As of 2020, Texas was the U.S. state with the largest railroad mileage, reaching over ****** miles. It represented around *** percent of the total mileage for the United States. Illinois and Ohio came second and third in the ranking, with the rail industry recording under ***** and over ***** miles in these respective states.

This graph shows the total length of railroad tracks in each of the home fronts in 1861, at the outbreak of the American Civil War. From the data we can see that the Union States had over double the amount of railroad than the Confederacy, and well over ten time that of the Border states. This is was a significant advantage for the Union forces as they had a much better infrastructure for transporting men and supplies throughout the war.

The statistic shows the miles of freight railroad operated by U.S. Class I railroads in 2015, by state. In that year, U.S. Class I railroads operated a total number of 2,048 miles of freight railroad in Michigan.

Graph and download economic data for Total Track Mileage of Railroads for United States (A02133USA581NNBR) from 1890 to 1916 about railroad and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Rail Passenger Miles (RAILPMD11) from Jan 2000 to Apr 2025 about miles, passenger, railroad, and USA.

United States Passenger Rail: Train Miles data was reported at 2,036,406.000 Mile in Jun 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2,037,397.000 Mile for May 2020. United States Passenger Rail: Train Miles data is updated monthly, averaging 3,309,065.500 Mile from Jan 1975 (Median) to Jun 2020, with 546 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4,840,304.000 Mile in Dec 1975 and a record low of 1,944,302.000 Mile in Oct 2000. United States Passenger Rail: Train Miles data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.TA003: Passenger Rail.

This statistic represents the Class I rail mileage within the United States from 1990 through 2020. In 2020, the Class I network in the United States had a total length of around 91,773 statute miles. U.S. Class I Railroads Ever since the founding of the first U.S. railroad in 1825, freight railroads have played a crucial role in the economic growth of the United States. Throughout the country, Class I railroads make the U.S. freight rail system one of the best networks in the world. At the end of 2020, a railroad was classified as a U.S. Class I railroad if 2020 operating revenues were 900 million U.S. dollars or more. The Canadian leading freight railroad companies, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific - with its subsidiaries Grand Trunk Corporation and Soo Line Corporation - operate as Class I railroads in the United States. The seven large Class I railroads, Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Canadian National, Kansas City Southern Railway, Norfolk Southern Railroads and Canadian Pacific, together with short and regional railroads are operating nearly 140,000 miles of the United States’ rail network. Union Pacific along with its main competitor, BNSF Railway, holds a duopoly over the railroad freight market. In 2021, Union Pacific Railroad transported over 26 million carloads and 411.3 billion revenue ton-miles.

United States - Rail Freight Intermodal Traffic was 1211436.00000 Ton Miles in March of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Rail Freight Intermodal Traffic reached a record high of 1276792.00000 in January of 2021 and a record low of 702762.00000 in October of 2002. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Rail Freight Intermodal Traffic - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

United States - Rail Passenger Miles was 625022133.00000 Number of Miles in March of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Rail Passenger Miles reached a record high of 625022133.00000 in March of 2025 and a record low of 42292729.00000 in July of 2020. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Rail Passenger Miles - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

United States Railway Length: Commuter Rail data was reported at 7,745.000 Mile in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 7,697.000 Mile for 2015. United States Railway Length: Commuter Rail data is updated yearly, averaging 6,831.000 Mile from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2016, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7,795.000 Mile in 2014 and a record low of 3,682.000 Mile in 1996. United States Railway Length: Commuter Rail data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.TA006: Railway Length.

United States Passenger Rail: Passenger Miles data was reported at 69,098,428.000 Mile in Jun 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 69,098,462.000 Mile for May 2020. United States Passenger Rail: Passenger Miles data is updated monthly, averaging 468,918,387.000 Mile from Jan 1975 (Median) to Jun 2020, with 546 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 681,357,191.000 Mile in Jul 2013 and a record low of 1,974,634.000 Mile in Dec 1985. United States Passenger Rail: Passenger Miles data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.TA003: Passenger Rail.

Graph and download economic data for Railroad Revenue, Passenger-Miles, Total for United States (M03010USM429NNBR) from Mar 1919 to Sep 1956 about railroad and USA.

Over the period of consideration, the amount of rail passenger miles traveled during August – a peak time for rail travel in the U.S. – increased steadily, with few fluctuations. Rail passenger travel peaked in August 2019, where roughly 287 billion rail passenger miles were traveled in that given month.

In the 1800s, the spread of railroads enabled the growth and spread of the United States. Although slow by today’s standards, trains traveled more quickly than other forms of transportation available at the time. By train, it took roughly four days to reach San Francisco from Omaha, Nebraska. By contrast, it had taken covered wagons four to six months, and stagecoaches around a month. In addition to travel, railroads facilitated trade and economic growth. Prior to railroads, people relied on a system of roads and canals for transportation of goods and crops. But this system could be unreliable depending on road conditions, the weather, and many other factors. Trains brought products made in the factories of the East and Midwest to the rest of the country and carried farm produce and livestock to urban markets. The first railroad charter was granted to John Stevens in 1815, and several railroads were in service by 1830. Early rail development was haphazard, financed by individual investors and built without government oversight. Rail gauges, or the distance between rails, could be different depending on the company. This caused a lot of problems for connecting railroads, because only trains designed for that gauge could use those sections of track. Despite miles of track being built, people were generally still skeptical about the usefulness of railroads. In 1843, the Western Railroad of Massachusetts proved to Americans that trains could transport crops and other goods long distances at low costs. By 1861, there were 35,400 kilometers (22,000 miles) of track in the North and only 15,300 kilometers (9,500 miles) in the South. Troops and supplies could be transported quickly using trains. Many battles, like the Battle of Bull Run, were fought over control of Southern railway depots, and tracks were used to move both Confederate and Union soldiers to battles. After the Civil War, railway construction increased significantly. In 1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act with the goal of building a transcontinental railroad. The first, built by the Central Pacific Railroad Company in the West and the Union Pacific in the Midwest, was completed in 1869. Following roughly the route previously taken by the Pony Express and the California Trail, the route was called the Overland Route. Construction was dangerous, as rail crews had to cross mountains, rivers, and other difficult terrain. For this work, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific relied mainly on immigrant labor, recruiting Chinese immigrants in the West and Irish immigrants in the Midwest. Formerly enslaved people and Mormons were also part of these crews. Between 10,000 and 15,000 Chinese workers completed an estimated 90 percent of work on the Central Pacific’s portion of track, facing racism, violence, and discrimination. Chinese workers were often paid less than white workers and were given the most undesirable and dangerous jobs. The Overland Route was one of the first land-grant railroads. To fund construction of such a long and expensive project, the U.S. government gave railroad companies millions of acres of land that they could sell for profit. Following this model, many more railroads were built, including four additional transcontinental railroads. These new railroads took southern and northern routes across the country. In addition to connecting existing cities on the West Coast to the rest of the country, the railroads also influenced where people settled. Trains made multiple stops to refuel, make repairs, and take on more food and water. In return, towns grew around these stops. More than 7,000 cities and towns west of the Missouri River started as Union Pacific depots and water stops. In 1890, the U.S. Bureau of the Census announced that the “Frontier was closed.” The railroads had played a large role in that milestone. This dataset was researched and built by Dr. Jeremy Atack, Professor Emeritus and Research Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University. His procedure and sources, as well as downloadable files, are documented here.

The North American Rail Network (NARN) Rail Lines dataset was created in 2016 and was updated on July 18, 2025 from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)/Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD). The NARN Rail Lines dataset is a database that provides ownership, trackage rights, type, passenger, STRACNET, and geographic reference for North America's railway system at 1:24,000 or better within the United States. The data set covers all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Mexico, and Canada. A data dictionary, or other source of attribute information, is accessible at https://doi.org/10.21949/1528950

Illinois is at the center of the nation’s rail network. It has a comprehensive rail network consisting of approximately 9,982 miles of railroad tracks, 7,792 of which are operated by Class I railroads – primarily BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). Class I railroads are large freight companies, Class II and Class III are small regional railroad companies. The remaining 2,190 miles of track are operated by Class III short line or regional railroads. A total of 41 railroads currently operate in Illinois. They range in size from a short one-mile interstate carrier to larger railroads extending from Illinois to the West and East Coasts, Gulf of Mexico, Canada, and Mexico. Seven are freight (Class I) carriers and 34 are regional, local, switching and terminal railroads. In all, 40 railroads are able to provide service from Illinois to every part of the United States. Chicago is the largest US rail gateway and there is another major rail center located in East St. Louis. Rail’s importance to both Chicago and the state is highlighted by the fact that over 1,300 freight, passenger and commuter trains pass through the Chicago region every day and, in 2011, Illinois ranked first in the nation in terms of rail freight volume at 490.4 million tons.Updated from IDOT Illinois Railroads MapBase source 9/19/2019

United States Railway Length: Light Rail data was reported at 1,958.000 Mile in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,893.000 Mile for 2015. United States Railway Length: Light Rail data is updated yearly, averaging 996.000 Mile from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2016, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,958.000 Mile in 2016 and a record low of 482.600 Mile in 1990. United States Railway Length: Light Rail data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.TA006: Railway Length.

The U.S. rail system stretched across almost ******* km in 2021, making it the largest rail network in the world. It is followed by the the Chinese rail network, which encompasses close to ******* rail kilometers. Railroads include railway routes that are open for public passenger and freight services and excludes dedicated private resource railways and parallel tracks. Rail infrastructure decline in the United States While the United States currently maintains the largest rail network globally, the length of the network has been declining for decades. In the early days of railroading, the country experienced a boom in building railway infrastructure. However, in recent decades the railroad industry has focused on consolidating and maintaining only the more profitable main lines. This has led to a closure of many smaller and especially branch lines. This trend is projected to continue, with the total network length predicted to fall to just under ******* kilometers by 2028. High-speed rail dominated by China While the United States has the largest overall rail network, China boasts the largest highspeed rail network. In 2021 the country operated nearly ****** kilometers of highspeed rail lines. This made the Chinese network more than ** times the size of its closest contender, Spain. Meanwhile the United States only operated *** kilometers of high-speed rail lines.

The size of the Railroad Market was valued at USD 296.88 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 434.74 billion by 2032, with an expected CAGR of 5.6 % during the forecast period. A railroad is an arrangement of rails, trains, and other supporting structures that are meant to carry people and cargo over long distances. Essentially, the core element of a railroad is the track that is made up of parallel steel rails supported by ties and ballast. The tracks, upon which machines - that are trains - powered by diesel or electric engines run, are a very reliable and efficient form of transportation. Railroads have been a fundamental part of the global transportation networks since the 19th century, revolutionizing travel and trade by enabling faster movement of goods and people. In addition to freight transportation, railroads are also a critical means of urban transit, connecting cities and suburbs through commuter trains. Rail networks exist everywhere around the globe. Some of these countries possess rail networks spread across thousands of miles. For instance, the United States, China, and Europe all possess extensive systems of railroads. Railways remain an integral part of lessening road congestion and promoting environmental-friendly, energy-efficient transport solutions.

United States Railway Length: Class I Rail data was reported at 93,011.000 Mile in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 93,628.000 Mile for 2015. United States Railway Length: Class I Rail data is updated yearly, averaging 97,817.000 Mile from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2016, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 119,758.000 Mile in 1990 and a record low of 93,011.000 Mile in 2016. United States Railway Length: Class I Rail data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.TA006: Railway Length.