What city is the train traffic hub of the United States?
The numerous freight and passenger trains coursing through Chicago define the city as the nation's railroad hub.
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Illinois is at the center of the nation's rail network. It has a comprehensive rail network consisting of approximately 9,982 miles of railroad tracks, 7,792 of which are operated by Class I railroads – primarily BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad (UP).
Chicago is the largest rail hub in the U.S. and third largest intermodal container/trailer port in the world, following only Singapore and Hong Kong. There are over 60 railroad companies that operate trains in and through Illinois, which is the highest in the nation.
The Shanghai Metro is the world's longest metro network at 803 kilometres (499 mi) and has the highest annual ridership at 2.83 billion trips. The New York City Subway has the greatest number of stations with 472. As of 2023, the country with the most metro systems is China, with 45 in operation.
The longest and heaviest train in North America occurred on November 15, 1967. The Norfolk & Western Railroad ran a 500 car coal train plus caboose, weighing 48,170 tons and stretching 4.06 miles (6.53 km), a distance of 159 miles (256 km) from Iaeger, West Virginia to Portsmouth, Ohio.
With more than 30 train routes throughout the United States, and some in Canada, Amtrak travels to over 500 destinations in 46 states, giving you the best views North America has to offer. Whether you want to visit big cities, small towns or places you can only see by rail, Amtrak can take you there.
The longest regularly scheduled train in North America is Via Rail Canada's Canadian between Toronto and Vancouver, a distance of 2,775 miles (4,466 kilometers). The longest train in the USA is Amtrak's Texas Eagle between Chicago and Los Angeles via San Antonio, a distance of 2,728 miles (4,390 kilometers).
Sanderson is the least-used Amtrak stop in its national system, owing to the town's small population. In Amtrak's Fiscal Year 2022, Sanderson station served 153 passengers, an average of 0.6 passengers per day.
Worldwide. The world's busiest passenger station, with a passenger throughput of 3.5 million passengers per day (1.27 billion per year), is Shinjuku Station in Tokyo.
Pilatus Railway, SwitzerlandThe Pilatus Railway runs from Alpnachstad on Lake Alpnach to the Esel station near the summit of the 6,800-foot-high Mount Pilatus in the Swiss canton of Obwalden. It takes the crown as the world's steepest rack railway with a maximum gradient of 48 percent.
While Waterloo may have been stripped of previous titles, it still holds a major accolade. With 24 platforms in use, it's the largest train station in the UK. The largest station outside of London is Edinburgh Waverley, with 20 operating platforms.