July 21 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A )-owned

BNSF Railway is working with Goldman Sachs ( GS ) to explore the

takeover of a rival railroad, two sources familiar with the

matter told Reuters on Monday.

A deal would add to a slew of M&A activity in the railway

sector, amid rival Union Pacific's ( UNP ) possible acquisition

of Norfolk Southern ( NSC ) to create a $200 billion

coast-to-coast rail network.

A merger between Union Pacific ( UNP ) and Norfolk Southern ( NSC ) would

create the first modern West-to-East single-line freight

railroad in the U.S., altering the industry's competitive

landscape for peers like BNSF.

BNSF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for

comment.

It was not immediately clear whether BNSF would target

Norfolk or the other East Coast carrier, CSX, according to

Semafor which first reported the development.

Shares of Norfolk Southern ( NSC ) were up 2.4% in extended trading.

(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy and Arsheeya Bajwa in

Bengaluru, and Sabrina Valle in New York; Editing by Anil

D'Silva)