The following railroads operate in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
Common freight carriers Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway (ACWR) Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad (AR) Alexander Railroad (ARC) Atlantic and Western Railway (ATW) Blue Ridge Southern Railroad (BLU) Caldwell County Railroad (CWCY) Cape Fear Railways (CF) Carolina Coastal Railway (CLNA) (Operates the Nash County Railroad) Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad (CA) Clinton Terminal Railroad (CTR) CSX Transportation (CSXT) Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (GSM) High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad (HPTD) Kinston Railroad (KR), formerly the Kinston and Snow Hill Railroad (KSH) Laurinburg and Southern Railroad (LRS) Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) including subsidiaries Camp Lejeune Railroad (CPLJ) and State University Railroad (SUR) (Operates the North Carolina Railroad) (NCRR) North Carolina and Virginia Railroad (NCVA) R.J. Corman Carolina Lines (RJCS) Thermal Belt Railway (TBRY) Virginia Southern Railroad (VSRR) Wilmington Terminal Railroad (WTRY) Winston-Salem Southbound Railway (WSS) Yadkin Valley Railroad (YVRR)
Passenger carriers
Amtrak (AMTK) Charlotte Trolley Craggy Mountain Line Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Handy Dandy Railroad New Hope Valley Railway North Carolina Transportation Museum Lynx Blue Line Red Springs & Northern Railroad Tweetsie Railroad
Defunct railroads