Nice ♥♥♥♥, dude.

Railroads' fortunes began to change following the passage of the Staggers Rail Act in 1980, which deregulated railroad companies, who had previously faced much stronger regulation than competing modes of transportation. With innovations such as trailer-on-flatcar and intermodal freight transport, railroad traffic began to increase. Following the Staggers Act, many railroads merged, forming major systems such as CSX and Norfolk Southern in the Eastern United States, and BNSF Railway in the Western United States, and Union Pacific Railroad also purchased a number of competitors. Another result of the Staggers Act was the rise of shortline railroads, which formed to operate lines that major railroads abandoned or sold off. Hundreds of these companies were formed by the end of the century. Freight railroads invested in modernization and capacity improvements as they entered the 21st century, and intermodal transport continued to grow, while traditional traffic such as coal fell.

First