U.S. railways are privately owned and operated, though the Consolidated Rail Corporation was established by the federal government and Amtrak uses public funds to subsidize privately owned intercity passenger trains.

In 2026, the vast majority of the 140,000 miles of railway tracks in the United States are privately owned by freight railroads, known as "Class I" carriers. These include giants like Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, and Norfolk Southern. Unlike the highway system, which is taxpayer-funded, these private companies pay for the maintenance, policing, and tax on their own tracks. Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, owns very little of the infrastructure—primarily the Northeast Corridor (Washington D.C. to Boston) and some segments in Michigan. On almost every other route, Amtrak must pay the freight railroads for the right to use their tracks, which is why passenger trains are often delayed by freight traffic. This unique private-ownership model is why the U.S. has the world's most efficient freight rail system but struggles with passenger rail speed and frequency compared to Europe or Asia, where the government typically owns and prioritizes the tracks for passengers.