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((Short description|none))
((Use mdy dates|date=November 2023))
((Infobox rail network
| name            = Rail transport in the United States
| color           =
| logo            =
| image           = CSX 5349 GE ES44DC.jpg
| caption         = A [[CSX Transportation|CSX]] train at a [[Level junction|diamond junction]] in [[Marion, Ohio]]
| nationalrailway = 
| infrastructure  = 
| majoroperators  = [[Amtrak]]<br />[[BNSF Railway]]<br />[[Canadian National Railway]]<br />[[CPKC Railway]]<br />[[CSX Transportation]]<br />[[Norfolk Southern Railway]]<br />[[Union Pacific Railroad]]
| ridership       = 549,631,632<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=RAIL_PM|title=Seasonally Adjusted Transportation Data|publisher=Bureau of Transportation Statistics|location=Washington, D.C.|date=2017|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-date=April 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422132507/https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=RAIL_PM|url-status=dead))</ref><br />29&nbsp;million (Amtrak only)<ref name=UICRS>((cite web|url=https://www.uitp.org/sites/default/files/cck-focus-papers-files/Regional%20and%20Suburban%20Railways%20Market%20Analysis.pdf|title=Railway Statistics – 2014 Synopsis|publisher=International Union of Railways, IUC|location=Paris, France|date=2014|access-date=September 9, 2015))((cbignore|bot=medic))</ref> (2014)
| passkm          = 10.3&nbsp;billion<ref name="UICRS" /> (2014)
| freight         = 1.71&nbsp;trillion [[ton-mile]]<ref name="UICRS" /> (2014)
| length          = ((convert|160141|mile|km|abbr=on)) 
| doublelength    = 
| ellength        = 
| freightlength   = 
| hslength        =
| gauge           = ((RailGauge|standard|al=on|allk=on))
| hsgauge         =
| gauge1          = 
| gauge1length    = 
| el              = 
| el1             = 
| el1length       = 
| el2             = 
| el2length       = 
| notunnels       = 
| tunnellength    = 
| longesttunnel   = [[Cascade Tunnel]], ((Convert|7.8|mi|km))
| nobridges       = 
| longestbridge   = 
| nostations      =
| highelevation   = 
| highelat        = 
| lowelevation    =
| lowelat         =
| map             = [[File:Class1rr.png|250px]]
| mapcaption      =
))

'''Rail transportation in the United States''' consists primarily of [[Rail freight transport|freight shipments]] along a well integrated network of [[Standard-gauge railway|standard gauge]] private freight railroads that also extend into [[Canada]] and [[Mexico]]. The United States has the [[List of countries by rail transport network size|largest rail transport network]] of any country in the world, about ((Convert|160000|mi|km)).

[[Passenger train|Passenger service]] is a [[Public transport|mass transit]] option for Americans with [[commuter rail]] in most major American cities, especially on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]]. 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 [[Aviation in the United States|commercial air traffic]] and the [[Interstate Highway System]] made commercial air and road transport a practical option throughout the United States.

The nation's earliest railroads were built in the 1820s and 1830s, [[Railroads in New England|primarily in New England]] and the [[Mid-Atlantic (United States)|Mid-Atlantic states]]. The [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]], chartered in 1827, was the nation's first common-carrier railroad. By 1850, an extensive railroad network had taken shape in the rapidly industrializing [[Northeastern United States]] and the Midwest, while fewer railroads were built in the [[Southern United States|South]], which was more agricultural than other regions. During and after the [[American Civil War]], the [[first transcontinental railroad]] was built, to join [[California]] with the rest of the national network, at a connection in [[Iowa]].

Railroads expanded throughout the rest of the 19th century, eventually reaching nearly every corner of the nation. The railroads were temporarily [[nationalize]]d between 1917 and 1920 by the [[United States Railroad Administration]], because of American entry into [[World War I]]. Railroad mileage peaked at this time. Railroads were affected deeply by the [[Great Depression in the United States]], and some lines were abandoned. A great increase in traffic during [[World War II]] brought a reprieve, but after the war railroads faced intense competition from [[Car|automobiles]] and [[aircraft]] and began a long decline. Passenger service was especially hard hit; in 1971 the federal government created [[Amtrak]], to take over responsibility for intercity passenger travel. Numerous railroad companies went bankrupt starting in the 1960s, most notably [[Penn Central Transportation Company]] in 1971, in the largest bankruptcy in the nation's history at the time. Once again, the federal government intervened, forming [[Conrail]], in 1976, to assume control of bankrupt railroads in the northeast.

Railroads' fortunes changed after the passage of the [[Staggers Rail Act]] (1980), which [[Deregulation|deregulated]] railroad companies, who had previously faced much stronger regulation than other modes of transportation. With innovations such as [[trailer-on-flatcar]] and [[intermodal freight transport]], railroad traffic increased. After the Staggers Act, many railroads merged, forming major systems, such as [[CSX Transportation|CSX]] and [[Norfolk Southern Railway|Norfolk Southern]], in the Eastern United States, and [[BNSF Railway]], in the Western United States; [[Union Pacific Railroad]] also purchased some competitors. Another result of the Staggers Act was the rise of [[shortline railroad]]s, 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.

==History==
((Further|History of rail transportation in the United States))
===19th century===
((Further|Oldest railroads in North America))
[[File:FWPNW026HobokenNJSA0266.jpg|thumb|The first American locomotive at Castle Point in [[Hoboken, New Jersey]], ((Circa|1826))]]
[[File:Canton Viaduct, Southern view, west side.JPG|thumb|The [[Canton Viaduct]], built in 1834, is still in use today on the [[Northeast Corridor]].]]
Between 1762 and 1764 a [[gravity railroad]] ([[tramway (industrial)|mechanized tramway]]) ([[Montresor's Tramway]]) was built by British Army engineers up the steep riverside terrain near the [[Niagara River]] waterfall's [[escarpment]] at the [[Niagara Portage]] in [[Lewiston, New York]].<ref name=PMat-text>[http://historiclewiston.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06//the_cradles_tramway_placemat.pdf Text online of placement commemorating  historic railroad.], accessdate=2017-03-01</ref>

Between the 1820s and 1840s, Americans closely watched [[History of rail transport in Great Britain|the development of railways in Great Britain]]. 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 [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]] – 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 [[U.S. Military Academy]] at West Point between 1802 and 1866 became corporate presidents, chief engineers, treasurers, superintendents and general managers of railroad companies.<ref name="Smith">((cite book |title=Military Enterprise and Technological Change |last=Smith |first=Merritt Roe  |year=1985 |publisher=MIT Press |location=Cambridge, MA |isbn = 0-262-19239-X |pages=87–116 ))</ref> Among the Army officers who thus assisted the building and managing of the first American railroads were [[Stephen Harriman Long]], [[George Washington Whistler]], and [[Herman Haupt]].((need citation|date=March 2024))

State governments granted charters that created the business corporation and gave a limited right of [[eminent domain]], allowing the railroad to buy needed land, even over the owner's objections.((NoteTag|Horse-drawn rail lines were in use for short-distance hauling of stone. See [[Gridley Bryant]]. Other purpose-built railroads were operating in the 1820s. The [[Delaware and Hudson Canal Company]], which later became the [[Delaware and Hudson Railroad|Delaware & Hudson Railroad]], built its first tracks in 1826 as a gravity railroad in [[Carbondale, Pennsylvania]], to haul coal from a mine to the canal at [[Honesdale, Pennsylvania|Honesdale]].))
 
The [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] (B&O) was chartered in 1827 to build a steam railroad west from [[Baltimore]], Maryland, to a point on the [[Ohio River]] 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 [[Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company]], initially a gravity road feeding anthracite coal downhill to the [[Lehigh Canal]], 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 [[Summit Hill & Mauch Chunk Railroad]], it added a steam powered cable-return track for true two-way operation and ran as a [[common carrier]] and tourist road from the 1890s to 1937. Lasting 111 years, the SH&MC is described by some to be the world's first [[roller coaster]].((NoteTag|The SH&MCsbRR carried sundries, groceries, and goods up to Summit Hill, including official postal deliveries.|name = SH&MCsbRR ))

The first purpose-built common carrier railroad in the northeast was the [[Mohawk and Hudson Railroad|Mohawk & Hudson Railroad]]; incorporated in 1826. It began operating in August 1831. Soon, a second passenger line, the [[Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad|Saratoga & Schenectady Railroad]], started service in June 1832.<ref name="Stevens">((cite book |title = The Beginnings of the New York Central Railroad: A History |last = Stevens |first = Frank Walker |year = 1926 |publisher = G. P. Putnam's Sons |location=New York, NY |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EYbVAAAAMAAJ ))</ref>((rp|1–115))
 
In 1835, the B&O completed a branch from Baltimore southward to Washington, D.C.<ref name="Dilts">((cite book |title = The Great Road: The Building of the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nation's First Railroad, 1828–1853 |last=Dilts |first = James D. |year=1996 |publisher=Stanford University Press |location = Palo Alto, CA |isbn = 978-0-8047-2629-0 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JjrCWPwvHzIC ))</ref>((rp|157)) The [[Boston and Providence Railroad|Boston & Providence Railroad]] was incorporated in 1831 to build a railroad between [[Boston]] and [[Providence, Rhode Island]]; the road was completed in 1835 with the completion of the [[Canton Viaduct]] in [[Canton, Massachusetts]].((citation needed|date=March 2024))

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 [[Louisiana]], the [[Pontchartrain Rail-Road]], a ((convert|5|mi|km|adj=on)) route connecting the [[Mississippi River]] with [[Lake Pontchartrain]] at New Orleans was completed in 1831 and provided over a century of operation. Completed in 1830, the [[Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad|Tuscumbia, Courtland & Decatur Railroad]] became the first railroad constructed west of the [[Appalachian Mountains]]; it connected the [[Alabama]] cities of [[Decatur, Alabama|Decatur]] and [[Tuscumbia, Alabama|Tuscumbia]].((citation needed|date=March 2024))

Soon, other roads that would themselves be purchased or merged into larger entities, were formed. The [[Camden and Amboy Railroad|Camden & Amboy Railroad]] (C&A), the first railroad built in [[New Jersey]], completed its route between its namesake cities in 1834. The C&A ran successfully for decades connecting [[New York City]] to the [[Delaware Valley]], and would eventually become part of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]].

By 1850, over ((convert|9000|mi|km)) of railroad lines had been built.<ref name="Wilson">((cite book |last=van Oss |first=Salomon Frederik|title=American Railroads and British Investors |url=https://archive.org/details/americanrailroad00vanorich|year=1893 |publisher=Effingham Wilson & Co |location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/americanrailroad00vanorich/page/3 3]))</ref> The B&O's westward route reached the Ohio River in 1852, the first eastern seaboard railroad to do so.<ref name=Stover>((cite book | last = Stover | first = John F. | title = History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad  | publisher = [[Purdue University Press]] | year = 1987 | location = West Lafayette, Ind. | pages = 59–60| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=IEPCqQErPHAC&pg=PP1| isbn =0-911198-81-4 ))</ref>((rp|Ch.V)) Railroad companies in the North and Midwest constructed networks that linked nearly every major city by 1860.

Large railroad companies, including the [[New York Central Railroad|New York Central]], [[Grand Trunk Railway]], and the [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company|Southern Pacific]], spanned several states. In response to [[monopoly|monopolistic]] practices, such as [[price fixing]] and other excesses of some railroads and their owners, [[United States Congress|Congress]] created the [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] (ICC) in 1887. The ICC indirectly controlled the business activities of the railroads through issuance of extensive [[regulations]]. Congress also enacted [[United States antitrust law|antitrust legislation]] to prevent railroad monopolies, beginning with the [[Sherman Antitrust Act]] in 1890. Industrialists such as [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]] and [[Jay Gould]] became wealthy through railroad ownerships.((citation needed|date=March 2024))

====Transcontinental railroad====
((Main|First Transcontinental Railroad))
[[File:East west shaking hands by russell.jpg|thumb|Celebration of the meeting of the railroad in [[Promontory Summit, Utah]] in May 1869]]
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 [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] coast. Completed on May 10, 1869, at the [[Golden spike]] event at [[Promontory Summit, Utah]], it created a nationwide mechanized transportation network that revolutionized the population and economy of the [[U.S. West|American West]], catalyzing the transition from the [[wagon train]]s 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 [[History of Canada (1763–1867)|Canada]]'s [[Grand Trunk Railway]] (GTR) had, by 1867, already accumulated more than ((convert|2055|km|mi)) of track by connecting [[Portland, Maine]], and the three northern [[New England]] states with the [[Atlantic Canada|Canadian Atlantic provinces]], and west as far as [[Port Huron, Michigan]], through [[Sarnia|Sarnia, Ontario]].

Authorized by the [[Pacific Railway Act]] of 1862 and heavily backed by the [[United States Federal Government|federal government]], 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 [[Abraham Lincoln]], completed five years after his death. The building of the railroad required enormous feats of engineering and [[labour (economics)|labor]] in the crossing of the [[Great Plains]] and the [[Rocky Mountains]] by the westbound [[Union Pacific Railroad]] (UP) and eastbound [[Central Pacific Railroad]], the two federally chartered enterprises that built the line.<ref>[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] 12 Stat. 489, July 1, 1862</ref> The building of the railroad was motivated in part to bind the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] together following the strife of the [[American Civil War]]. It substantially accelerated the populating of the West by [[Homestead Act|homesteader]]s, leading to rapid [[agriculture|cultivation]] of new farm lands. The Central Pacific and the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] 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.

Much of the original [[Right-of-way (railroad)|roadbed]] is still in use today and owned by UP, which is descended from both of the original railroads.((citation needed|date=March 2024))


====Rail gauge selection====
((Main|Track gauge in the United States))
[[File:44. Cape Horn, C.P.R.R.jpg|thumb|[[Central Pacific Railroad]] at Cape Horn, California, ((Circa|1880))]]
====Impact of railroads on the economy====
{| class="wikitable sortable floatright"
|+ '''Railroad mileage increase by groups of states'''<br /><small>Source: [[Chauncey Depew]] (ed.), ''One Hundred Years of American Commerce 1795–1895'' p 111</small>
|-
! Region
! 1850
! 1860
! 1870
! 1880
! 1890
|-
| New England
| 2,507
| 3,660
| 4,494
| 5,982
| 6,831
|-
| Middle States
| 3,202
| 6,705
| 10,964
| 15,872
| 21,536
|-
| Southern States
| 2,036
| 8,838
| 11,192
| 14,778
| 29,209
|-
| Western States and Territories
| 1,276
| 11,400
| 24,587
| 52,589
| 62,394
|-
| Pacific States and Territories
|
| 23
| 1,677
| 4,080
| 9,804
|-
! Totals
| 9,021
| 30,626
| 52,914
| 93,301
| 129,774
|}
Many Canadian and U.S. railroads originally used various broad gauges, but most were converted to ((Track gauge|ussg|lk=on)) by 1886, when the conversion of much of the southern rail network from ((Track gauge|5ft|lk=on)) gauge took place. This and the standardization of couplings and air brakes enabled the pooling and interchange of [[locomotive]]s and rolling stock.

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,<ref>Alfred D. Chandler Jr., ''The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business''(1977) pp 81–121.</ref> along with allowing growth of the American population outside of the eastern regions.

===20th century===
[[File:Railroad1860.jpg|thumb|Train running on the Dale Creek Iron Viaduct in [[Wyoming]], ((Circa|1860))]]
[[File:Railroads of the United States in 1918 - Project Gutenberg eText 16960.png|thumb|Railroads of the United States in 1918]]
[[File:Santa Fe stopped at Cajon Siding, March 1943.jpg|thumb|An [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] freight train pauses at [[Cajon, California]], in March 1943 to cool its braking equipment after descending [[Cajon Pass]]; the [[Interstate 15 in California|Interstate 15]] of [[U.S. Route 66]] is visible to the right of the train.]]
[[File:Amtrak Vermonter at Brattleboro in 2004.jpg|thumb|An [[Amtrak]] train at [[Union Station (Brattleboro, Vermont)|Union Station]] in [[Brattleboro, Vermont station]]]]
[[File:BNSF 5350 20040808 Prairie du Chien WI.jpg|thumb|[[BNSF Railway]]'s [[Double-stack rail transport|double stack]] freight train in [[Wisconsin]]]]
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 [[Streetcar]] and [[Interurban]] lines. The Interurban was a concept which relied almost exclusively on passenger traffic for revenue. Unable to survive the [[Great Depression]], the failure of most Interurbans by that time left many cities without suburban passenger railroads, although the largest cities such as New York City, Chicago, [[Boston]] and [[Philadelphia]] 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 [[Railway Post Office]] cars, paid for by the [[US Post Office]]. RPOs were withdrawn when mail sorting was mechanized.

As early as the 1930s, automobile travel had begun to cut into the rail passenger market, somewhat reducing [[economies of scale]], but it was the development of the [[Interstate Highway System]] and of [[commercial aviation]] in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as increasingly restrictive regulation, that dealt the most damaging blows to rail transportation, both passenger and freight. [[General Motors]] and others were convicted of running the streetcar industry into the ground purposefully in what is referred to as the [[Great American Streetcar Scandal]]. 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.

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 [[railroad post office]]s in the 1960s. On May 1, 1971, with only a few exceptions, the federally-funded [[Amtrak]] took over all intercity passenger rail service in the continental United States. The [[Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad|Rio Grande]], with its [[Denver]]-[[Ogden, Utah|Ogden]] ''[[Rio Grande Zephyr]]'' and the Southern with its Washington, D.C.–[[New Orleans]] [[Crescent (Amtrak)|''Southern Crescent'']] chose to stay out of Amtrak, and the [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad|Rock Island]], with two intrastate [[Illinois]] trains, was too far gone to be included into Amtrak.

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. [[Labor unions in the United States|Labor unions]] 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 [[New York Central Railroad|New York Central]]'s [[New York Central Railroad#Alfred E. Perlman: 1958-1968|Alfred E. Perlman]]. 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 [[Penn Central]], barely two years later.

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.

The [[National Association of Railroad Passengers]] (NARP) was formed in 1967 to lobby for the continuation of passenger trains. Its lobbying efforts were hampered somewhat by [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] opposition to any sort of [[rail subsidies]] to the privately owned railroads, and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] opposition to [[nationalization]] 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 [[Penn Central Transportation|Penn Central]], the dominant railroad in the [[Northeastern United States]], on June 21, 1970.

Under the [[Rail Passenger Service Act]] of 1970, Congress created the [[Amtrak|National Railroad Passenger Corporation]] (NRPC) to subsidize and oversee the operation of intercity passenger trains. The Act provided that:
* Any railroad operating intercity passenger service could contract with the NRPC, thereby joining the national system.
* 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.
* Any participating railroad was freed of the obligation to operate intercity passenger service after May 1971, except for those services chosen by the [[United States Department of Transportation|U.S. Department of Transportation]] as part of a "basic system" of service and paid for by NRPC using its federal funds.
* 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.

The original working brand name for NRPC was ''Railpax'', which eventually became [[Amtrak]]. 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.

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 [[Penn Central Transportation Company|Penn Central]] and other lines in the northeast, [[Mid-Atlantic (United States)|mid-Atlantic]] and Midwestern regions.<ref>Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973, Pub.L. 93-236, 87 Stat. 985, ((USC|45|741)), January 2, 1974.</ref> The law created the [[Consolidated Rail Corporation]] (Conrail), a government-owned corporation, which began operations in 1976. Another law, the [[Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act]] of 1976 (the "4R Act"), provided more specifics for the Conrail acquisitions and set the stage for more comprehensive deregulation of the railroad industry.<ref>Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act, Pub.L. 94-210, 90 Stat. 31, ((USC|45|801)), February 5, 1976.</ref> Portions of the [[Penn Central]], [[Erie Lackawanna]], [[Reading Railroad]], [[Ann Arbor Railroad (1895–1976)|Ann Arbor Railroad]], [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]], [[Lehigh Valley Railroad|Lehigh Valley]], and [[Lehigh and Hudson River]] were merged into Conrail. On December 31, 1996, the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] [[BNSF Railway#BN-ATSF merger|merged]] with the [[Burlington Northern Railroad]], creating the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.

The freight industry continued its decline until Congress passed the [[Staggers Rail Act]] 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.<ref name="Stover-American RR">((cite book |title=American Railroads |last=Stover |first=John F.|year=1997 |edition = 2nd |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=978-0-226-77658-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R4vjgmic44QC))</ref>((rp|245–252))

==Freight railroads==
((More citations needed section|date=October 2010))
((See also|Rail freight transport))
[[File:Freight Transport volumes of USA.svg|thumb|right|Freight Transport volumes (Tonne-Kilometers)]]
[[Freight railroad]]s 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%.<ref name="economist2010-07-22">((cite news | url=http://www.economist.com/node/16636101 | title=High-speed railroading | newspaper=The Economist | date=July 22, 2010 | access-date=December 10, 2011))</ref>

U.S. railroads still play a major role in the nation's freight shipping. They carried 750&nbsp;billion ton-miles by 1975 which doubled to 1.5&nbsp;trillion ton-miles in 2005.<ref name="BTS1">U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Washington, D.C. (2000) [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."] ((Webarchive|url=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 |date=May 22, 2018 )) ''The Changing Face of Transportation.'' Report No. BTS00-007.</ref><ref>National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. [http://americanhistory.si.edu/ONTHEMOVE/themes/story_42_4.html "Railroads to Mid-Century: Salisbury, North Carolina, 1927."] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060206232522/http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_42_4.html |date=February 6, 2006 )) ''America on the Move.''</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/taubmancenter/pdfs/working_papers/fagan_vassallo_05_rail.pdf Increasing EU Rail Share: Insights From the US Rail Experience<!-- Bot generated title -->] ((webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902215734/http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/taubmancenter/pdfs/working_papers/fagan_vassallo_05_rail.pdf |date=September 2, 2006 )) See Alternate Link 7</ref><ref>International Union of Railways [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"] Alternate Source for Dead Link</ref><ref>((cite web |last1=Freemark |first1=Yonah |title=Freight as Passenger Rail's Worst Enemy — Or Something Else? |url=https://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2011/06/29/freight-as-passenger-rails-worst-enemy-or-something-else/ |website=The Transport Politic |access-date=20 June 2023))</ref><ref>((cite journal |last1=Manuel Bastos Andrade Furtado |first1=Francisco |title=U.S. and European Freight Railways: The Differences That Matter |journal=Journal of the Transportation Research Forum |date=Summer 2013 |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=65–84 |url=https://trforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2013v52n2_04_FreightRailways.pdf |access-date=25 July 2023))</ref> 

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.<ref name="BTS1" /> In 2018, US rail freight had a [[Energy efficiency in transport#Freight|transport energy efficiency]] of 473 tons.miles per gallon of fuel.<ref>((cite web |title=The Economic Impact of America's Freight Railroads |url=https://www.aar.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/AAR-Economic-Impact-US-Freight-Railroads.pdf |publisher=[[Association of American Railroads]] |pages=2 |date=July 2019))</ref> In recent years, railroads have gradually been losing intermodal traffic to trucking.<ref>((cite news |title=Supply Chain News: Is Trucking Gaining Share over Rail in Long Haul Freight Moves? |url=https://www.scdigest.com/ontarget/22-02-22_rail_losing_share_to_truckling.php?cid=19619 |access-date=3 August 2023 |work=Supply Chain Digest |date=22 February 2022))</ref>

===Railroad classes===

[[File:Class1rr.png|thumb|upright|2006 map of North American Class I railroads]]
((Main|Railroad classes))
U.S. freight railroads are separated into three classes, set by the [[Surface Transportation Board]], based on annual revenues:
* Class I for freight railroads with annual operating revenues above $346.8&nbsp;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)), U.S. freight railroads operated 139,679 route-miles (224,792&nbsp;km) of [[standard gauge]] 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.
* Class II for freight railroads with revenues between $27.8&nbsp;million and $346.7&nbsp;million in 2000 dollars
* Class III for all other freight revenues.

In 2013, the U.S. moved more oil out of North Dakota by rail than by the Trans-Alaska pipeline.<ref name="sciam">((cite web|url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/2013/07/17/u-s-moves-more-oil-out-of-north-dakota-by-rail-than-the-trans-alaskan-pipeline/|title=U.S. moves more oil out of North Dakota by rail than the Trans-Alaskan pipeline|first=David|last=Wogan|website=scientificamerican.com))</ref> This trend—tenfold in two years and 40-fold in five years—is forecast to increase.<ref name="natlgeo">((cite web|url= http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/07/130708-oil-train-tragedy-in-canada/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130709173440/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/07/130708-oil-train-tragedy-in-canada/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= July 9, 2013 |title=Oil Train Tragedy in Canada Spotlights Rising Crude Transport by Rail|date=July 8, 2013|website=nationalgeographic.com))</ref>

===Classes of freight railroads===

((Unreferenced section|date=September 2023))
There are four different classes of freight railroads: [[Class I railroad|Class I]], regional, local line haul, and switching & terminal. [[Class I railroads]] are defined as those with revenue of at least $346.8&nbsp;million in 2006. They comprise just one percent of the number of [[freight railroad]]s, but account for 67 percent of the industry's mileage, 90 percent of its employees, and 93 percent of its freight revenue.

A [[regional railroad]] is a line haul railroad with at least ((convert|350|mi|km)) and/or revenue between $40&nbsp;million and the Class I threshold. There were 33 regional railroads in 2006. Most have between 75 and 500 employees.

Local line haul railroads operate less than ((convert|350|mi|km)) and earn less than $40&nbsp;million per year (most earn less than $5&nbsp;million per year). In 2006, there were 323 local line haul railroads. They generally perform point-to-point service over short distances.

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.

===Traffic and public benefits===
[[File:Freight Shipping in the United States.svg|thumb|Freight in the United States by percent [[ton-mile]]s (2010 [[Federal Railroad Administration|FRA]] report)<ref name="Progress Report">((Cite web |title=National Rail Plan Progress Report ((!)) FRA |author= |work=railroads.dot.gov |date=September 2010 |access-date=31 March 2022 |url=https://railroads.dot.gov/elibrary/national-rail-plan-progress-report))</ref>]]
[[File:Railyard behind the Cincinnati Union Terminal (11259266795).jpg|thumb|Double-stack yard operations in Cincinnati]]

U.S. freight railroads operate in a highly competitive marketplace. According to a 2010 [[Federal Railroad Administration|FRA]] 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%).<ref name="Progress Report"/> 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.((citation needed|date=April 2016))

In 2011, North American railroads operated 1,471,736 freight cars and 31,875 locomotives, with 215,985 employees. They originated 39.53&nbsp;million carloads (averaging 63 tons each) and generated $81.7&nbsp;billion in freight revenue of present 2014. The average haul was 917 miles. The largest (Class 1) U.S. railroads carried 10.17&nbsp;million intermodal containers and 1.72&nbsp;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.<ref>[https://www.aar.org/StatisticsAndPublications/Documents/AAR-Stats-2013-02-07.pdf Class I Railroad Statistics] ((Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131103071634/https://www.aar.org/StatisticsAndPublications/Documents/AAR-Stats-2013-02-07.pdf |date=November 3, 2013 )), Association of American Railroads, February 7, 2013</ref> Coal accounted for roughly half of U.S. electricity generation<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/update/ |title=Electricity Monthly Update – Energy Information Administration|website=EIA.gov))</ref> and was a major export. As [[Shale gas in the United States|natural gas]] 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.<ref>((cite web|url= http://automotivelogistics.media/intelligence/north-american-rail-one-door-closes-another-opens |title=North American rail: One door closes, another opens |first=Marcus |last=Williams |date=March 29, 2016|publisher= Automotive Logistics|access-date=May 14, 2017 |quote=11% compared to 2014 production, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The drop hit railways’ revenue by as much as 40% in some segments.))</ref> US coal consumption dwindled from over 1,100 million tons in 2008 to 687 million tons in 2018.<ref name="aar2018c">((cite web |title=Railroads and Coal |url=https://www.aar.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/AAR-Railroads-Coal.pdf |publisher=[[Association of American Railroads]] |pages=2 |date=May 2019))</ref>

===Freight rail working with passenger rail===
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&nbsp;million.

The vast majority of the 22,000 or so miles over which [[Amtrak]] 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.((citation needed|date=January 2017))

==Passenger railroads==
((For|routes and operators|Amtrak|Alaska Railroad|Brightline|List of rail transit systems in the United States))
[[File:North America Passenger Trains.png|thumb|Passenger trains in North America (not shown: [[Brightline]] in Florida)]]

The sole long-distance intercity [[passenger railroad]] in the continental U.S. is [[Amtrak]], 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 [[Alaska Railroad]] instead of Amtrak. [[Commuter rail]] 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. [[Commuter rail in North America|Commuter systems]] have been proposed in approximately two dozen other cities, but interplays between various local-government administrative bottlenecks and ripple effects from the [[2007–2012 global financial crisis]] have generally pushed such projects farther and farther into the future, or have even sometimes mothballed them entirely.

The most culturally notable and physically evident exception to the general lack of significant passenger rail transport in the U.S. is the [[Northeast Corridor]] between [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]], [[Baltimore]], [[Philadelphia]], New York City, and [[Boston]], with significant branches in [[Connecticut]] and [[Massachusetts]]. 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 [[New York City Subway|subway]] and commuter rail ([[Long Island Rail Road]], [[Metro-North Railroad]], [[New Jersey Transit Rail Operations|New Jersey Transit]]). The subway system is used by one third of all U.S. [[mass transit]] users. Chicago also sees high rail ridership, with a local [[Chicago 'L'|elevated system]], one of the world's last [[South Shore Line|interurban lines]], and fourth most-ridden commuter rail system in the United States: [[Metra]]. Other major cities with substantial rail infrastructure include [[Philadelphia]]'s [[SEPTA]], [[Boston]]'s [[MBTA]], and Washington, D.C.'s network of commuter rail and rapid transit. [[Denver]], Colorado constructed a [[RTD Bus & Rail#Commuter rail|new electrified commuter rail system]] in the 2000s to complement the city's light rail system. The commuter rail systems of [[San Diego]] and Los Angeles, [[Coaster (rail service)|Coaster]] and [[Metrolink (California)|Metrolink]], connect in [[Oceanside, California]]. The [[San Francisco Bay Area]] additionally hosts several local passenger rail operators, the largest of which are [[Caltrain]], the [[Altamont Corridor Express]], [[Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit]], and [[Bay Area Rapid Transit]].

Privately run inter-city passenger rail operations have also been restarted since 2018 in south Florida, with additional routes under development. [[Brightline]] is a [[higher-speed rail]] train, run by All Aboard Florida. It began service in January 2018 between [[Fort Lauderdale]] and [[West Palm Beach]]; its service was extended to Miami in May 2018, and an extension to [[Orlando International Airport]] opened for daily service on September 22, 2023, which includes a segment of brand new rail line from Orlando eastward toward the Atlantic coast.<ref>((cite news |title=High-speed trains begin making trip between Orlando and Miami |url=https://apnews.com/article/highspeed-rail-trains-florida-brightline-7a7bd3b390c43a8becc811d68dfcf386 |access-date=23 September 2023 |publisher=Associated Press |date=23 September 2023 |ref=Orlando-open))</ref> Brightline has also proposed a further extension of its service from Orlando to [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]] via [[Walt Disney World]],<ref>((Cite web|url=https://tampabay.com/business/brightline-virgin-rail-service-looking-at-disney-station-along-proposed-tampa-to-orlando-route-20190104/|title=Brightline-Virgin rail service looking at Disney station along proposed Tampa-to-Orlando route|last=Danielson|first=Richard|date=January 4, 2019|website=Tampa Bay Times|language=en|access-date=September 11, 2019))</ref> and a [[Brightline West|high-speed rail service]] from [[Los Angeles]] to [[Las Vegas]].<ref>((Cite news|url=https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20190715/victorville-vegas-train-may-be-rolling-by-2023|title=Victorville-Vegas train may be rolling by 2023|last=Huffine|first=Bryce|date=July 15, 2019|work=The Daily Press|access-date=September 10, 2019|publication-place=Victorville, California|archive-date=July 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715140219/https://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20190715/victorville-vegas-train-may-be-rolling-by-2023|url-status=dead))</ref> In addition, the [[Texas Central Railway]] is currently developing plans for a proposed greenfield [[high-speed rail]] line using Japanese [[Shinkansen]] trains between [[Dallas]] and [[Houston]]. Construction was expected to begin in 2020 for a 2026 opening,<ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Federal-Railroad-Commission-to-begin-rule-making-on-high-speed-railway-559624071.html|title=Federal Railroad Commission to begin rule making on high speed railway|last=Hogan|first=Kendall|date=September 9, 2019|website=KBTX.com|access-date=September 11, 2019))</ref>
but a major lawsuit delayed the project and as of February 2023 there are no signs of construction activity.<ref>[https://www.kbtx.com/2023/02/02/back-court-landowner-files-pre-suit-deposition-against-texas-central-railroad/ Back to court: Landowner files pre-suit deposition against Texas Central Railroad]</ref>

===Car types===
The basic design of a [[passenger car (rail)|passenger car]] was standardized by 1870. By 1900, the main car types were: baggage, coach, combine, diner, [[dome car]], lounge, observation, private, Pullman, railroad post office (RPO) and sleeper.

====19th century: First passenger cars and early development====
((Main|Passenger car (rail)))
[[File:Chicago and Alton Railroad Pullman car interior c 1900.png|thumb|The interior of a [[Pullman car]] on the [[Chicago and Alton Railroad]], circa 1900]]

The first passenger cars resembled [[stagecoach]]es. They were short, often less than ((convert|10|ft|m|2|abbr=on)) long, tall and rode on a single pair of axles.

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.

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.

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.

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 [[Fred Harvey (entrepreneur)|Fred Harvey]]'s chain of [[Fred Harvey Company|Harvey House]] 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.

====1900–1950: Lighter materials, new car types====
[[File:Pioneer Zephyr, observation end.jpg|thumb|The observation car on [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad|CB&Q]]'s ''[[Pioneer Zephyr]]''. The carbody was made of [[stainless steel]] in 1934, it is seen here at the [[Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)|Museum of Science and Industry]] in Chicago in 2003.]]

By the 1920s, passenger cars on the larger [[standard gauge]] railroads were normally between ((convert|60|and|70|ft|m)) long. The cars of this time were still quite ornate, many of them being built by experienced coach makers and skilled carpenters.

With the 1930s came the widespread use of [[stainless steel]] for car bodies. The typical passenger car was now much lighter than its "heavyweight" wood cousins of old. The new "lightweight" and [[streamliner|streamlined]] cars carried passengers in speed and comfort to an extent that had not been experienced to date. Aluminum and [[Cor-ten]] 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 [[reporting mark]]s that were required by law.

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 [[roomette]]s—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.

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 [[dome car|dome]] and [[bilevel rail car|bilevel]] cars to carry more passengers.

===1950–present: High-technology advancements===
[[File:Tri-rail Bombardier BiLevel Coach.jpg|thumb|A [[Bombardier BiLevel Coach]]. Shown here is a [[Tri-Rail]] coach, a regional commuter rail system in Florida. Similar cars are used in California by [[Metrolink (California)|Metrolink]].]]

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.

Starting in the 1950s, the passenger travel market declined in North America, though there was growth in [[commuter rail]]. 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.

While intercity passenger rail travel declined in the United States during the 1950s, ridership continued to increase in Europe during that time. With the increase came newer technology on existing and new equipment. The Spanish company [[Talgo]] 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 [[centrifugal force]] 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 [[Amtrak Cascades]] from [[Eugene, Oregon]], to [[Vancouver, British Columbia]].

In August 2016, the Department of Transportation approved the largest loan in the department's history, $2.45&nbsp;billion to upgrade the passenger train service in the Northeast region. The $2.45&nbsp;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.

As of 2014, U.S. railroad mileage has stabilized at approximately ((Convert|160000|mi|km)).<ref>((Cite web |title=U.S. Railroad Track Miles & Revenue By Year |url=https://www.railserve.com/stats_records/railroad_route_miles.html |access-date=2022-12-26 |website=www.railserve.com))</ref>

===High-speed rail===
((Main|High-speed rail in the United States))
[[File:High Speed Railroad Map of the United States 2013.svg|thumb|Map showing passenger lines in the United States. High-speed section shown in yellow.]]
As of 2022, the only operating high speed rail service in the United States is Amtrak's [[Acela]], between Washington, DC, and [[Boston]]. It currently has a maximum speed of ((convert|150|mph|kph)), and only in some sections between Boston and Providence, RI, soon to be ((convert|160|mph|kph)) after introduction of new [[Avelia Liberty]] trains, eventually to be upgraded to ((convert|186|mph|kph)) over some sections. The state of California is constructing its own HSR system, [[California High-Speed Rail]], constructed to ((convert|220|mph|kph)) standards in some places. The first section in the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]] is due to open around 2027.

====Higher-speed rail====
While the Northeast Corridor hosts the majority of [[higher-speed rail|rail services that reach higher speeds]] of ((convert|125|mph|kph)), there is also the Brightline in Florida, which reaches speeds of ((convert|125|mph|kph)) on the section between [[Cocoa, Florida]] and Orlando. On the Northeast Corridor, there are sections that even reach up to speeds of ((convert|150|mph|kph)), usually for the Acela trains. Other Amtrak diesel routes have higher-speed service that ranges from speeds between ((convert|90|mph|kph)) to ((convert|110|mph|kph)). For routes in the [[Western United States]] such as the [[Pacific Surfliner]] and [[Southwest Chief]], those services can reach up to speeds of ((convert|90|mph|kph)) on portions of their routes, while the [[Texas Eagle]] can reach up to speeds of ((convert|100|mph|kph)) on portions of its route. There has been plans to upgrade the portions of the route for the Pacific Surfliner to speeds up to ((convert|110|mph|kph)) in [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] and [[San Diego County]], however funding has yet to be available. Meanwhile, for routes in the [[Midwestern United States]] and the [[Northeastern United States]] such as the [[Lincoln Service]], [[Blue Water (train)|Blue Water]], [[Wolverine (Amtrak train)|Wolverine]], [[Hartford Line (Amtrak)|Hartford Line]], [[Lake Shore Limited]], and [[Empire Service]] can reach up to speeds of ((convert|110|mph|kph)) on their entire routes or portions of their routes.

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 [[MARC Train|MARC]] [[Penn Line]] that runs from [[Washington Union Station|Washington, D.C.]] to [[Baltimore Penn Station|Baltimore, MD]], which can reach up to speeds of ((convert|125|mph|kph)). Similarly, on the [[Surf Line]], the [[Metrolink (Southern California)|Metrolink]] [[Orange County Line|Orange County]] and [[Inland Empire–Orange County Line|Inland Empire–Orange County]] lines can reach up to speeds of ((convert|90|mph|kph)) on portions of the Surf Line between [[Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center|Santa Ana, California]] and [[Oceanside Transit Center|Oceanside, California]]. The [[Coaster (commuter rail)|Coaster]] commuter rail also reaches ((convert|90|mph|kph)) on its entire route between [[Santa Fe Depot (San Diego)|San Diego]] and Oceanside.

Once [[Caltrain Modernization Program|Caltrain is fully electrified]] between [[San Francisco 4th and King Street Station|San Francisco]] ([[Salesforce Transit Center]] in the future) and [[San Jose Diridon station|San Jose, California]], the Caltrain services will reach up to speeds of ((convert|110|mph|kph)). Similarly, once the California High-Speed Rail begins operation between [[Union Station (Los Angeles)|Los Angeles]] and [[Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center|Anaheim, California]], rail services such as the Pacific Surfliner, Southwest Chief, and Metrolink [[91/Perris Valley Line|91/Perris Valley]] and Orange County lines would also be able to reach a similar speed range, however this plan has yet to be finalized.

==Rolling stock reporting marks==
Every piece of railroad [[rolling stock]] operating in North American interchange service is required to carry a standardized set of [[reporting mark]]s. 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 [[common carrier]] railroads themselves. Marks whose codes end in U are used on [[containerization|container]]s that are carried in [[intermodal freight transport|intermodal transport]], and marks whose codes end in Z are used on [[trailer (vehicle)|trailer]]s that are carried in intermodal transport, per [[ISO 6346|ISO standard 6346]]). Most freight cars carry [[automatic equipment identification]] [[RFID]] transponders.

Typically, railroads operating in the United States reserve one- to four-digit identification numbers for powered equipment such as [[diesel locomotive]]s 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.

==List of major United States railroads==
((Main|List of United States railroads))
* [[Amtrak]]
* [[BNSF Railway]]
* [[Canadian National Railway]]
* [[CPKC Railway]]
* [[CSX Transportation]]
* [[Norfolk Southern Railway]]
* [[Union Pacific Railroad]]

((Clear))

==Rail links with adjacent countries==
* ((Flag icon|Canada)) [[Rail transport in Canada|Canada]] – yes – Same gauge ((Track gauge|ussg|lk=on)) (Isolated [[3 ft gauge railways|3 ft (914 mm) gauge]] [[Heritage railway|heritage line]] from Alaska)
* ((Flag icon|Mexico)) [[Rail transport in Mexico|Mexico]] – yes – Same gauge ((Track gauge|ussg|disp=1))

==Regulation==
Federal regulation of railroads is mainly through the [[United States Department of Transportation]], especially the [[Federal Railroad Administration]] which regulates safety, and the [[Surface Transportation Board]] which regulates rates, service, the construction, acquisition and abandonment of rail lines, carrier mergers and interchange of traffic among carriers.

Railroads are also regulated by the individual states, for example through the [[Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities]].<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/eea/grants-and-tech-assistance/guidance-technical-assistance/agencies-and-divisions/dpu/dpu-divisions/transportation-division/transportation-division-responsibilities.html|title=Transportation Oversight Division|website=Mass.gov))</ref>

== Accidents ==
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.<ref>((Cite news |last=Hernandez |first=Joe |date=March 9, 2023 |title=There are about 3 U.S. train derailments per day. They aren't usually major disasters |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/03/09/1161921856/there-are-about-3-u-s-train-derailments-per-day-they-arent-usually-major-disaste |access-date=April 1, 2023))</ref> For a variety of reasons,((Vague|date=November 2023)) American freight railroads' safety performance has been described as "very bad by European standards".<ref>((cite web |last1=Mercer |first1=Shane |title=North American rail safety 'pretty bad' compared to Europe |url=https://www.thesafetymag.com/ca/topics/technology/north-american-rail-safety-pretty-bad-compared-to-europe/443295 |website=Canadian Occupational Safety |publisher=KM Business Information Canada Ltd |access-date=20 June 2023))</ref>

==See also==
((Portal|Transport|Railways|United States|Lists))
* [[Timeline of United States railway history]]
* [[Railroad electrification in the United States]]
* [[List of rail transit systems in the United States]]
* [[Oldest railroads in North America]]
* [[History of rail transport in the United States]]
* [[Transportation in the United States]]
* [[Federal Employers Liability Act]] (protects and compensates railroad employees)
* [[List of nationalizations by country#United States|Nationalized Industries in the United States]]
* [[Railroad car]]&nbsp;– general overview of all car types in use

== Notes ==
((NoteFoot))

== References ==
=== Citations ===
((Reflist))

=== Sources ===
((Refbegin))
* U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (May 17, 2005), ''[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/ The World Fact Book: United States]''. Retrieved May 26, 2005.
((Refend))

==Further reading==
[[File:Thirty St Station.jpg|thumb|Philadelphia's [[30th Street Station]]]]
((Refbegin))
* [[Gilbert Fite|Fite, Gilbert C.]], and Jim E. Reese. ''An Economic History of the United States''. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company (1959).
* [[Freeman H. Hubbard|Hubbard, Freeman H.]], ''Encyclopedia of North American railroading: 150 years of railroading in the United States and Canada.'' (1981)
* Gallamore, Robert E. and John R. Meyer. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9RLWAwAAQBAJ ''American Railroads: Decline and Renaissance in the Twentieth Century''], (Harvard University Press, 2014). ((ISBN|9780674725645))
* Harris, Seymour E. ''American Economic History''. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc (1961).
* Hughes, Jonathan. ''American Economic History''. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company (1983).
* Jenks, Leland H. "Railroads as an Economic Force in American Development," ''The Journal of Economic History'', Vol. 4, No. 1 (May 1944), 1–20. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2113700 in JSTOR]
* Kemmerer, Donald L., and C. Clyde Jones. ''American Economic History''. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. (1969).
* Krooss, Herman E. ''American Economic Development''. Edgewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. (1955).
* Martin, Albro.''Railroads Triumphant: The Growth, Rejection, and Rebirth of a Vital American Force'' (1992)
* Meyer, Balthasar H. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RM0DAAAAIAAJ&dq=editions:UOM39015020910439 ''History of Transportation in the United States before 1860''] (1917)
* Nock, O.S., ed. ''Encyclopedia of Railways'' (London, 1977), worldwide coverage, heavily illustrated
* Porter, Glenn, ed. ''Encyclopedia of American Economic History''. Vol. I. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons (1980).
* Riley, C. J. ''The Encyclopedia of Trains & Locomotives'' (2002)
* Stover, John F., ''The Routledge Historical Atlas of the American Railroads'' (2001)
* ((cite journal |last1=Stover |first1=John F. |year=1993 |title=One Gauge: How Hundreds of Incompatible Railroads Became a National System |journal=Invention & Technology Magazine |publisher=American Heritage |volume=8 |issue=3 |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1993/3/1993_3_54.shtml |access-date=June 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218144550/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1993/3/1993_3_54.shtml |archive-date=February 18, 2010 |url-status=dead ))
* Taylor, George Rogers, and Irene D. Neu. ''The American Railroad Network, 1861 – 1890''. New York, NY: Arno Press (1981).
*((cite book|title=Trains, tracks and travel|publisher=Simmons-Boardman Pub. Co|location=New York|year=1936|author=Van Metre, T. W.|url=http://merelinc.com/chapters/trains-tracks-and-travel)) 
* Weatherford, Brian A. et al. technical_reports/TR603/ ''The State of U.S. Railroads A Review of Capacity and Performance Data'', [https://www.rand.org/pubs/free PDF]((Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes )) from [[RAND]], 2008, ((ISBN|978-0-8330-4505-8))
* Wright, Chester Whitney. ''Economic History of the United States''. Edited by William Homer Spencer. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. (1949).

===Video===
* ''Railroads in U.S. History (1830–2010)'' (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)" [https://www.amazon.com/Railroads-History-1830-2010-Gregory-Wagrowski/dp/B003XW49FY/ link]
((Refend))

== External links ==
((Commons category|Rail transport in the United States))
((Wikivoyage|Rail travel in the United States))
* [http://www.americanhistoryprojects.com/downloads/railroad.htm Railroad History Bibliography] by Richard Jensen, Montana State University
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080905115448/http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/d8523.htm John H. White, Jr. Reference Collection, 1880s–1990] – Archives Center, National Museum of American History
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120415161726/http://awmarrs.home.comcast.net/~awmarrs/bibliography.html Bibliography of scholarly literature on antebellum railroads] – Aaron W. Marrs
* [http://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0362 Future rail transport map released by the FRA]
* [http://www.usa-by-rail.com USA by Rail guide book]

((North America in topic|Rail transport in))
((US railroad lists))
((Authority control))

[[Category:Rail transportation in the United States| ]]
[[Category:History of rail transportation in the United States| ]]

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