West Virginia has long been plagued by inadequate transportation. The first major pre–Civil War railroad line was the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O), completed to Wheeling in 1852. Later railroads, mostly built between 1880 and 1917 to tap rich coal and timber resources, also helped open up interior regions to settlement. Today, the railroads still play an important part in coal transportation. In 2000, CSX and Norfolk Southern were the state's Class I operators. In the same year, total rail mileage was 2,142 mi (3,427 km). Originated rail-tons of coal totaled 114.1 million tons, which accounted for 95% of all rail tonnage originating within the state that year; coal shipments terminating in West Virginia in 2000 totaled 23.7 million tons and accounted for 67% of the total that year. Amtrak provides passenger service for parts of the state.
In 2000, there were 27,276 mi (43,641 km) of public roads under the state system, 34,026 mi (54,441 km) of which were rural roads. The West Virginia Turnpike was completed from Charleston to Princeton in 1955. There were 1,418,862 registered motor vehicles in the state in 2000, 779,616 or which were automobiles, 612,638 were trucks, and 25,705 were motorcycles. In 2000, the state had 1,347,207 licensed drivers. The four major urban transit systems in 2000 were Kanawha Valley Transportation, Tri-State Authority (service between Huntington-Ashland and Kentucky and Ohio), Ohio Valley Regional Transportation Authority (serving Wheeling and Ohio), and Mid-Ohio Valley Transit Authority (serving Parkersburg and Ohio).
Major navigable inland rivers are the Ohio, Kanawha, and Monongahela; each has locks and dams. In 2000, West Virginia had 67 airports, 29 heliports, 10 seaplane bases, 1,992 active pilots, and 274 active flight instructors. Yeager Airport in Charleston is the state's main air terminal.