In the heartland of the nation, Kansas is at the crossroads of US road and railway systems. In 2001, Kansas had 25,638 bridges (3rd in the nation behind Texas and Ohio). In 2000, the state had 134,582 mi (216,588 km) of public roads, of which 124,375 mi (200,162 km) were rural, and 10,207 mi (16,426 km) were urban. There were 826,441 automobiles, 1,465,830 trucks, and 3,864 buses registered in Kansas in 2000.
In the late 1800s, the two major railroads, the Kansas Pacific (now the Union Pacific) and the Santa Fe (now the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe) acquired more than 10 million acres (4 million hectares) of land in the state and then advertised for immigrants to come and buy it. By 1872, the railroads stretched across the state, creating in their path the towns of Ellsworth, Newton, Caldwell, Wichita, and Dodge City. One of the first "cow towns" was Abilene, the terminal point for all cattle shipped to the East.
In 2000, the state had 6,859 route mi (11,038 km) of railroad track. That same year, 13.6 million tons of farm products accounted for 57% of the freight originating in the state. An Amtrak passenger train crosses Kansas en route from Chicago to Los Angeles. Total ridership through the state in 1996 was 32,944.
In 2002, the state had 370 airports. The busiest airport is Kansas City International, with 5,903,296 people enplaned in 2000. Approximately two-thirds of all business and private aircraft in the United States are built in Kansas.
River barges move bulk commodities along the Missouri River. The chief river ports are Atchison, Leavenworth, Lansing, and Kansas City.