A method for autonomously navigating an aerial vehicle along a railroad track includes obtaining, from one or more cameras coupled to the aerial vehicle, image data reproducible as an image of a portion of the railroad track, identifying, based at least in part on the image data, a first rail and a second rail of the portion of the railroad track, determining, based at least in part on the identified first and second rails of the portion of the railroad track, a centerline of the portion of the railroad track, and generating, based at least in part on the determined centerline, flight instructions to cause the aerial vehicle to move relative to the railroad track.