Rail lines in United States
United States: Rail lines was 148,553 total route-km in 2021. ▼ Falling
Rail lines in United States, 1995–2021
Source: Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC). Measured in total route-km.
Analysis
United States recorded 148,553 total route-km for rail lines in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 23.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rail lines in United States peaked at 203,875 total route-km in 1996 and was at its lowest, 148,553 total route-km, in 2021.
United States ranks 1st of 104 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Rail lines in United States, year by year
| Year | total route-km | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 201,284 total route-km | — |
| 1996 | 203,875 total route-km | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 195,804 total route-km | -4.0% |
| 1998 | 192,815 total route-km | -1.5% |
| 1999 | 194,708 total route-km | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 194,077 total route-km | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 194,746 total route-km | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 198,057 total route-km | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 196,806 total route-km | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 195,369 total route-km | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 194,025 total route-km | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 191,771 total route-km | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 192,508 total route-km | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 192,123 total route-km | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 191,785 total route-km | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 194,431 total route-km | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 194,136 total route-km | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 153,517 total route-km | -20.9% |
| 2013 | 154,322 total route-km | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 152,933 total route-km | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 151,735 total route-km | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 151,270 total route-km | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 150,966 total route-km | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 150,462 total route-km | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 149,489 total route-km | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 148,750 total route-km | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 148,553 total route-km | -0.1% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 148,553 total route-km is above the median for high income countries, which is 3,756 total route-km, 39.6× the median. (38 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 197,697 total route-km | 192,815 total route-km | 203,875 total route-km | 5 |
| 2000s | 194,127 total route-km | 191,771 total route-km | 198,057 total route-km | 10 |
| 2010s | 160,326 total route-km | 149,489 total route-km | 194,431 total route-km | 10 |
| 2020s | 148,652 total route-km | 148,553 total route-km | 148,750 total route-km | 2 |
Countries ranked near United States
More infrastructure data for United States
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 390.99 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions 113.19 per 100 people (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 81.55 million (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions 23.61 per 100 people (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per capita 0.2398 units per person (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, annual growth rate -3.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions, gaps filled 81.55 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per capita 1.15 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rail lines in United States?
- Rail lines in United States was 148,553 total route-km in 2021, according to Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC).
- What is the highest rail lines recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 203,875 total route-km in 1996.
- What is the lowest rail lines recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 148,553 total route-km in 2021.
- How does United States rank for rail lines?
- United States ranks 1st out of 104 countries with data for 2021.
- Is rail lines rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC), published as part of Rail lines (total route-km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The total length of rail line in the country operated for passenger transport, goods transport, or both.