The North American rail transport system shows a high level of geographical
specialization: seven large rail carriers1 service vast regional markets (Fig. 10.3).
Each carrier has its own facilities, and thus its own markets along the segments it
controls. The rail system is the outcome of substantial capital investments
occurring over several decades with the accumulation of impressive infrastructure
and equipment assets. The system was developed to support flows of commodities,
particularly coal and grain. Competition has a strong regional connotation; over
vast territories of track, only two rail operators have intermodal terminals.
1 Often labeled Class I rail carriers.
226 J.-P. Rodrigue and T. NotteboomHowever, the growth of intermodalism created issues about continuity within the
North American rail network, particularly in the United States.