Delivering Measurable Environmental Benefits

Rail is already the most sustainable way to move freight over land. Creating America’s first transcontinental railroad builds on that advantage by creating a more direct, efficient coast-to-coast network.

By reducing unnecessary handoffs and related delays, the combination will move freight more efficiently, while reducing fuel consumption and emissions, and shifting more freight from congested highways to rail.

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Projected Annual Environmental Benefits

2.1 million truckloads: Shifted from congested highways to rail
3.8 million metric tons: Reduction in carbon dioxide emissions
16 million gallons: Reduction in diesel fuel consumed from more efficient rail operations

Helping Customers Reduce Their Carbon Footprint

~38 million metric tonsEstimated greenhouse gas emissions Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern customers avoided in 2025 by choosing rail over truck transportation.

That’s like taking 8 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year.*

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern also help customers measure, report and reduce their transportation footprint through:

Lane-by-lane customer emissions tracking
Carbon calculators
Independently certified low-carbon biofuels emissions certificates

*Based on U.S. EPA greenhouse gas equivalencies

Rail’s Environmental Advantage

Rail already provides significant environmental benefits compared with moving freight by highway:

Up to 75% lower greenhouse gas emissions

Railroads are up to four times more fuel efficient than trucks.

Nearly 500 miles per gallon

On average, railroads move one ton of freight nearly 500 miles on a single gallon of fuel.

550 trucks off the highway

A single freight train can replace hundreds of trucks, reducing congestion and emissions. Rail also has an incident rate about 15 times lower than trucks per 100 million gross ton-miles.

Creating a seamless coast-to-coast rail network extends rail’s environmental advantages to more freight while creating a more efficient way to move goods across the country.