Railroad network of selected countries 2021

The U.S. rail system stretched across almost 149,000 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 110,000 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 130,000 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 40,500 kilometers of highspeed rail lines. This made the Chinese network more than 11 times the size of its closest contender, Spain. Meanwhile the United States only operated 735 kilometers of high-speed rail lines.