Fact Check: Does the US have more train tracks than any other country?
Yes
The US has roughly 220,000 kilometers of track route, 33% more than second-place China at 165,000 kilometers, and 10% higher than the 201,000 total for the European Union. At 9.4 million kilometers-squared, the US is geographically smaller than China (9.7 million) but larger than the EU (4.2 million). This yields a kilometer of route for every 43 kilometers-squared of land in the US, for every 59 kilometers squared in China, and for every 21 kilometers squared in the EU.
The vast majority of rail in the US is freight-based, however. China has 50,000 km of high-speed rail, compared to between 0 km and 735 km in the US, depending on classification. Amtrak’s NextGen Acela can reach speeds of 160 mph, above the 155mph necessary to be considered high-speed, but it does so for a limited section of its routes, as it does not operate on a dedicated high-speed track system.
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Sources:
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration Freight Rail Overview
Global Times China extends railway network to record of 165,000km in 2025
eurostat Total length of railway lines
Worldometer Largest Countries in the World (by area)
World Bank Group Surface area (sq. km) – European Union
Railway Pro China’s high-speed rail network exceeds 50,000 km
Newsweek US Close to High-Speed Rail Breakthrough
International Union of Railways High Speed Rail 2024 Atlas
AFAR Amtrak’s Fastest Train Is Launching This Month on the East Coast
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