Horse-drawn carriages, rivers and canals were the only means of cross-country travel at the beginning of the 19th century in the United States, until the first steam train began operating in 1830.
Trains could run through all kinds of weather. This, together with their speed, made them the preferred method of travel for individual passengers as well as businesses. By the time the Civil War started, 30,000 miles of railroad track had been laid across the United States. In 1869, the first transcontinental railroad was finished in Promontory, Utah, where the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific railroads' tracks met. In the 1880s, 70,000 more miles of railroad track were laid.
Between 1896 and 1916, travel by train had tripled, and rail travel reached its peak in 1920, when 1.2 billion passengers traveled by train. The increased amount of automobile ownership caused intercity train travel to drop by 18 percent, however, by the time 1929 rolled around. Passenger use fell off further during the Great Depression. Once diesel engines and a new streamlined appearance were introduced, rail travel picked up again.
Throughout the war years, railroads enjoyed an increase in both passengers and freight, particularly since troops were moved by rail all around the country. The government imposed an excise tax to discourage civilian rail travel during the war, but did not remove it until 1962. This hindered the railroads' ability to attract passengers after the war.
Airlines, buses and cars bit a huge chunk out of rail travel's potential customers through most of the 1950s. A number of other reasons, including a decrease in services to passengers, contributed to a massive slowdown of passenger business for trains. In 1971, Amtrak was created and run by the government in order to help cut down on traffic congestion and to provide some balance to the available methods of travel. But while Amtrak has not brought passenger rail travel back to life, many states continue to develop high-speed commuter trains to help cut down on highway traffic congestion and pollution.
