr> <th>Region </th> <th>1850 </th> <th>1860 </th> <th>1870 </th> <th>1880 </th> <th>1890 </th></tr> <tr> <td>New England </td> <td>2,507 </td> <td>3,660 </td> <td>4,494 </td> <td>5,982 </td> <td>6,831 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Middle States </td> <td>3,202 </td> <td>6,705 </td> <td>10,964 </td> <td>15,872 </td> <td>21,536 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Southern States </td> <td>2,036 </td> <td>8,838 </td> <td>11,192 </td> <td>14,778 </td> <td>29,209 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Western States and Territories </td> <td>1,276 </td> <td>11,400 </td> <td>24,587 </td> <td>52,589 </td> <td>62,394 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Pacific States and Territories </td> <td> </td> <td>23 </td> <td>1,677 </td> <td>4,080 </td> <td>9,804 </td></tr> <tr> <th>Totals </th> <td>9,021 </td> <td>30,626 </td> <td>52,914 </td> <td>93,301 </td> <td>129,774 </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Many Canadian and U.S. railroads originally used various broad gauges, but most were converted to <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1154941027"><a href="/wiki/Standard_gauge" class="mw-redirect" title="Standard gauge"><span class="nowrap">4 ft <span class="frac">8<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="num">1</span>⁄<span class="den">2</span></span> in</span></a> (<span class="nowrap">1,435 mm</span>) by 1886, when the conversion of much of the southern rail network from <a href="/wiki/5_ft_and_1520_mm_gauge_railways" title="5 ft and 1520 mm gauge railways"><span class="nowrap">5 ft</span></a> (<span class="nowrap">1,524 mm</span>) gauge took place. This and the standardization of couplings and air brakes enabled the pooling and interchange of <a href="/wiki/Locomotive" title="Locomotive">locomotives</a> and rolling stock. </p><p>The railroad had its largest impact on the American transportation system during the second half of the 19th century. The standard historical interpretation holds that the railroads were central to the development of a national market in the United States and served as a model of how to organize, finance and manage a large corporation,<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> along with allowing growth of the American population outside of the eastern regions. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="20th_century">20th century</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: 20th century"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Railroad1860.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Railroad1860.jpg/220px-Railroad1860.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="179" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Railroad1860.jpg/330px-Railroad1860.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Railroad1860.jpg/440px-Railroad1860.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1256" data-file-height="1024" /></a><figcaption>Train running on the Dale Creek Iron Viaduct in <a href="/wiki/Wyoming" title="Wyoming">Wyoming</a>, <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 1860</span></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Railroads_of_the_United_States_in_1918_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16960.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Railroads_of_the_United_States_in_1918_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16960.png/220px-Railroads_of_the_United_States_in_1918_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16960.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="141" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Railroads_of_the_United_States_in_1918_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16960.png/330px-Railroads_of_the_United_States_in_1918_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16960.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Railroads_of_the_United_States_in_1918_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16960.png/440px-Railroads_of_the_United_States_in_1918_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16960.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="769" /></a><figcaption>Railroads of the United States in 1918</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Santa_Fe_stopped_at_Cajon_Siding,_March_1943.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Santa_Fe_stopped_at_Cajon_Siding%2C_March_1943.jpg/220px-Santa_Fe_stopped_at_Cajon_Siding%2C_March_1943.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="161" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Santa_Fe_stopped_at_Cajon_Siding%2C_March_1943.jpg/330px-Santa_Fe_stopped_at_Cajon_Siding%2C_March_1943.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Santa_Fe_stopped_at_Cajon_Siding%2C_March_1943.jpg/440px-Santa_Fe_stopped_at_Cajon_Siding%2C_March_1943.jpg 2x" data-file-width="514" data-file-height="377" /></a><figcaption>An <a href="/wiki/Atchison,_Topeka_and_Santa_Fe_Railway" title="Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway">Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway</a> freight train pauses at <a href="/wiki/Cajon,_California" class="mw-redirect" title="Cajon, California">Cajon, California</a>, in March 1943 to cool its braking equipment after descending <a href="/wiki/Cajon_Pass" title="Cajon Pass">Cajon Pass</a>; the <a href="/wiki/Interstate_15_in_California" title="Interstate 15 in California">Interstate 15</a> of <a href="/wiki/U.S._Route_66" title="U.S. Route 66">U.S. Route 66</a> is visible to the right of the train.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Amtrak_Vermonter_at_Brattleboro_in_2004.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Amtrak_Vermonter_at_Brattleboro_in_2004.jpg/220px-Amtrak_Vermonter_at_Brattleboro_in_2004.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="156" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Amtrak_Vermonter_at_Brattleboro_in_2004.jpg/330px-Amtrak_Vermonter_at_Brattleboro_in_2004.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Amtrak_Vermonter_at_Brattleboro_in_2004.jpg/440px-Amtrak_Vermonter_at_Brattleboro_in_2004.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="569" /></a><figcaption>An <a href="/wiki/Amtrak" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a> train at <a href="/wiki/Union_Station_(Brattleboro,_Vermont)" title="Union Station (Brattleboro, Vermont)">Union Station</a> in <a href="/wiki/Brattleboro,_Vermont" title="Brattleboro, Vermont">Brattleboro, Vermont</a></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:BNSF_5350_20040808_Prairie_du_Chien_WI.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/BNSF_5350_20040808_Prairie_du_Chien_WI.jpg/220px-BNSF_5350_20040808_Prairie_du_Chien_WI.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="132" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/BNSF_5350_20040808_Prairie_du_Chien_WI.jpg/330px-BNSF_5350_20040808_Prairie_du_Chien_WI.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/BNSF_5350_20040808_Prairie_du_Chien_WI.jpg/440px-BNSF_5350_20040808_Prairie_du_Chien_WI.jpg 2x" data-file-width="677" data-file-height="405" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/BNSF_Railway" title="BNSF Railway">BNSF Railway</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Double-stack_rail_transport" title="Double-stack rail transport">double stack</a> freight train in <a href="/wiki/Wisconsin" title="Wisconsin">Wisconsin</a></figcaption></figure> <p>The principal mainline railroads concentrated their efforts on moving freight and passengers over long distances. But many had suburban services near large cities, which might also be served by <a href="/wiki/Streetcar" class="mw-redirect" title="Streetcar">Streetcar</a> and <a href="/wiki/Interurban" title="Interurban">Interurban</a> lines. The Interurban was a concept which relied almost exclusively on passenger traffic for revenue. Unable to survive the <a href="/wiki/Great_Depression" title="Great Depression">Great Depression</a>, the failure of most Interurbans by that time left many cities without suburban passenger railroads, although the largest cities such as New York City, <a href="/wiki/Chicago" title="Chicago">Chicago</a>, <a href="/wiki/Boston" title="Boston">Boston</a> and <a href="/wiki/Philadelphia" title="Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> continued to have suburban service. The major railroads passenger flagship services included multi-day journeys on luxury trains resembling hotels, which were unable to compete with airlines in the 1950s. Rural communities were served by slow trains no more than twice a day. They survived until the 1960s because the same train hauled the <a href="/wiki/Railway_Post_Office" class="mw-redirect" title="Railway Post Office">Railway Post Office</a> cars, paid for by the <a href="/wiki/US_Post_Office" class="mw-redirect" title="US Post Office">US Post Office</a>. RPOs were withdrawn when mail sorting was mechanized. </p><p>As early as the 1930s, automobile travel had begun to cut into the rail passenger market, somewhat reducing <a href="/wiki/Economies_of_scale" title="Economies of scale">economies of scale</a>, but it was the development of the <a href="/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System" title="Interstate Highway System">Interstate Highway System</a> and of <a href="/wiki/Commercial_aviation" title="Commercial aviation">commercial aviation</a> in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as increasingly restrictive regulation, that dealt the most damaging blows to rail transportation, both passenger and freight. <a href="/wiki/General_Motors" title="General Motors">General Motors</a> and others were convicted of running the streetcar industry into the ground purposefully in what is referred to as the <a href="/wiki/Great_American_Streetcar_Scandal" class="mw-redirect" title="Great American Streetcar Scandal">Great American Streetcar Scandal</a>. There was little point in operating passenger trains to advertise freight service when those who made decisions about freight shipping traveled by car and by air, and when the railroads' chief competitors for that market were interstate trucking companies. </p><p>Soon, the only things keeping most passenger trains running were legal obligations. Meanwhile, companies who were interested in using railroads for profitable freight traffic were looking for ways to get out of those legal obligations, and it looked like intercity passenger rail service would soon become extinct in the United States beyond a few highly populated corridors. The final blow for passenger trains in the U.S. came with the loss of <a href="/wiki/Railroad_post_office" class="mw-redirect" title="Railroad post office">railroad post offices</a> in the 1960s. On May 1, 1971, with only a few exceptions, the federally-funded <a href="/wiki/Amtrak" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a> took over all intercity passenger rail service in the continental United States. The <a href="/wiki/Denver_and_Rio_Grande_Western_Railroad" title="Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad">Rio Grande</a>, with its <a href="/wiki/Denver" title="Denver">Denver</a>-<a href="/wiki/Ogden,_Utah" title="Ogden, Utah">Ogden</a> <i><a href="/wiki/Rio_Grande_Zephyr" title="Rio Grande Zephyr">Rio Grande Zephyr</a></i> and the Southern with its Washington, D.C.–<a href="/wiki/New_Orleans" title="New Orleans">New Orleans</a> <a href="/wiki/Crescent_(Amtrak)" class="mw-redirect" title="Crescent (Amtrak)"><i>Southern Crescent</i></a> chose to stay out of Amtrak, and the <a href="/wiki/Chicago,_Rock_Island_and_Pacific_Railroad" title="Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad">Rock Island</a>, with two intrastate <a href="/wiki/Illinois" title="Illinois">Illinois</a> trains, was too far gone to be included into Amtrak. </p><p>Freight transportation continued to labor under regulations developed when rail transport had a monopoly on intercity traffic, and railroads only competed with one another. An entire generation of rail managers had been trained to operate under this regulatory regime. <a href="/wiki/Railroad_brotherhoods" title="Railroad brotherhoods">Labor unions</a> and their work rules were likewise a formidable barrier to change. Overregulation, management and unions formed an "iron triangle" of stagnation, frustrating the efforts of leaders such as the <a href="/wiki/New_York_Central_Railroad" title="New York Central Railroad">New York Central</a>'s <a href="/wiki/New_York_Central_Railroad#Alfred_E._Perlman:_1958-1968" title="New York Central Railroad">Alfred E. Perlman</a>. In particular, the dense rail network in the Northeastern U.S. was in need of radical pruning and consolidation. A spectacularly unsuccessful beginning was the 1968 formation and subsequent bankruptcy of the <a href="/wiki/Penn_Central" class="mw-redirect" title="Penn Central">Penn Central</a>, barely two years later. </p><p>On routes where a single railroad has had an undisputed monopoly, passenger service was as spartan and as expensive as the market and ICC regulation would bear, since such railroads had no need to advertise their freight services. However, on routes where two or three railroads were in direct competition with each other for freight business, such railroads would spare no expense to make their passenger trains as fast, luxurious, and affordable as possible, as it was considered to be the most effective way of advertising their profitable freight services. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/National_Association_of_Railroad_Passengers" class="mw-redirect" title="National Association of Railroad Passengers">National Association of Railroad Passengers</a> (NARP) was formed in 1967 to lobby for the continuation of passenger trains. Its lobbying efforts were hampered somewhat by <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)" title="Democratic Party (United States)">Democratic</a> opposition to any sort of <a href="/wiki/Rail_subsidies" title="Rail subsidies">rail subsidies</a> to the privately owned railroads, and <a href="/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)">Republican</a> opposition to <a href="/wiki/Nationalization" title="Nationalization">nationalization</a> of the railroad industry. The proponents were aided by the fact that few in the federal government wanted to be held responsible for the seemingly inevitable extinction of the passenger train, which most regarded as tantamount to political suicide. The urgent need to solve the passenger train disaster was heightened by the bankruptcy filing of the <a href="/wiki/Penn_Central_Transportation" class="mw-redirect" title="Penn Central Transportation">Penn Central</a>, the dominant railroad in the <a href="/wiki/Northeastern_United_States" title="Northeastern United States">Northeastern United States</a>, on June 21, 1970. </p><p>Under the <a href="/wiki/Rail_Passenger_Service_Act" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail Passenger Service Act">Rail Passenger Service Act</a> of 1970, Congress created the <a href="/wiki/Amtrak" title="Amtrak">National Railroad Passenger Corporation</a> (NRPC) to subsidize and oversee the operation of intercity passenger trains. The Act provided that: </p> <ul><li>Any railroad operating intercity passenger service could contract with the NRPC, thereby joining the national system.</li> <li>Participating railroads bought into the new corporation using a formula based on their recent intercity passenger losses. The purchase price could be satisfied either by cash or rolling stock; in exchange, the railroads received Amtrak common stock.</li> <li>Any participating railroad was freed of the obligation to operate intercity passenger service after May 1971, except for those services chosen by the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Transportation" title="United States Department of Transportation">U.S. Department of Transportation</a> as part of a "basic system" of service and paid for by NRPC using its federal funds.</li> <li>Railroads who chose not to join the Amtrak system were required to continue operating their existing passenger service until 1975 and thenceforth had to pursue the customary ICC approval process for any discontinuance or alteration to the service.</li></ul> <p>The original working brand name for NRPC was <i>Railpax</i>, which eventually became <a href="/wiki/Amtrak" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a>. At the time, many Washington insiders viewed the corporation as a face-saving way to give passenger trains the one "last hurrah" demanded by the public, but expected that the NRPC would quietly disappear in a few years as public interest waned. However, while Amtrak's political and financial support have often been shaky, popular and political support for Amtrak has allowed it to survive into the 21st century. </p><p>To preserve a declining freight rail industry, Congress passed the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973, sometimes called the "3R Act". The act was an attempt to salvage viable freight operations from the bankrupt <a href="/wiki/Penn_Central_Transportation_Company" title="Penn Central Transportation Company">Penn Central</a> and other lines in the northeast, <a href="/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_(United_States)" title="Mid-Atlantic (United States)">mid-Atlantic</a> and Midwestern regions.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The law created the <a href="/wiki/Consolidated_Rail_Corporation" class="mw-redirect" title="Consolidated Rail Corporation">Consolidated Rail Corporation</a> (Conrail), a government-owned corporation, which began operations in 1976. Another law, the <a href="/wiki/Railroad_Revitalization_and_Regulatory_Reform_Act" title="Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act">Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act</a> of 1976 (the "4R Act"), provided more specifics for the Conrail acquisitions and set the stage for more comprehensive deregulation of the railroad industry.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Portions of the <a href="/wiki/Penn_Central" class="mw-redirect" title="Penn Central">Penn Central</a>, <a href="/wiki/Erie_Lackawanna" class="mw-redirect" title="Erie Lackawanna">Erie Lackawanna</a>, <a href="/wiki/Reading_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Reading Railroad">Reading Railroad</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ann_Arbor_Railroad_(1895%E2%80%931976)" title="Ann Arbor Railroad (1895–1976)">Ann Arbor Railroad</a>, <a href="/wiki/Central_Railroad_of_New_Jersey" title="Central Railroad of New Jersey">Central Railroad of New Jersey</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lehigh_Valley_Railroad" title="Lehigh Valley Railroad">Lehigh Valley</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Lehigh_and_Hudson_River" class="mw-redirect" title="Lehigh and Hudson River">Lehigh and Hudson River</a> were merged into Conrail. On December 31, 1996, the <a href="/wiki/Atchison,_Topeka_and_Santa_Fe_Railway" title="Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway">Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway</a> <a href="/wiki/BNSF_Railway#BN-ATSF_merger" title="BNSF Railway">merged</a> with the <a href="/wiki/Burlington_Northern_Railroad" title="Burlington Northern Railroad">Burlington Northern Railroad</a>, creating the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. </p><p>The freight industry continued its decline until Congress passed the <a href="/wiki/Staggers_Rail_Act" title="Staggers Rail Act">Staggers Rail Act</a> in 1980, which largely deregulated the rail industry. Since then, U.S. freight railroads have reorganized, discontinued their lightly used routes and returned to profitability.<sup id="cite_ref-Stover-American_RR_15-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Stover-American_RR-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page / location: 245–252">: 245–252 </span></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Freight_railroads">Freight railroads</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Freight railroads"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States" title="Special:EditPage/Rail transportation in the United States">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">October 2010</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Rail_freight_transport" title="Rail freight transport">Rail freight transport</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Freight_Transport_volumes_of_USA.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Freight_Transport_volumes_of_USA.svg/220px-Freight_Transport_volumes_of_USA.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="164" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Freight_Transport_volumes_of_USA.svg/330px-Freight_Transport_volumes_of_USA.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Freight_Transport_volumes_of_USA.svg/440px-Freight_Transport_volumes_of_USA.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="805" data-file-height="600" /></a><figcaption>Freight Transport volumes (Tonne-Kilometers)</figcaption></figure> <p><a href="/wiki/Freight_railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Freight railroad">Freight railroads</a> play an important role in the U.S. economy, especially for moving imports and exports using containers, and for shipments of coal and oil. Productivity rose 172% between 1981 and 2000, while rates decreased by 55%, after accounting for inflation. Rail's share of the American freight market rose to 43%.<sup id="cite_ref-economist2010-07-22_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-economist2010-07-22-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>U.S. railroads still play a major role in the nation's freight shipping. They carried 750 billion ton-miles by 1975 which doubled to 1.5 trillion ton-miles in 2005.<sup id="cite_ref-BTS1_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BTS1-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In the 1950s, the U.S. and Europe moved roughly the same percentage of freight by rail; by 2000, the share of U.S. rail freight was 38% while in Europe only 8% of freight traveled by rail; a large proportion of this difference is due to external factors such as geography and higher use of goods like coal.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In ton-miles, railroads annually move more than 25% of the United States' freight and connect businesses with each other across the country and with markets overseas.<sup id="cite_ref-BTS1_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BTS1-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 2018, US rail freight had a <a href="/wiki/Energy_efficiency_in_transport#Freight" title="Energy efficiency in transport">transport energy efficiency</a> of 473 tons.miles per gallon of fuel.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In recent years, railroads have gradually been losing intermodal traffic to trucking.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Railroad_classes">Railroad classes</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Railroad classes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Class1rr.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Class1rr.png/170px-Class1rr.png" decoding="async" width="170" height="171" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Class1rr.png/255px-Class1rr.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Class1rr.png/340px-Class1rr.png 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="504" /></a><figcaption>2006 map of North American Class I railroads</figcaption></figure> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Railroad_classes" title="Railroad classes">Railroad classes</a></div> <p>U.S. freight railroads are separated into three classes, set by the <a href="/wiki/Surface_Transportation_Board" title="Surface Transportation Board">Surface Transportation Board</a>, based on annual revenues: </p> <ul><li>Class I for freight railroads with annual operating revenues above $346.8 million in 2006 dollars. In 1900, there were 132 Class I railroads. In 2024, as the result of mergers, bankruptcies, and major changes in the regulatory definition of "Class I", there are only six railroads operating in the United States that meet the criteria for Class I. As of 2011<sup class="plainlinks noexcerpt noprint asof-tag update" style="display:none;"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit">[update]</a></sup>, U.S. freight railroads operated 139,679 route-miles (224,792 km) of <a href="/wiki/Standard_gauge" class="mw-redirect" title="Standard gauge">standard gauge</a> in the U.S. Although Amtrak qualifies for Class I status under the revenue criterion, it is not considered a Class I railroad because it is not a freight railroad.</li> <li>Class II for freight railroads with revenues between $27.8 million and $346.7 million in 2000 dollars</li> <li>Class III for all other freight revenues.</li></ul> <p>In 2013, the U.S. moved more oil out of North Dakota by rail than by the Trans-Alaska pipeline.<sup id="cite_ref-sciam_25-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-sciam-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This trend—tenfold in two years and 40-fold in five years—is forecast to increase.<sup id="cite_ref-natlgeo_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-natlgeo-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Classes_of_freight_railroads">Classes of freight railroads</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Classes of freight railroads"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-Unreferenced_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Unreferenced" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>does not <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">cite</a> any <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">sources</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States" title="Special:EditPage/Rail transportation in the United States">improve this section</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Burden_of_evidence" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">removed</a>.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">September 2023</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>There are four different classes of freight railroads: <a href="/wiki/Class_I_railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Class I railroad">Class I</a>, regional, local line haul, and switching & terminal. <a href="/wiki/Class_I_railroads" class="mw-redirect" title="Class I railroads">Class I railroads</a> are defined as those with revenue of at least $346.8 million in 2006. They comprise just one percent of the number of <a href="/wiki/Freight_railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Freight railroad">freight railroads</a>, but account for 67 percent of the industry's mileage, 90 percent of its employees, and 93 percent of its freight revenue. </p><p>A <a href="/wiki/Regional_railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Regional railroad">regional railroad</a> is a line haul railroad with at least 350 miles (560 km) and/or revenue between $40 million and the Class I threshold. There were 33 regional railroads in 2006. Most have between 75 and 500 employees. </p><p>Local line haul railroads operate less than 350 miles (560 km) and earn less than $40 million per year (most earn less than $5 million per year). In 2006, there were 323 local line haul railroads. They generally perform point-to-point service over short distances. </p><p>Switching and terminal (S&T) carriers are railroads that primarily provide switching and/or terminal services, regardless of revenue. They perform pick up and delivery services within a certain area. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Traffic_and_public_benefits">Traffic and public benefits</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Traffic and public benefits"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Freight_Shipping_in_the_United_States.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Freight_Shipping_in_the_United_States.svg/220px-Freight_Shipping_in_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Freight_Shipping_in_the_United_States.svg/330px-Freight_Shipping_in_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Freight_Shipping_in_the_United_States.svg/440px-Freight_Shipping_in_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="600" /></a><figcaption>Freight in the United States by percent <a href="/wiki/Ton-mile" class="mw-redirect" title="Ton-mile">ton-miles</a> (2010 <a href="/wiki/Federal_Railroad_Administration" title="Federal Railroad Administration">FRA</a> report)<sup id="cite_ref-Progress_Report_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Progress_Report-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Railyard_behind_the_Cincinnati_Union_Terminal_(11259266795).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Railyard_behind_the_Cincinnati_Union_Terminal_%2811259266795%29.jpg/220px-Railyard_behind_the_Cincinnati_Union_Terminal_%2811259266795%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Railyard_behind_the_Cincinnati_Union_Terminal_%2811259266795%29.jpg/330px-Railyard_behind_the_Cincinnati_Union_Terminal_%2811259266795%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Railyard_behind_the_Cincinnati_Union_Terminal_%2811259266795%29.jpg/440px-Railyard_behind_the_Cincinnati_Union_Terminal_%2811259266795%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5567" data-file-height="3711" /></a><figcaption>Double-stack yard operations in Cincinnati</figcaption></figure> <p>U.S. freight railroads operate in a highly competitive marketplace. According to a 2010 <a href="/wiki/Federal_Railroad_Administration" title="Federal Railroad Administration">FRA</a> report, within the U.S., railroads carried 39.5% of freight by ton-mile, followed by trucks (28.6%), oil pipelines (19.6%), barges (12%) and air (0.3%).<sup id="cite_ref-Progress_Report_27-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Progress_Report-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, railroads' revenue share has been slowly falling for decades, a reflection of the intensity of the competition they face and of the large rate reductions railroads have passed through to their customers over the years.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (April 2016)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>In 2011, North American railroads operated 1,471,736 freight cars and 31,875 locomotives, with 215,985 employees. They originated 39.53 million carloads (averaging 63 tons each) and generated $81.7 billion in freight revenue of present 2014. The average haul was 917 miles. The largest (Class 1) U.S. railroads carried 10.17 million intermodal containers and 1.72 million piggyback trailers. Intermodal traffic was 6.2% of tonnage originated and 12.6% of revenue. The largest commodities were coal, chemicals, farm products, nonmetallic minerals and intermodal. Other major commodities carried include lumber, automobiles, and waste materials. Coal alone was 43.3% of tonnage and 24.7% of revenue.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Coal accounted for roughly half of U.S. electricity generation<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and was a major export. As <a href="/wiki/Shale_gas_in_the_United_States" title="Shale gas in the United States">natural gas</a> became cheaper than coal, coal supplies dropped 11% in 2015 but coal rail freight dropped by up to 40%, allowing an increase in car transport by rail, some in tri-level railcars.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> US coal consumption dwindled from over 1,100 million tons in 2008 to 687 million tons in 2018.<sup id="cite_ref-aar2018c_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-aar2018c-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Freight_rail_working_with_passenger_rail">Freight rail working with passenger rail</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Freight rail working with passenger rail"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Prior to Amtrak's creation in 1970, intercity passenger rail service in the U.S. was provided by the same companies that provided freight service. When Amtrak was formed, in return for government permission to exit the passenger rail business, freight railroads donated passenger equipment to Amtrak and helped it get started with a capital infusion of some $200 million. </p><p>The vast majority of the 22,000 or so miles over which <a href="/wiki/Amtrak" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a> operates are actually owned by freight railroads. By law, freight railroads must grant Amtrak access to their track upon request. In return, Amtrak pays fees to freight railroads to cover the incremental costs of Amtrak's use of freight railroad tracks.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2017)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Passenger_railroads">Passenger railroads</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Passenger railroads"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For routes and operators, see <a href="/wiki/Amtrak" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a>, <a href="/wiki/Alaska_Railroad" title="Alaska Railroad">Alaska Railroad</a>, <a href="/wiki/Brightline" title="Brightline">Brightline</a>, and <a href="/wiki/List_of_rail_transit_systems_in_the_United_States" title="List of rail transit systems in the United States">List of rail transit systems in the United States</a>.</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:North_America_Passenger_Trains.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/North_America_Passenger_Trains.png/220px-North_America_Passenger_Trains.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="139" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/North_America_Passenger_Trains.png/330px-North_America_Passenger_Trains.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/North_America_Passenger_Trains.png/440px-North_America_Passenger_Trains.png 2x" data-file-width="1105" data-file-height="696" /></a><figcaption>Passenger trains in North America (not shown: <a href="/wiki/Brightline" title="Brightline">Brightline</a> in Florida)</figcaption></figure> <p>The sole long-distance intercity <a href="/wiki/Passenger_railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Passenger railroad">passenger railroad</a> in the continental U.S. is <a href="/wiki/Amtrak" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a>, and multiple current commuter rail systems provide regional intercity services such as New York-New Haven, and Stockton-San Jose. In Alaska, intercity service is provided by <a href="/wiki/Alaska_Railroad" title="Alaska Railroad">Alaska Railroad</a> instead of Amtrak. <a href="/wiki/Commuter_rail" title="Commuter rail">Commuter rail</a> systems exist in more than a dozen metropolitan areas, but these systems are not extensively interconnected, so commuter rail cannot be used alone to traverse the country. <a href="/wiki/Commuter_rail_in_North_America" title="Commuter rail in North America">Commuter systems</a> have been proposed in approximately two dozen other cities, but interplays between various local-government administrative bottlenecks and ripple effects from the <a href="/wiki/Great_Recession" title="Great Recession">Great Recession</a> have generally pushed such projects farther and farther into the future, or have even sometimes mothballed them entirely. </p><p>The most culturally notable and physically evident exception to the general lack of significant passenger rail transport in the U.S. is the <a href="/wiki/Northeast_Corridor" title="Northeast Corridor">Northeast Corridor</a> between <a href="/wiki/Washington,_D.C." title="Washington, D.C.">Washington</a>, <a href="/wiki/Baltimore" title="Baltimore">Baltimore</a>, <a href="/wiki/Philadelphia" title="Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>, <a href="/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City">New York City</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Boston" title="Boston">Boston</a>, with significant branches in <a href="/wiki/Connecticut" title="Connecticut">Connecticut</a> and <a href="/wiki/Massachusetts" title="Massachusetts">Massachusetts</a>. The corridor handles frequent passenger service that is both Amtrak and commuter. New York City itself is noteworthy for high usage of passenger rail transport, both <a href="/wiki/New_York_City_Subway" title="New York City Subway">subway</a> and commuter rail (<a href="/wiki/Long_Island_Rail_Road" title="Long Island Rail Road">Long Island Rail Road</a>, <a href="/wiki/Metro-North_Railroad" title="Metro-North Railroad">Metro-North Railroad</a>, <a href="/wiki/New_Jersey_Transit_Rail_Operations" class="mw-redirect" title="New Jersey Transit Rail Operations">New Jersey Transit</a>). The subway system is used by one third of all U.S. <a href="/wiki/Mass_transit" class="mw-redirect" title="Mass transit">mass transit</a> users. <a href="/wiki/Chicago" title="Chicago">Chicago</a> also sees high rail ridership, with a local <a href="/wiki/Chicago_%27L%27" class="mw-redirect" title="Chicago 'L'">elevated system</a>, one of the world's last <a href="/wiki/South_Shore_Line" title="South Shore Line">interurban lines</a>, and fourth most-ridden commuter rail system in the United States: <a href="/wiki/Metra" title="Metra">Metra</a>. Other major cities with substantial rail infrastructure include <a href="/wiki/Philadelphia" title="Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>'s <a href="/wiki/SEPTA" title="SEPTA">SEPTA</a>, <a href="/wiki/Boston" title="Boston">Boston</a>'s <a href="/wiki/MBTA" class="mw-redirect" title="MBTA">MBTA</a>, and Washington, D.C.'s network of commuter rail and rapid transit. <a href="/wiki/Denver" title="Denver">Denver</a>, Colorado constructed a <a href="/wiki/RTD_Bus_%26_Rail#Commuter_rail" class="mw-redirect" title="RTD Bus & Rail">new electrified commuter rail system</a> in the 2000s to complement the city's light rail system. The commuter rail systems of <a href="/wiki/San_Diego" title="San Diego">San Diego</a> and Los Angeles, <a href="/wiki/Coaster_(rail_service)" title="Coaster (rail service)">Coaster</a> and <a href="/wiki/Metrolink_(California)" title="Metrolink (California)">Metrolink</a>, connect in <a href="/wiki/Oceanside,_California" title="Oceanside, California">Oceanside, California</a>. The <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay_Area" title="San Francisco Bay Area">San Francisco Bay Area</a> additionally hosts several local passenger rail operators, the largest of which are <a href="/wiki/Caltrain" title="Caltrain">Caltrain</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Altamont_Corridor_Express" title="Altamont Corridor Express">Altamont Corridor Express</a>, <a href="/wiki/Sonoma%E2%80%93Marin_Area_Rail_Transit" title="Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit">Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Bay_Area_Rapid_Transit" title="Bay Area Rapid Transit">Bay Area Rapid Transit</a>. </p><p>Privately run inter-city passenger rail operations have also been restarted since 2018 in south Florida, with additional routes under development. <a href="/wiki/Brightline" title="Brightline">Brightline</a> is a <a href="/wiki/Higher-speed_rail" title="Higher-speed rail">higher-speed rail</a> train, run by All Aboard Florida. It began service in January 2018 between <a href="/wiki/Fort_Lauderdale" class="mw-redirect" title="Fort Lauderdale">Fort Lauderdale</a> and <a href="/wiki/West_Palm_Beach" class="mw-redirect" title="West Palm Beach">West Palm Beach</a>; its service was extended to Miami in May 2018, and an extension to <a href="/wiki/Orlando_International_Airport" title="Orlando International Airport">Orlando International Airport</a> opened for daily service on September 22, 2023, which includes a segment of brand new rail line from Orlando eastward toward the Atlantic coast.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Brightline has also proposed a further extension of its service from Orlando to <a href="/wiki/Tampa,_Florida" title="Tampa, Florida">Tampa</a> via <a href="/wiki/Walt_Disney_World" title="Walt Disney World">Walt Disney World</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and a <a href="/wiki/Brightline_West" title="Brightline West">high-speed rail service</a> from <a href="/wiki/Los_Angeles" title="Los Angeles">Los Angeles</a> to <a href="/wiki/Las_Vegas" title="Las Vegas">Las Vegas</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In addition, the <a href="/wiki/Texas_Central_Railway" title="Texas Central Railway">Texas Central Railway</a> is currently developing plans for a proposed greenfield <a href="/wiki/High-speed_rail" title="High-speed rail">high-speed rail</a> line using Japanese <a href="/wiki/Shinkansen" title="Shinkansen">Shinkansen</a> trains between <a href="/wiki/Dallas" title="Dallas">Dallas</a> and <a href="/wiki/Houston" title="Houston">Houston</a>. Construction was expected to begin in 2020 for a 2026 opening,<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> but a major lawsuit delayed the project and as of February 2023 there are no signs of construction activity.<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Car_types">Car types</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Car types"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The basic design of a <a href="/wiki/Passenger_car_(rail)" class="mw-redirect" title="Passenger car (rail)">passenger car</a> was standardized by 1870. By 1900, the main car types were: baggage, coach, combine, diner, <a href="/wiki/Dome_car" title="Dome car">dome car</a>, lounge, observation, private, Pullman, railroad post office (RPO) and sleeper. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="19th_century:_First_passenger_cars_and_early_development">19th century: First passenger cars and early development</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: 19th century: First passenger cars and early development"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Passenger_car_(rail)" class="mw-redirect" title="Passenger car (rail)">Passenger car (rail)</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Chicago_and_Alton_Railroad_Pullman_car_interior_c_1900.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Chicago_and_Alton_Railroad_Pullman_car_interior_c_1900.png/220px-Chicago_and_Alton_Railroad_Pullman_car_interior_c_1900.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="169" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Chicago_and_Alton_Railroad_Pullman_car_interior_c_1900.png/330px-Chicago_and_Alton_Railroad_Pullman_car_interior_c_1900.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Chicago_and_Alton_Railroad_Pullman_car_interior_c_1900.png/440px-Chicago_and_Alton_Railroad_Pullman_car_interior_c_1900.png 2x" data-file-width="476" data-file-height="365" /></a><figcaption>The interior of a <a href="/wiki/Pullman_car" class="mw-redirect" title="Pullman car">Pullman car</a> on the <a href="/wiki/Chicago_and_Alton_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Chicago and Alton Railroad">Chicago and Alton Railroad</a>, circa 1900</figcaption></figure> <p>The first passenger cars resembled <a href="/wiki/Stagecoach" title="Stagecoach">stagecoaches</a>. They were short, often less than 10 ft (3.05 m) long, tall and rode on a single pair of axles. </p><p>American mail cars first appeared in the 1860s and at first followed English design. They had a hook that would catch the mailbag in its crook. </p><p>As locomotive technology progressed in the mid-19th century, trains grew in length and weight. Passenger cars grew along with them, first getting longer with the addition of a second truck (one at each end), and wider as their suspensions improved. Cars built for European use featured side door compartments, while American car design favored a single pair of doors at one end of the car in the car's vestibule; compartmentized cars on American railroads featured a long hallway with doors from the hall to the compartments. </p><p>One possible reason for this difference in design principles between American and European carbuilding practice could be the average distance between stations on the two continents. While most European railroads connected towns and villages that were still very closely spaced, American railroads had to travel over much greater distances to reach their destinations. Building passenger cars with a long passageway through the length of the car allowed the passengers easy access to the restroom, among other things, on longer journeys. </p><p>Dining cars first appeared in the late 1870s and into the 1880s. Until this time, the common practice was to stop for meals at restaurants along the way (which led to the rise of <a href="/wiki/Fred_Harvey_(entrepreneur)" title="Fred Harvey (entrepreneur)">Fred Harvey</a>'s chain of <a href="/wiki/Fred_Harvey_Company" title="Fred Harvey Company">Harvey House</a> restaurants in America). At first, the dining car was simply a place to serve meals that were picked up en route, but they soon evolved to include galleys in which the meals were prepared. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="1900–1950:_Lighter_materials,_new_car_types"><span id="1900.E2.80.931950:_Lighter_materials.2C_new_car_types"></span>1900–1950: Lighter materials, new car types</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: 1900–1950: Lighter materials, new car types"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Pioneer_Zephyr,_observation_end.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Pioneer_Zephyr%2C_observation_end.jpg/220px-Pioneer_Zephyr%2C_observation_end.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Pioneer_Zephyr%2C_observation_end.jpg/330px-Pioneer_Zephyr%2C_observation_end.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Pioneer_Zephyr%2C_observation_end.jpg/440px-Pioneer_Zephyr%2C_observation_end.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="768" /></a><figcaption>The observation car on <a href="/wiki/Chicago,_Burlington_and_Quincy_Railroad" title="Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad">CB&Q</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Pioneer_Zephyr" title="Pioneer Zephyr">Pioneer Zephyr</a></i>. The carbody was made of <a href="/wiki/Stainless_steel" title="Stainless steel">stainless steel</a> in 1934, it is seen here at the <a href="/wiki/Museum_of_Science_and_Industry_(Chicago)" title="Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)">Museum of Science and Industry</a> in Chicago in 2003.</figcaption></figure> <p>By the 1920s, passenger cars on the larger <a href="/wiki/Standard_gauge" class="mw-redirect" title="Standard gauge">standard gauge</a> railroads were normally between 60 and 70 feet (18 and 21 m) long. The cars of this time were still quite ornate, many of them being built by experienced coach makers and skilled carpenters. </p><p>With the 1930s came the widespread use of <a href="/wiki/Stainless_steel" title="Stainless steel">stainless steel</a> for car bodies. The typical passenger car was now much lighter than its "heavyweight" wood cousins of old. The new "lightweight" and <a href="/wiki/Streamliner" title="Streamliner">streamlined</a> cars carried passengers in speed and comfort to an extent that had not been experienced to date. Aluminum and <a href="/wiki/Cor-ten" class="mw-redirect" title="Cor-ten">Cor-ten</a> were also used in lightweight car construction, but stainless steel was the preferred material for car bodies. It is not the lightest of materials, nor is it the least expensive, but stainless steel cars could be, and often were, left unpainted except for the car's <a href="/wiki/Reporting_mark" title="Reporting mark">reporting marks</a> that were required by law. </p><p>By the end of the 1930s, railroads and car builders were debuting car body and interior styles that could only be dreamed of before. In 1937, the Pullman Company delivered the first cars equipped with <a href="/wiki/Roomette" title="Roomette">roomettes</a>—that is, the car's interior was sectioned off into compartments, much like the coaches that were still in widespread use across Europe. Pullman's roomettes, however, were designed with the single traveler in mind. The roomette featured a large picture window, a privacy door, a single fold-away bed, a sink and small toilet. The roomette's floor space was barely larger than the space taken up by the bed, but it allowed the traveler to ride in luxury compared to the multilevel semiprivate berths of old. </p><p>Now that passenger cars were lighter, they were able to carry heavier loads, but the size of the average passenger load that rode in them didn't increase to match the cars' new capacities. The average passenger car couldn't get any wider or longer due to side clearances along the railroad lines, but they generally could get taller because they were still shorter than many freight cars and locomotives. As a result, the railroads soon began building and buying <a href="/wiki/Dome_car" title="Dome car">dome</a> and <a href="/wiki/Bilevel_rail_car" title="Bilevel rail car">bilevel</a> cars to carry more passengers. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="1950–present:_High-technology_advancements"><span id="1950.E2.80.93present:_High-technology_advancements"></span>1950–present: High-technology advancements</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: 1950–present: High-technology advancements"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Tri-rail_Bombardier_BiLevel_Coach.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Tri-rail_Bombardier_BiLevel_Coach.jpg/220px-Tri-rail_Bombardier_BiLevel_Coach.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Tri-rail_Bombardier_BiLevel_Coach.jpg/330px-Tri-rail_Bombardier_BiLevel_Coach.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Tri-rail_Bombardier_BiLevel_Coach.jpg/440px-Tri-rail_Bombardier_BiLevel_Coach.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2592" data-file-height="1944" /></a><figcaption>A <a href="/wiki/Bombardier_BiLevel_Coach" title="Bombardier BiLevel Coach">Bombardier BiLevel Coach</a>. Shown here is a <a href="/wiki/Tri-Rail" title="Tri-Rail">Tri-Rail</a> coach, a regional commuter rail system in Florida. Similar cars are used in California by <a href="/wiki/Metrolink_(California)" title="Metrolink (California)">Metrolink</a>.</figcaption></figure> <p>Carbody styles have generally remained consistent since the middle of the 20th century. While new car types have not made much of an impact, the existing car types have been further enhanced with new technology. </p><p>Starting in the 1950s, the passenger travel market declined in North America, though there was growth in <a href="/wiki/Commuter_rail" title="Commuter rail">commuter rail</a>. The higher clearances in North America enabled bi-level commuter coaches that could hold more passengers. These cars started to become common in the United States in the 1960s. </p><p>While intercity passenger rail travel declined in the United States during the 1950s, ridership continued to increase in <a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Europe" title="Rail transport in Europe">Europe</a> during that time. With the increase came newer technology on existing and new equipment. The Spanish company <a href="/wiki/Talgo" title="Talgo">Talgo</a> began experimenting in the 1940s with technology that would enable the axles to steer into a curve, allowing the train to move around the curve at a higher speed. The steering axles evolved into mechanisms that would also tilt the passenger car as it entered a curve to counter the <a href="/wiki/Centrifugal_force" title="Centrifugal force">centrifugal force</a> experienced by the train, further increasing speeds on existing track. Today, tilting passenger trains are commonplace. Talgo's trains are used on some short and medium distance routes such as <a href="/wiki/Amtrak_Cascades" title="Amtrak Cascades">Amtrak Cascades</a> from <a href="/wiki/Eugene,_Oregon" title="Eugene, Oregon">Eugene, Oregon</a>, to <a href="/wiki/Vancouver,_British_Columbia" class="mw-redirect" title="Vancouver, British Columbia">Vancouver, British Columbia</a>. </p><p>In August 2016, the Department of Transportation approved the largest loan in the department's history, $2.45 billion to upgrade the passenger train service in the Northeast region. The $2.45 billion will be used to purchase 28 new train sets for the high-speed Acela train between Washington through Philadelphia, New York and into Boston. The money will also be used build new stations and platforms. The money will also be used to rehabilitate railroad tracks and upgrade four stations, including Washington's Union Station and Baltimore's Penn Station. </p><p>As of 2014, U.S. railroad mileage has stabilized at approximately 160,000 miles (260,000 km).<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="High-speed_rail">High-speed rail</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: High-speed rail"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/High-speed_rail_in_the_United_States" title="High-speed rail in the United States">High-speed rail in the United States</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:High_Speed_Railroad_Map_of_the_United_States_2013.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/High_Speed_Railroad_Map_of_the_United_States_2013.svg/220px-High_Speed_Railroad_Map_of_the_United_States_2013.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="134" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/High_Speed_Railroad_Map_of_the_United_States_2013.svg/330px-High_Speed_Railroad_Map_of_the_United_States_2013.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/High_Speed_Railroad_Map_of_the_United_States_2013.svg/440px-High_Speed_Railroad_Map_of_the_United_States_2013.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="975" data-file-height="596" /></a><figcaption>Map showing passenger lines in the United States. High-speed section shown in yellow.</figcaption></figure> <p>As of 2022, the only operating high speed rail service in the United States is Amtrak's <i><a href="/wiki/Acela" title="Acela">Acela</a></i>, between Washington, DC, and <a href="/wiki/Boston" title="Boston">Boston</a>. It currently has a maximum speed of 150 miles per hour (240 km/h), and only in some sections between Boston and Providence, RI, soon to be 160 miles per hour (260 km/h) after introduction of new <a href="/wiki/Avelia_Liberty" title="Avelia Liberty">Avelia Liberty</a> trains, eventually to be upgraded to 186 miles per hour (299 km/h) over some sections. The state of California is constructing its own HSR system, <a href="/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail" title="California High-Speed Rail">California High-Speed Rail</a>, constructed to 220 miles per hour (350 km/h) standards in some places. The first section in the <a href="/wiki/Central_Valley_(California)" title="Central Valley (California)">Central Valley</a> is due to open around 2027. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Higher-speed_rail">Higher-speed rail</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Higher-speed rail"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>While the Northeast Corridor hosts the majority of <a href="/wiki/Higher-speed_rail" title="Higher-speed rail">rail services that reach higher speeds</a> of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h), there is also the Brightline in Florida, which reaches speeds of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) on the section between <a href="/wiki/Cocoa,_Florida" title="Cocoa, Florida">Cocoa, Florida</a> and Orlando. On the Northeast Corridor, there are sections that even reach up to speeds of 150 miles per hour (240 km/h), usually for the Acela trains. Other Amtrak diesel routes have higher-speed service that ranges from speeds between 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) to 110 miles per hour (180 km/h). For routes in the <a href="/wiki/Western_United_States" title="Western United States">Western United States</a> such as the <a href="/wiki/Pacific_Surfliner" title="Pacific Surfliner"><i>Pacific Surfliner</i></a> and <a href="/wiki/Southwest_Chief" title="Southwest Chief"><i>Southwest Chief</i></a>, those services can reach up to speeds of 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) on portions of their routes, while the <a href="/wiki/Texas_Eagle" title="Texas Eagle"><i>Texas Eagle</i></a> can reach up to speeds of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) on portions of its route. There has been plans to upgrade the portions of the route for the Pacific Surfliner to speeds up to 110 miles per hour (180 km/h) in <a href="/wiki/Orange_County,_California" title="Orange County, California">Orange County</a> and <a href="/wiki/San_Diego_County" class="mw-redirect" title="San Diego County">San Diego County</a>, however funding has yet to be available. Meanwhile, for routes in the <a href="/wiki/Midwestern_United_States" title="Midwestern United States">Midwestern United States</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Northeastern_United_States" title="Northeastern United States">Northeastern United States</a> such as the <i><a href="/wiki/Lincoln_Service" title="Lincoln Service">Lincoln Service</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Blue_Water_(train)" title="Blue Water (train)">Blue Water</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Wolverine_(train)" title="Wolverine (train)">Wolverine</a></i>, <a href="/wiki/Amtrak_Hartford_Line" title="Amtrak Hartford Line">Amtrak <i>Hartford Line</i></a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Lake_Shore_Limited" title="Lake Shore Limited">Lake Shore Limited</a></i>, and <i><a href="/wiki/Empire_Service" title="Empire Service">Empire Service</a></i> can reach up to speeds of 110 miles per hour (180 km/h) on their entire routes or portions of their routes. </p><p>There are certain commuter rail lines in the United States that achieve similar speed ranges of higher-speed rail, but are not classified as higher-speed rail. Despite commuter trains also running along the Northeast Corridor alongside Amtrak services on the route, only one commuter rail line can have similar speed ranges to higher-speed rail, which is the <a href="/wiki/MARC_Train" title="MARC Train">MARC</a> <a href="/wiki/Penn_Line" title="Penn Line">Penn Line</a> that runs from <a href="/wiki/Washington_Union_Station" title="Washington Union Station">Washington, D.C.</a> to <a href="/wiki/Baltimore_Penn_Station" title="Baltimore Penn Station">Baltimore, MD</a>, which can reach up to speeds of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h). Similarly, on the <a href="/wiki/Surf_Line" title="Surf Line">Surf Line</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Metrolink_(Southern_California)" class="mw-redirect" title="Metrolink (Southern California)">Metrolink</a> <a href="/wiki/Orange_County_Line" title="Orange County Line">Orange County</a> and <a href="/wiki/Inland_Empire%E2%80%93Orange_County_Line" title="Inland Empire–Orange County Line">Inland Empire–Orange County</a> lines can reach up to speeds of 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) on portions of the Surf Line between <a href="/wiki/Santa_Ana_Regional_Transportation_Center" title="Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center">Santa Ana, California</a> and <a href="/wiki/Oceanside_Transit_Center" title="Oceanside Transit Center">Oceanside, California</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Coaster_(commuter_rail)" class="mw-redirect" title="Coaster (commuter rail)">Coaster</a> commuter rail also reaches 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) on its entire route between <a href="/wiki/Santa_Fe_Depot_(San_Diego)" title="Santa Fe Depot (San Diego)">San Diego</a> and Oceanside. </p><p>Once <a href="/wiki/Caltrain_Modernization_Program" title="Caltrain Modernization Program">Caltrain is fully electrified</a> between <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_4th_and_King_Street_station" title="San Francisco 4th and King Street station">San Francisco</a> (<a href="/wiki/Salesforce_Transit_Center" title="Salesforce Transit Center">Salesforce Transit Center</a> in the future) and <a href="/wiki/San_Jose_Diridon_station" title="San Jose Diridon station">San Jose, California</a>, the Caltrain services will reach up to speeds of 110 miles per hour (180 km/h). Similarly, once the California High-Speed Rail begins operation between <a href="/wiki/Union_Station_(Los_Angeles)" title="Union Station (Los Angeles)">Los Angeles</a> and <a href="/wiki/Anaheim_Regional_Transportation_Intermodal_Center" title="Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center">Anaheim, California</a>, rail services such as the Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief, and Metrolink <a href="/wiki/91/Perris_Valley_Line" title="91/Perris Valley Line">91/Perris Valley</a> and Orange County lines would also be able to reach a similar speed range, however this plan has yet to be finalized. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Rolling_stock_reporting_marks">Rolling stock reporting marks</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Rolling stock reporting marks"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Every piece of railroad <a href="/wiki/Rolling_stock" title="Rolling stock">rolling stock</a> operating in North American interchange service is required to carry a standardized set of <a href="/wiki/Reporting_mark" title="Reporting mark">reporting marks</a>. The marks are made up of a two- to four-letter code identifying the owner of the equipment accompanied by an identification number and statistics on the equipment's capacity and tare (unloaded) weight. Marks whose codes end in X (such as TTGX) are used on equipment owned by entities that are not <a href="/wiki/Common_carrier" title="Common carrier">common carrier</a> railroads themselves. Marks whose codes end in U are used on <a href="/wiki/Containerization" title="Containerization">containers</a> that are carried in <a href="/wiki/Intermodal_freight_transport" title="Intermodal freight transport">intermodal transport</a>, and marks whose codes end in Z are used on <a href="/wiki/Trailer_(vehicle)" title="Trailer (vehicle)">trailers</a> that are carried in intermodal transport, per <a href="/wiki/ISO_6346" title="ISO 6346">ISO standard 6346</a>). Most freight cars carry <a href="/wiki/Automatic_equipment_identification" title="Automatic equipment identification">automatic equipment identification</a> <a href="/wiki/RFID" class="mw-redirect" title="RFID">RFID</a> transponders. </p><p>Typically, railroads operating in the United States reserve one- to four-digit identification numbers for powered equipment such as <a href="/wiki/Diesel_locomotive" title="Diesel locomotive">diesel locomotives</a> and six-digit identification numbers for unpowered equipment. There is no hard and fast rule for how equipment is numbered; each railroad maintains its own numbering policy for its equipment. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="List_of_major_United_States_railroads">List of major United States railroads</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: List of major United States railroads"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/List_of_United_States_railroads" class="mw-redirect" title="List of United States railroads">List of United States railroads</a></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Amtrak" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/BNSF_Railway" title="BNSF Railway">BNSF Railway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Canadian_National_Railway" title="Canadian National Railway">Canadian National Railway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/CPKC_Railway" class="mw-redirect" title="CPKC Railway">CPKC Railway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/CSX_Transportation" title="CSX Transportation">CSX Transportation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Norfolk_Southern_Railway" title="Norfolk Southern Railway">Norfolk Southern Railway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Railroad" title="Union Pacific Railroad">Union Pacific Railroad</a></li></ul> <div style="clear:both;" class=""></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Rail_links_with_adjacent_countries">Rail links with adjacent countries</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Rail links with adjacent countries"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Canada" title="Canada"><img alt="Canada" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Flag_of_Canada_%28Pantone%29.svg/23px-Flag_of_Canada_%28Pantone%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Flag_of_Canada_%28Pantone%29.svg/35px-Flag_of_Canada_%28Pantone%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Flag_of_Canada_%28Pantone%29.svg/46px-Flag_of_Canada_%28Pantone%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Canada" title="Rail transport in Canada">Canada</a> – yes – Same gauge <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1154941027"><a href="/wiki/Standard_gauge" class="mw-redirect" title="Standard gauge"><span class="nowrap">4 ft <span class="frac">8<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="num">1</span>⁄<span class="den">2</span></span> in</span></a> (<span class="nowrap">1,435 mm</span>) (Isolated <a href="/wiki/3_ft_gauge_railways" title="3 ft gauge railways">3 ft (914 mm) gauge</a> <a href="/wiki/Heritage_railway" title="Heritage railway">heritage line</a> from Alaska)</li> <li><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Mexico" title="Mexico"><img alt="Mexico" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Flag_of_Mexico.svg/23px-Flag_of_Mexico.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Flag_of_Mexico.svg/35px-Flag_of_Mexico.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Flag_of_Mexico.svg/46px-Flag_of_Mexico.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="980" data-file-height="560" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Mexico" title="Rail transport in Mexico">Mexico</a> – yes – Same gauge <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1154941027"><span class="nowrap">4 ft <span class="frac">8<span class="sr-only">+</span><span class="num">1</span>⁄<span class="den">2</span></span> in</span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Regulation">Regulation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Regulation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Federal regulation of railroads is mainly through the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Transportation" title="United States Department of Transportation">United States Department of Transportation</a>, especially the <a href="/wiki/Federal_Railroad_Administration" title="Federal Railroad Administration">Federal Railroad Administration</a> which regulates safety, and the <a href="/wiki/Surface_Transportation_Board" title="Surface Transportation Board">Surface Transportation Board</a> which regulates rates, service, the construction, acquisition and abandonment of rail lines, carrier mergers and interchange of traffic among carriers. </p><p>Railroads are also regulated by the individual states, for example through the <a href="/wiki/Massachusetts_Department_of_Public_Utilities" title="Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities">Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Accidents">Accidents</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Accidents"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Minor derailments are a routine occurrence in the United States. 1,164 derailments were reported in 2022, an average of three a day; the vast majority did not cause injuries or deaths. This was down 44 percent from 2000, and more than 75 percent from the end of the 1970s.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For a variety of reasons,<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="margin-left:0.1em; white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Vagueness" title="Wikipedia:Vagueness"><span title="This information is too vague. (November 2023)">vague</span></a></i>]</sup> North American freight railroads' safety performance has been described as "very bad by European standards".<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239009302">.mw-parser-output .portalbox{padding:0;margin:0.5em 0;display:table;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:175px;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portalborder{border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa)}.mw-parser-output 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class="portalbox-entry"><span class="portalbox-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Text-x-generic.svg/28px-Text-x-generic.svg.png" decoding="async" width="28" height="28" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Text-x-generic.svg/42px-Text-x-generic.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Text-x-generic.svg/56px-Text-x-generic.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="48" data-file-height="48" /></span></span></span><span class="portalbox-link"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Lists" class="mw-redirect" title="Portal:Lists">Lists portal</a></span></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_railway_history" title="Timeline of United States railway history">Timeline of United States railway history</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Railroad_electrification_in_the_United_States" title="Railroad electrification in the United States">Railroad electrification in the United States</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_rail_transit_systems_in_the_United_States" title="List of rail transit systems in the United States">List of rail transit systems in the United States</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oldest_railroads_in_North_America" title="Oldest railroads in North America">Oldest railroads in North America</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_the_United_States" class="mw-redirect" title="History of rail transport in the United States">History of rail transport in the United States</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transportation_in_the_United_States" title="Transportation in the United States">Transportation in the United States</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Federal_Employers_Liability_Act" title="Federal Employers Liability Act">Federal Employers Liability Act</a> (protects and compensates railroad employees)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_nationalizations_by_country#United_States" title="List of nationalizations by country">Nationalized Industries in the United States</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Railroad_car" title="Railroad car">Railroad car</a> – general overview of all car types in use</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Horse-drawn rail lines were in use for short-distance hauling of stone. See <a href="/wiki/Gridley_Bryant" title="Gridley Bryant">Gridley Bryant</a>. Other purpose-built railroads were operating in the 1820s. The <a href="/wiki/Delaware_and_Hudson_Canal_Company" class="mw-redirect" title="Delaware and Hudson Canal Company">Delaware and Hudson Canal Company</a>, which later became the <a href="/wiki/Delaware_and_Hudson_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Delaware and Hudson Railroad">Delaware & Hudson Railroad</a>, built its first tracks in 1826 as a gravity railroad in <a href="/wiki/Carbondale,_Pennsylvania" title="Carbondale, Pennsylvania">Carbondale, Pennsylvania</a>, to haul coal from a mine to the canal at <a href="/wiki/Honesdale,_Pennsylvania" title="Honesdale, Pennsylvania">Honesdale</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-SH&MCsbRR-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-SH&MCsbRR_6-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The SH&MCsbRR carried sundries, groceries, and goods up to Summit Hill, including official postal deliveries.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Citations">Citations</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Citations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210422132507/https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=RAIL_PM">"Seasonally Adjusted Transportation Data"</a>. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2017. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=RAIL_PM">the original</a> on April 22, 2021<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">September 8,</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Seasonally+Adjusted+Transportation+Data&rft.place=Washington%2C+D.C.&rft.pub=Bureau+of+Transportation+Statistics&rft.date=2017&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.transtats.bts.gov%2Fosea%2Fseasonaladjustment%2F%3FPageVar%3DRAIL_PM&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-UICRS-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-UICRS_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-UICRS_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-UICRS_2-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.uitp.org/sites/default/files/cck-focus-papers-files/Regional%20and%20Suburban%20Railways%20Market%20Analysis.pdf">"Railway Statistics – 2014 Synopsis"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. Paris, France: International Union of Railways, IUC. 2014<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">September 9,</span> 2015</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Railway+Statistics+%E2%80%93+2014+Synopsis&rft.place=Paris%2C+France&rft.pub=International+Union+of+Railways%2C+IUC&rft.date=2014&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.uitp.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fcck-focus-papers-files%2FRegional%2520and%2520Suburban%2520Railways%2520Market%2520Analysis.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-PMat-text-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-PMat-text_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://historiclewiston.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06//the_cradles_tramway_placemat.pdf">Text online of placement commemorating historic railroad.</a>, accessdate=2017-03-01</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Smith-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Smith_4-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSmith1985" class="citation book cs1">Smith, Merritt Roe (1985). <i>Military Enterprise and Technological Change</i>. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pp. 87–116. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-262-19239-X" title="Special:BookSources/0-262-19239-X"><bdi>0-262-19239-X</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Military+Enterprise+and+Technological+Change&rft.place=Cambridge%2C+MA&rft.pages=87-116&rft.pub=MIT+Press&rft.date=1985&rft.isbn=0-262-19239-X&rft.aulast=Smith&rft.aufirst=Merritt+Roe&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Stevens-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Stevens_7-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFStevens1926" class="citation book cs1">Stevens, Frank Walker (1926). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=EYbVAAAAMAAJ"><i>The Beginnings of the New York Central Railroad: A History</i></a>. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam's Sons.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Beginnings+of+the+New+York+Central+Railroad%3A+A+History&rft.place=New+York%2C+NY&rft.pub=G.+P.+Putnam%27s+Sons&rft.date=1926&rft.aulast=Stevens&rft.aufirst=Frank+Walker&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DEYbVAAAAMAAJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Dilts-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Dilts_8-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDilts1996" class="citation book cs1">Dilts, James D. (1996). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=JjrCWPwvHzIC"><i>The Great Road: The Building of the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nation's First Railroad, 1828–1853</i></a>. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8047-2629-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-8047-2629-0"><bdi>978-0-8047-2629-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Great+Road%3A+The+Building+of+the+Baltimore+and+Ohio%2C+the+Nation%27s+First+Railroad%2C+1828%E2%80%931853&rft.place=Palo+Alto%2C+CA&rft.pub=Stanford+University+Press&rft.date=1996&rft.isbn=978-0-8047-2629-0&rft.aulast=Dilts&rft.aufirst=James+D.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DJjrCWPwvHzIC&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Wilson-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Wilson_9-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFvan_Oss1893" class="citation book cs1">van Oss, Salomon Frederik (1893). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/americanrailroad00vanorich"><i>American Railroads and British Investors</i></a>. London: Effingham Wilson & Co. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/americanrailroad00vanorich/page/3">3</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=American+Railroads+and+British+Investors&rft.place=London&rft.pages=3&rft.pub=Effingham+Wilson+%26+Co&rft.date=1893&rft.aulast=van+Oss&rft.aufirst=Salomon+Frederik&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Famericanrailroad00vanorich&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Stover-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Stover_10-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFStover1987" class="citation book cs1">Stover, John F. (1987). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=IEPCqQErPHAC&pg=PP1"><i>History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad</i></a>. West Lafayette, Ind.: <a href="/wiki/Purdue_University_Press" title="Purdue University Press">Purdue University Press</a>. pp. 59–60. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-911198-81-4" title="Special:BookSources/0-911198-81-4"><bdi>0-911198-81-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=History+of+the+Baltimore+and+Ohio+Railroad&rft.place=West+Lafayette%2C+Ind.&rft.pages=59-60&rft.pub=Purdue+University+Press&rft.date=1987&rft.isbn=0-911198-81-4&rft.aulast=Stover&rft.aufirst=John+F.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DIEPCqQErPHAC%26pg%3DPP1&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Pacific_Railroad_Acts.html">"An Act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean, and to secure to the government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes</a> 12 Stat. 489, July 1, 1862</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Alfred D. Chandler Jr., <i>The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business</i>(1977) pp 81–121.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973, Pub.L. 93-236, 87 Stat. 985, <a href="/wiki/Title_45_of_the_United_States_Code" title="Title 45 of the United States Code">45 U.S.C.</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/45/741">§ 741</a>, January 2, 1974.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act, Pub.L. 94-210, 90 Stat. 31, <a href="/wiki/Title_45_of_the_United_States_Code" title="Title 45 of the United States Code">45 U.S.C.</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/45/801">§ 801</a>, February 5, 1976.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Stover-American_RR-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Stover-American_RR_15-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFStover1997" class="citation book cs1">Stover, John F. (1997). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=R4vjgmic44QC"><i>American Railroads</i></a> (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-226-77658-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-226-77658-3"><bdi>978-0-226-77658-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=American+Railroads&rft.place=Chicago&rft.edition=2nd&rft.pub=University+of+Chicago+Press&rft.date=1997&rft.isbn=978-0-226-77658-3&rft.aulast=Stover&rft.aufirst=John+F.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DR4vjgmic44QC&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-economist2010-07-22-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-economist2010-07-22_16-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.economist.com/node/16636101">"High-speed railroading"</a>. <i>The Economist</i>. July 22, 2010<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">December 10,</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Economist&rft.atitle=High-speed+railroading&rft.date=2010-07-22&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.economist.com%2Fnode%2F16636101&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-BTS1-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-BTS1_17-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-BTS1_17-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Washington, D.C. (2000) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bts.gov/publications/the_changing_face_of_transportation/html/figure_01_ton_miles_of_freight_by_mode.html">"Ton-Miles of Freight by Mode: 1975–2025."</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180522111801/https://www.bts.gov/publications/the_changing_face_of_transportation/html/figure_01_ton_miles_of_freight_by_mode.html">Archived</a> May 22, 2018, at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> <i>The Changing Face of Transportation.</i> Report No. BTS00-007.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/ONTHEMOVE/themes/story_42_4.html">"Railroads to Mid-Century: Salisbury, North Carolina, 1927."</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060206232522/http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_42_4.html">Archived</a> February 6, 2006, at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> <i>America on the Move.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/taubmancenter/pdfs/working_papers/fagan_vassallo_05_rail.pdf">Increasing EU Rail Share: Insights From the US Rail Experience</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060902215734/http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/taubmancenter/pdfs/working_papers/fagan_vassallo_05_rail.pdf">Archived</a> September 2, 2006, at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> See Alternate Link 7</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">International Union of Railways <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.uic.org/diomis/IMG/pdf/DIOMIS_Benchmarking_Intermodal_Rail_Transport_in_the_US_and_Europe.pdf">"DIOMIS: Benchmarking Intermodal Rail Transport in the United States and Europe"</a> Alternate Source for Dead Link</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFFreemark" class="citation web cs1">Freemark, Yonah. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2011/06/29/freight-as-passenger-rails-worst-enemy-or-something-else/">"Freight as Passenger Rail's Worst Enemy — Or Something Else?"</a>. <i>The Transport Politic</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">June 20,</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Transport+Politic&rft.atitle=Freight+as+Passenger+Rail%27s+Worst+Enemy+%E2%80%94+Or+Something+Else%3F&rft.aulast=Freemark&rft.aufirst=Yonah&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thetransportpolitic.com%2F2011%2F06%2F29%2Ffreight-as-passenger-rails-worst-enemy-or-something-else%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFManuel_Bastos_Andrade_Furtado2013" class="citation journal cs1">Manuel Bastos Andrade Furtado, Francisco (Summer 2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://trforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2013v52n2_04_FreightRailways.pdf">"U.S. and European Freight Railways: The Differences That Matter"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>Journal of the Transportation Research Forum</i>. <b>52</b> (2): 65–84<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/07/130708-oil-train-tragedy-in-canada/">the original</a> on July 9, 2013.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=nationalgeographic.com&rft.atitle=Oil+Train+Tragedy+in+Canada+Spotlights+Rising+Crude+Transport+by+Rail&rft.date=2013-07-08&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.nationalgeographic.com%2Fnews%2Fenergy%2F2013%2F07%2F130708-oil-train-tragedy-in-canada%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Progress_Report-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Progress_Report_27-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Progress_Report_27-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://railroads.dot.gov/elibrary/national-rail-plan-progress-report">"National Rail Plan Progress Report | FRA"</a>. <i>railroads.dot.gov</i>. 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Automotive Logistics<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">May 14,</span> 2017</span>. <q>11% compared to 2014 production, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">December 26,</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.railserve.com&rft.atitle=U.S.+Railroad+Track+Miles+%26+Revenue+By+Year&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.railserve.com%2Fstats_records%2Frailroad_route_miles.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-38">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.mass.gov/eea/grants-and-tech-assistance/guidance-technical-assistance/agencies-and-divisions/dpu/dpu-divisions/transportation-division/transportation-division-responsibilities.html">"Transportation Oversight Division"</a>. <i>Mass.gov</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Mass.gov&rft.atitle=Transportation+Oversight+Division&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mass.gov%2Feea%2Fgrants-and-tech-assistance%2Fguidance-technical-assistance%2Fagencies-and-divisions%2Fdpu%2Fdpu-divisions%2Ftransportation-division%2Ftransportation-division-responsibilities.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-39">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHernandez2023" class="citation news cs1">Hernandez, Joe (March 9, 2023). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/09/1161921856/there-are-about-3-u-s-train-derailments-per-day-they-arent-usually-major-disaste">"There are about 3 U.S. train derailments per day. They aren't usually major disasters"</a>. <i>NPR</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">April 1,</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=NPR&rft.atitle=There+are+about+3+U.S.+train+derailments+per+day.+They+aren%27t+usually+major+disasters&rft.date=2023-03-09&rft.aulast=Hernandez&rft.aufirst=Joe&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.npr.org%2F2023%2F03%2F09%2F1161921856%2Fthere-are-about-3-u-s-train-derailments-per-day-they-arent-usually-major-disaste&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-40">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMercer" class="citation web cs1">Mercer, Shane. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thesafetymag.com/ca/topics/technology/north-american-rail-safety-pretty-bad-compared-to-europe/443295">"North American rail safety 'pretty bad' compared to Europe"</a>. <i>Canadian Occupational Safety</i>. KM Business Information Canada Ltd<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">June 20,</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Canadian+Occupational+Safety&rft.atitle=North+American+rail+safety+%27pretty+bad%27+compared+to+Europe&rft.aulast=Mercer&rft.aufirst=Shane&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesafetymag.com%2Fca%2Ftopics%2Ftechnology%2Fnorth-american-rail-safety-pretty-bad-compared-to-europe%2F443295&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Sources">Sources</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Sources"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239549316">.mw-parser-output .refbegin{margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul li{list-style:none}@media(max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{padding-left:1.6em;text-indent:-1.6em}}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%}}</style><div class="refbegin" style=""> <ul><li>U.S. <a href="/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency" title="Central Intelligence Agency">Central Intelligence Agency</a> (May 17, 2005), <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/">The World Fact Book: United States</a></i>. Retrieved May 26, 2005.</li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Thirty_St_Station.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Thirty_St_Station.jpg/220px-Thirty_St_Station.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Thirty_St_Station.jpg/330px-Thirty_St_Station.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Thirty_St_Station.jpg/440px-Thirty_St_Station.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2560" data-file-height="1920" /></a><figcaption>Philadelphia's <a href="/wiki/30th_Street_Station" title="30th Street Station">30th Street Station</a></figcaption></figure> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239549316"><div class="refbegin" style=""> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Gilbert_Fite" title="Gilbert Fite">Fite, Gilbert C.</a>, and Jim E. Reese. <i>An Economic History of the United States</i>. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company (1959).</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Freeman_H._Hubbard" title="Freeman H. Hubbard">Hubbard, Freeman H.</a>, <i>Encyclopedia of North American railroading: 150 years of railroading in the United States and Canada.</i> (1981)</li> <li>Gallamore, Robert E. and John R. Meyer. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=9RLWAwAAQBAJ"><i>American Railroads: Decline and Renaissance in the Twentieth Century</i></a>, (Harvard University Press, 2014). <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780674725645" title="Special:BookSources/9780674725645">9780674725645</a></li> <li>Harris, Seymour E. <i>American Economic History</i>. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc (1961).</li> <li>Hughes, Jonathan. <i>American Economic History</i>. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company (1983).</li> <li>Jenks, Leland H. "Railroads as an Economic Force in American Development," <i>The Journal of Economic History</i>, Vol. 4, No. 1 (May 1944), 1–20. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2113700">in JSTOR</a></li> <li>Kemmerer, Donald L., and C. Clyde Jones. <i>American Economic History</i>. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. (1969).</li> <li>Krooss, Herman E. <i>American Economic Development</i>. Edgewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. (1955).</li> <li>Martin, Albro.<i>Railroads Triumphant: The Growth, Rejection, and Rebirth of a Vital American Force</i> (1992)</li> <li>Meyer, Balthasar H. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=RM0DAAAAIAAJ&dq=editions:UOM39015020910439"><i>History of Transportation in the United States before 1860</i></a> (1917)</li> <li>Nock, O.S., ed. <i>Encyclopedia of Railways</i> (London, 1977), worldwide coverage, heavily illustrated</li> <li>Porter, Glenn, ed. <i>Encyclopedia of American Economic History</i>. Vol. I. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons (1980).</li> <li>Riley, C. J. <i>The Encyclopedia of Trains & Locomotives</i> (2002)</li> <li>Stover, John F., <i>The Routledge Historical Atlas of the American Railroads</i> (2001)</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFStover1993" class="citation journal cs1">Stover, John F. (1993). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100218144550/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1993/3/1993_3_54.shtml">"One Gauge: How Hundreds of Incompatible Railroads Became a National System"</a>. <i>Invention & Technology Magazine</i>. <b>8</b> (3). American Heritage. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1993/3/1993_3_54.shtml">the original</a> on February 18, 2010<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">June 14,</span> 2010</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Invention+%26+Technology+Magazine&rft.atitle=One+Gauge%3A+How+Hundreds+of+Incompatible+Railroads+Became+a+National+System&rft.volume=8&rft.issue=3&rft.date=1993&rft.aulast=Stover&rft.aufirst=John+F.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanheritage.com%2Farticles%2Fmagazine%2Fit%2F1993%2F3%2F1993_3_54.shtml&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li>Taylor, George Rogers, and Irene D. Neu. <i>The American Railroad Network, 1861 – 1890</i>. New York, NY: Arno Press (1981).</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFVan_Metre,_T._W.1936" class="citation book cs1">Van Metre, T. W. (1936). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://merelinc.com/chapters/trains-tracks-and-travel"><i>Trains, tracks and travel</i></a>. New York: Simmons-Boardman Pub. Co.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Trains%2C+tracks+and+travel&rft.place=New+York&rft.pub=Simmons-Boardman+Pub.+Co&rft.date=1936&rft.au=Van+Metre%2C+T.+W.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fmerelinc.com%2Fchapters%2Ftrains-tracks-and-travel&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ARail+transportation+in+the+United+States" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li>Weatherford, Brian A. et al. technical_reports/TR603/ <i>The State of U.S. Railroads A Review of Capacity and Performance Data</i>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/free">PDF</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template"><span style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot"><span title=" Dead link tagged October 2022">permanent dead link</span></a></i><span style="visibility:hidden; color:transparent; padding-left:2px">‍</span>]</span></sup> from <a href="/wiki/RAND" class="mw-redirect" title="RAND">RAND</a>, 2008, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8330-4505-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-8330-4505-8">978-0-8330-4505-8</a></li> <li>Wright, Chester Whitney. <i>Economic History of the United States</i>. Edited by William Homer Spencer. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. (1949).</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Video">Video</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Video"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><i>Railroads in U.S. History (1830–2010)</i> (2010), set of 4 DVDs, directed by Ron Meyer; #1, "Railroads come to America (1830–1840);" #2, "The First Great Railroad Boom (1841– 1860)"; #3, "A New Era in American Railroading (1861–1870)," #4, "The Second Great Railroad Boom (1871–2010)" <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Railroads-History-1830-2010-Gregory-Wagrowski/dp/B003XW49FY/">link</a></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transportation_in_the_United_States&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}</style><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/45px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/59px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></span></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Wikimedia Commons has media related to <span style="font-weight: bold; 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White, Jr. Reference Collection, 1880s–1990</a> – Archives Center, National Museum of American History</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120415161726/http://awmarrs.home.comcast.net/~awmarrs/bibliography.html">Bibliography of scholarly literature on antebellum railroads</a> – Aaron W. Marrs</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0362">Future rail transport map released by the FRA</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.usa-by-rail.com">USA by Rail guide book</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul 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.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Rail_transport_in_North_America" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:North_America_topic" title="Template:North America topic"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:North_America_topic" title="Template talk:North America topic"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:North_America_topic" title="Special:EditPage/Template:North America topic"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Rail_transport_in_North_America" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Rail transport in North America</div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Sovereign states</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Antigua_and_Barbuda" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Antigua and Barbuda">Antigua and Barbuda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_the_Bahamas" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in the Bahamas">Bahamas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Barbados" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Barbados">Barbados</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Belize" title="Rail transport in Belize">Belize</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Canada" title="Rail transport in Canada">Canada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Costa_Rica" title="Rail transport in Costa Rica">Costa Rica</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Cuba" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Cuba">Cuba</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Dominica&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Dominica (page does not exist)">Dominica</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_the_Dominican_Republic" title="Rail transport in the Dominican Republic">Dominican Republic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_El_Salvador" title="Rail transport in El Salvador">El Salvador</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Grenada&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Grenada (page does not exist)">Grenada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Guatemala" title="Rail transport in Guatemala">Guatemala</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Haiti" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Haiti">Haiti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Honduras" title="Rail transport in Honduras">Honduras</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Jamaica" title="Rail transport in Jamaica">Jamaica</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Mexico" title="Rail transport in Mexico">Mexico</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Nicaragua" title="Rail transport in Nicaragua">Nicaragua</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Panama" title="Rail transport in Panama">Panama</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Saint_Kitts_and_Nevis" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Saint Kitts and Nevis">Saint Kitts and Nevis</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Saint_Lucia&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Saint Lucia (page does not exist)">Saint Lucia</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (page does not exist)">Saint Vincent and the Grenadines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Trinidad_and_Tobago" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Trinidad and Tobago">Trinidad and Tobago</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_the_United_States" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in the United States">United States</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Dependencies and<br />other territories</div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Anguilla&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Anguilla (page does not exist)">Anguilla</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Aruba" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Aruba">Aruba</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Bermuda" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Bermuda">Bermuda</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Bonaire&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Bonaire (page does not exist)">Bonaire</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_the_British_Virgin_Islands&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in the British Virgin Islands (page does not exist)">British Virgin Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_the_Cayman_Islands&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in the Cayman Islands (page does not exist)">Cayman Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Cura%C3%A7ao&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Curaçao (page does not exist)">Curaçao</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Greenland" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Greenland">Greenland</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Guadeloupe&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Guadeloupe (page does not exist)">Guadeloupe</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Martinique&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Martinique (page does not exist)">Martinique</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Montserrat&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Montserrat (page does not exist)">Montserrat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Puerto_Rico" title="Rail transport in Puerto Rico">Puerto Rico</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Saint_Barth%C3%A9lemy&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Saint Barthélemy (page does not exist)">Saint Barthélemy</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_the_Collectivity_of_Saint_Martin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in the Collectivity of Saint Martin (page does not exist)">Saint Martin</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Saint_Pierre_and_Miquelon&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Saint Pierre and Miquelon (page does not exist)">Saint Pierre and Miquelon</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Saba_(island)&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Saba (island) (page does not exist)">Saba</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Sint_Eustatius&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Sint Eustatius (page does not exist)">Sint Eustatius</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Sint_Maarten&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Sint Maarten (page does not exist)">Sint Maarten</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_the_Turks_and_Caicos_Islands&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in the Turks and Caicos Islands (page does not exist)">Turks and Caicos Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_the_United_States_Virgin_Islands&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in the United States Virgin Islands (page does not exist)">United States Virgin Islands</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="List_of_United_States_railroads_by_political_division" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:US_railroad_lists" title="Template:US railroad lists"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:US_railroad_lists" title="Template talk:US railroad lists"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:US_railroad_lists" title="Special:EditPage/Template:US railroad lists"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="List_of_United_States_railroads_by_political_division" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/List_of_common_carrier_freight_railroads_in_the_United_States" title="List of common carrier freight railroads in the United States">List of United States railroads</a> by political division</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Alabama_railroads" title="List of Alabama railroads">Alabama</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Alaska_railroads" title="List of Alaska railroads">Alaska</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Arizona_railroads" title="List of Arizona railroads">Arizona</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Arkansas_railroads" title="List of Arkansas railroads">Arkansas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_California_railroads" title="List of California railroads">California</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Colorado_railroads" title="List of Colorado railroads">Colorado</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Connecticut_railroads" title="List of Connecticut railroads">Connecticut</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Delaware_railroads" title="List of Delaware railroads">Delaware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Florida_railroads" title="List of Florida railroads">Florida</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_railroads_in_Georgia_(U.S._state)" class="mw-redirect" title="List of railroads in Georgia (U.S. state)">Georgia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Hawaii_railroads" title="List of Hawaii railroads">Hawaii</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Idaho_railroads" title="List of Idaho railroads">Idaho</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Illinois_railroads" title="List of Illinois railroads">Illinois</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Indiana_railroads" title="List of Indiana railroads">Indiana</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Iowa_railroads" title="List of Iowa railroads">Iowa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Kansas_railroads" title="List of Kansas railroads">Kansas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Kentucky_railroads" title="List of Kentucky railroads">Kentucky</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Louisiana_railroads" title="List of Louisiana railroads">Louisiana</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Maine_railroads" title="List of Maine railroads">Maine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Maryland_railroads" title="List of Maryland railroads">Maryland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Massachusetts_railroads" title="List of Massachusetts railroads">Massachusetts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Michigan_railroads" title="List of Michigan railroads">Michigan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Minnesota_railroads" title="List of Minnesota railroads">Minnesota</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Mississippi_railroads" title="List of Mississippi railroads">Mississippi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Missouri_railroads" title="List of Missouri railroads">Missouri</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Montana_railroads" title="List of Montana railroads">Montana</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Nebraska_railroads" title="List of Nebraska railroads">Nebraska</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Nevada_railroads" title="List of Nevada railroads">Nevada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_New_Hampshire_railroads" title="List of New Hampshire railroads">New Hampshire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_New_Jersey_railroads" title="List of New Jersey railroads">New Jersey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_New_Mexico_railroads" title="List of New Mexico railroads">New Mexico</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_New_York_railroads" title="List of New York railroads">New York</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_North_Carolina_railroads" title="List of North Carolina railroads">North Carolina</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_North_Dakota_railroads" title="List of North Dakota railroads">North Dakota</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Ohio_railroads" title="List of Ohio railroads">Ohio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Oklahoma_railroads" title="List of Oklahoma railroads">Oklahoma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Oregon_railroads" title="List of Oregon railroads">Oregon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Pennsylvania_railroads" title="List of Pennsylvania railroads">Pennsylvania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Rhode_Island_railroads" title="List of Rhode Island railroads">Rhode Island</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_South_Carolina_railroads" title="List of South Carolina railroads">South Carolina</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_South_Dakota_railroads" title="List of South Dakota railroads">South Dakota</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Tennessee_railroads" title="List of Tennessee railroads">Tennessee</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Texas_railroads" title="List of Texas railroads">Texas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Utah_railroads" title="List of Utah railroads">Utah</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Vermont_railroads" title="List of Vermont railroads">Vermont</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Virginia_railroads" title="List of Virginia railroads">Virginia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Washington_(state)_railroads" title="List of Washington (state) railroads">Washington</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_West_Virginia_railroads" title="List of West Virginia railroads">West Virginia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Wisconsin_railroads" title="List of Wisconsin railroads">Wisconsin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Wyoming_railroads" title="List of Wyoming railroads">Wyoming</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_railroads_in_Washington,_D.C." title="List of railroads in Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Puerto_Rico_railroads" title="List of Puerto Rico railroads">Puerto Rico</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-label="Navbox" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks 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