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Rail lines — all countries

Rail lines — United States

Rail lines in the United States in 2021 — 148,553 km. Ranked 1 in the world out of 65. Since 1995, the indicator has fallen by 26.2%.

2021 148,553 km −0.13% vs 2020
World rank 1of 65
Period maximum 203,875 km1996
Period minimum 148,553 km2021

Trend over time

1995–2021 · km

Rail lines — United States, 1995–2021140,000160,000180,000200,000220,00019951998200120042007201020132016201920211995: 201,284 km1996: 203,875 km1997: 195,804 km1998: 192,815 km1999: 194,708 km2000: 194,077 km2001: 194,746 km2002: 198,057 km2003: 196,806 km2004: 195,369 km2005: 194,025 km2006: 191,771 km2007: 192,508 km2008: 192,123 km2009: 191,785 km2010: 194,431 km2011: 194,136 km2012: 153,517 km2013: 154,322 km2014: 152,933 km2015: 151,735 km2016: 151,270 km2017: 150,966 km2018: 150,462 km2019: 149,489 km2020: 148,750 km2021: 148,553 km
Change over the period: −52,731 (−26.2%) Average annual rate: -1.16 %
Rail lines — United States, by year United States All countries CSV XLSX
Year km Change Change, %
2021 148,553 −196 −0.13%
2020 148,750 −739 −0.49%
2019 149,489 −974 −0.65%
2018 150,462 −504 −0.33%
2017 150,966 −304 −0.2%
2016 151,270 −465 −0.31%
2015 151,735 −1,198 −0.78%
2014 152,933 −1,389 −0.9%
2013 154,322 +805 +0.52%
2012 153,517 −40,619 −20.92%
2011 194,136 −295 −0.15%
2010 194,431 +2,646 +1.38%
2009 191,785 −338 −0.18%
2008 192,123 −385 −0.2%
2007 192,508 +737 +0.38%
2006 191,771 −2,254 −1.16%
2005 194,025 −1,344 −0.69%
2004 195,369 −1,437 −0.73%
2003 196,806 −1,251 −0.63%
2002 198,057 +3,311 +1.7%
2001 194,746 +669 +0.34%
2000 194,077 −631 −0.32%
1999 194,708 +1,893 +0.98%
1998 192,815 −2,989 −1.53%
1997 195,804 −8,071 −3.96%
1996 203,875 +2,591 +1.29%
1995 201,284 — —

Northern America, 2021

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

US United States 148,553 CA Canada 48,150
Full table for all countries

About the indicator

The length of rail lines available for traffic, regardless of the number of parallel tracks on a stretch. Multi-track sections are counted once, so the indicator reflects the configuration of the network rather than its capacity.

Source: World Development Indicators (World Bank), license CC BY 4.0.

Other indicators for the United States

Transport Rail passenger traffic

Passenger traffic in millions of passenger-kilometers.

United States by year Transport Rail freight traffic

Rail freight traffic in millions of tonne-kilometers.

United States by year Transport Container port traffic

How many containers pass through the country's ports in a year, in TEU.

United States by year Transport Air passengers carried

How many passengers are carried by airlines registered in the country.

United States by year Transport Aircraft departures

The number of departures by aircraft registered in the country.

United States by year Transport Air freight traffic

Air freight traffic in millions of tonne-kilometers.

United States by year
All indicators for the United States