The railroad industry is in an era of massive reorganization and revitalization.
Railroads are a major carrier of long-distance freight and a minor carrier of passengers.
Two major railroad mergers have occurred in the past three years and two more are proposed. In the past year, infrastructure capacity and traffic management problems on a massive scale have developed. The Union Pacific system-wide gridlock following its acquisition of the Southern Pacific is but one recent example of both phenomena. Environmentally, railroads are more benign than trucks on Interstate highways for freight and than cars on freeways for commuter and intercity passenger service. American tourists in Europe ride both the new high speed trains and the rapid and frequent regular passenger train network there, and wonder why the United States does not have the same.