In a typical year, U.S. freight railroads move around 1.7 billion tons annually across nearly 140,000-miles of privately owned infrastructure that runs through 49 states.
American freight railroads make massive investments across the country that enable the most efficient freight rail network in the world; moving the goods that make modern life possible, and connecting American businesses to markets from coast to coast and beyond. If railroads did not move freight in the United States it would take over 120 million additional trucks traveling on public roadways and would take four times more fuel than rail to handle the freight Americans rely on every day.
Explore more in the interactive unit below.