Like so many of its industrial assets, Pennsylvania's well-developed road and rail networks are showing signs of old age. Nevertheless, the state remains an important center of transportation, and its ports are among the busiest in the US.
The early years of railroad building left Pennsylvania with more miles of track than any other state. The first railroad charter, issued in 1819, provided for a horse-drawn railroad from the Delaware Valley to the headwaters of the Lehigh River. The state authorized construction of a line between Columbia and Philadelphia in 1828, and partial service began four years later as part of the State Works. The roadbed was state-owned, and private rail car companies paid a toll to use the rails. During this time, Pennsylvanians John Jervis and Joseph Harrison were developing steam-powered locomotives. Taking advantage of the new technology were separate rail lines connecting Philadelphia with Germantown (1834), Trenton, New Jersey (1838), and Reading (1839), with the Lehigh Valley (1846), and with New York City (1855). In December 1852, the Pennsylvania Central completed lines connecting Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Five years later, the Pennsylvania Railroad purchased the State Works, eliminating state competition and tolls. By 1880, the company (which had added many smaller coal hauling lines to its holdings) was the world's largest corporation, with more than 30,000 employees and $400 million in capital. Although railroad revenues declined with the rise of the automobile, the Pennsylvania Railroad remained profitable until the 1960s, when the line merged with the New York Central to form the Penn Central. In 1970, the Penn Central separated its real estate holdings from its transportation operation, on which it declared bankruptcy.
As of 2000, the major (Class I) lines using the state's 6,795 rail mi (10,935 km) of track were the Consolidated Rail Corp., or Conrail (which took over much of Penn Central's business), owned by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern, which each operated independently as well. In 2000, Pennsylvania had 60 railroads in operation, more than any other state. Coal accounted for most of the 120,978,349 tons carried by rail that year—in both tonnage originated and terminated within the state. Amtrak operates around 100 daily trains through Pennsylvania, offering passenger service to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and other cities along the east–west route, and from Philadelphia to New York and Washington, DC, along the northeast corridor.
Mass transit systems exist in metropolitan Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties, and in Altoona, Allentown, Erie, Harrisburg. Johnstown, Lancaster, Reading, Scranton, State College, and Wilkes-Barre. The Philadelphia Rapid Transit System, the state's first subway, was established in 1902 and is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, (SEPTA), which also runs buses, trolleys, trackless trolleys, and commuter trains in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. In 1985, a 1.1-mile (1.8-km) subway was opened in Pittsburgh as part of a 10.5-mile (16.9-km) light-rail (trolley) transit system linking downtown Pittsburgh with the South Hills section of the city.
Throughout its history, Pennsylvania has been a pioneer in road transportation. One of the earliest roads in the colonies was a "king's highway," connecting Philadelphia to Delaware in 1677; a "queen's road" from Philadelphia to Chester opened in 1706. A flurry of road building connected Philadelphia with other eastern Pennsylvania communities between 1705 and 1735. The first interior artery, the Great Conestoga Road, was opened in 1741 and linked Philadelphia with Lancaster. Indian trails in western Pennsylvania were developed into roadways, and a thoroughfare to Pittsburgh was completed in 1758. During the mid-1700s, a Lancaster County artisan developed an improved wagon for transporting goods across the Alleghenies; called a Conestoga wagon after the region from which it came, this vehicle later became the prime means of transport for westward pioneers. Another major improvement in land transportation came with the opening in 1792 of the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, one of the first stone-surfaced roads in the US. The steel-cable suspension bridge built by John Roebling over the Monongahela River at Pittsburgh in 1846 revolutionized bridge building, leading to the construction of spans longer and wider than had previously been thought possible. During the 1920s, Pennsylvania farmers were aided by the building of inexpensive rural roads connecting them with their markets.
A major development in automotive transport, the limited-access highway came to fruition with the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which opened in 1940 and was the first high-speed, multilane highway in the US. In 1995, this 470-mi (756-km) toll highway received $297.6 million from motorists, or 74% of the total receipts for state-administered toll road and crossing facilities in Pennsylvania. In 2000, Pennsylvania had 119,642 mi (192,545 km) of public roads, including 85,392 mi (137,425 km) of rural roads and 34,250 mi (55,120 km) of urban streets. In 1997, total road and highway expenditures from all units of government came to almost $4.1 billion, with nearly $1.7 billion of that amount for maintenance. Besides the Turnpike, the major highways are I-80 (Keystone Shortway), crossing the state from East Stroudsburg to the Ohio Turnpike; I-81, from the New York to the Maryland border via Scranton, Wilkes–Barre, and Harrisburg; and I-79, from Erie to the West Virginia border via Pittsburgh. As of 2000, there were 9,475,704 motor vehicles registered, including 6,032,058 automobiles, 3,192,210 trucks, and 35,699 buses. The total of 8,229,490 licensed drivers as of 2000 was the 5th highest in the US.
Blessed with access to the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes and with such navigable waterways as the Delaware, Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio rivers, Pennsylvania was an early leader in water transportation, and Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Erie all developed as major ports. The peak period of canal building came during the 1820s and 1830s, which saw the completion of the Main Line of Public Works, used to transport goods between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh from 1834 to 1854. This system used waterways and a spectacular portage railroad that climbed over and cut through, via a tunnel, the Allegheny Mountains. Monumental as it was, the undertaking was largely a failure. Built too late to challenge the Erie Canal's domination of east–west trade, the Main Line was soon made obsolete by the railroads, as was the rest of the state's 800-mi (1,300-km) canal system.
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Erie are the state's major shipping ports. The Philadelphia Harbor (including ports in the Philadelphia metropolitan area) handled 43.9 million tons of cargo in 2000. Although no longer the dominant gateway to the Mississippi, Pittsburgh is still a major inland port, and handled 53.9 million tons of cargo that year. Erie is the state's port on the Great Lakes, with 1.5 million tons of cargo handled in 2000.
In 2002, Pennsylvania had 781 airfields, including 461 airports, 307 heliports, 10 seaplane bases, and 3 stolports. The busiest air terminal in the state is the Philadelphia International Airport, followed by the Greater Pittsburgh Airport.