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Class I Railroads
"Class I" redirects here. For other uses, see Appliance classes.

A Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad, as classified based on operating revenue.

Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III. The exact revenues required to be in each class have varied over time however they are now continuously adjusted for inflation.

Contents

Current criteria

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) defines a Class I railroad in the United States as "having annual carrier operating revenues of $250 million or more" after adjusting for inflation using a Railroad Freight Price Index developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).[1] According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), Class I railroads had minimum carrier operating revenues of $346.8 million (USD) in 2006.[2]

In Canada, a Class I rail carrier is defined (as of 2004) as a company that has earned gross revenues exceeding $250 million (CAD) for each of the previous two years.

The establishment of the criteria in the United States has always been subjective since different regulations apply to the different classes. In early 1991, both Montana Rail Link and Wisconsin Central asked the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to force the AAR to increase the minimum annual operating revenue criteria (then established at $93.5 million USD) in order to avoid being re-designated as Class I, due to increased administrative and legal costs resulting from different regulations.[3] The criteria was increased the following year in 1992 to $250 million annually, which resulted in the Florida East Coast Railway having its status changed to Class II (the Class II/III criteria stayed at $20 million).[4]

Currently nine railroads in North America are classified as Class I, seven of which operate in the United States.

United States
Canada, with trackage extending into the United States
Mexico, with no trackage in the United States

Both Amtrak and VIA Rail provide intercity passenger rail service in the U.S. and Canada, respectively, however they are not classified by AAR since they are not freight railroads and are subsidized by their respective national governments to offset losses.

History

The classification of railroads in the United States as Class I, II, or III was started by the Interstate Commerce Commission in the 1930s. Initially Class I railroads were defined as railroads with operating revenue of at least $1 million. There were 132 Class I railroads in 1939.

The $1 million figure was used until 1956 (at which time there were 113[8]); however, since that time, it has increased faster than inflation. In 1956 it was increased to $3 million. By 1963 the number of Class I railroads had dropped to 102. By 1965 the cut-off had increased to $5 million, to $10 million in 1976 and to $50 million in 1978, at which point only 41 railroads were still Class I. The Class III category was dropped in 1956, but reinstated in 1978. In 1979 all switching and terminal railroads, even those with Class I or Class II revenues, were re-designated as Class III.

Currently, the Class II and Class III designations are rarely outside the rail transport industry. The AAR typically divides non-Class I companies into three categories:

  • Regional railroads operate at least 350 miles or make at least $40 million per year.
  • Local railroads are non-regional railroads that engage in line-haul service.
  • Switching and terminal railroads mainly switch cars between other railroads or provide service from other lines to a common terminal.

In the United States, the Surface Transportation Board continues to use the designations of Class II and Class III since there are different labor regulations for the two classes.

Consolidations

Over the years, many Class I railroads have merged to stave off bankruptcy or simply to increase profits. The following is a list of consolidations that have merged at least one Class I railroad into a larger one:

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Table of Class I railroads by year

Fiscal year Cutoff Railroads Changes from previous year
1950s  

ACY, AGS, CA, AA, ATSF, ASAB, AWP, AD, ACL, BO, BAR, BLE, BM, BRI, CI, CN, CP, CG, CNJ, CRP, CV, CWC, CO, CEI, CIM, CNW, CBQ, CGW, CIL or MON, MILW, RI, CMO, CNTP, CRR, CS, CW, CAGY, DH, DLW, DRGW, D&SL, DM, D&TS, DTI, DMIR, DWP, DSA, EJE, ERIE, FEC, FW&D, GA, G&F, GS&F, GTW, GN, GBW, GM&O, IC, ITC, I-GN, KCS, KOG, LS&I, LHR, LNE, LV, LI, L&A, LN, MEC, MV, MSTL, SOO, MSC, MKT, MP, Missouri-Illinois, MGA, MTR, NC, NYC, NKP, NYCN, NH, OW, NYSW, NW, NS, NP, NWP, OCAA, OE, PRR, PRSL, PM, PLE, PS, P&WV, RDG, RFP, R, SN, SLSF, SSW, SAL, SP, SOU, SI, SPS, SIR, TC, TN, TP, TM, TPW, UP, UTAH, VGN, WAB, WA, WM, WP, WLE, WC,

  
1963[9]  

ACY, AGS, ATN, ALQS*, ALS*, AA, ATSF, ASAB, AWP, ACL, BOCT*, BO, BAR, BRC*, BLE, BS*, BM, CN, CP, CTN*, CRN CG, CNJ, CV, CWC, CO, CO (PM), CEI, CIM, CNW, CWI*, CBQ, CGW, CIL or MON, MILW, CRI*, RI, CNTP, CRR, CS, CW, CBL*, CUVA*, DH, DRGW, D&TS, DTI, DMIR, DWP, EJE, EL, FEC, FW&D, GWF*, G&F, GA, GS&F, GTW, GN, GBW, GM&O, HBT*, IC, ITC, IHB*, IU*, KCS, KCT* KOG, KIT*, LEE*, LS&I, LT* LHR, LV, LI, L&A, LN, MEC, MNS, MI, MKT, MP, MGAC, MGA, NSS*, NONE, NOPB*, NOT*, NYC, NKP, NH, NYSW, NW, NS, NP, NWP, PE, PBR*, PRR, PRSL, PPU*, PBNE*, PN, PLE, P&WV, PTM*, QAP, RDG, RFP, RT*, R, SLSFT, SLSF, SSW, SDAE, SA, SAL, SOO, SB*, SP, SOU, SI, SPS, SIR, TC, TRRA*, TP, TM, TPMP*, TPW, UP, URR*, WAB, WM, WP, WA,

  * Switching and Terminal Companies
1984  

AGS, AMTK, ATSF, BLE, BM, BN, BO, CG, CN, CNTP, CNW, CO, CP, CR, DH, DMIR, EJE, FEC, FXE, GTW, ICG, KCS, MILW, MKT, MP, NW, PLE, SBD, SOO, SOU, SP, SSW, UP, WP

  
1995  

ATSF, BN, CR, CSXT, GTW, IC, KCS, NS, SOO, SP, UP

  
1996 $255.9 million

BNSF, CR, CSXT, GTW, IC, KCS, NS, SOO, UP

  
2000 $256.4 million BNSF, CSXT, GTW, IC, KCS, NS, SOO, UP

CN took over IC (IC continued to report as a separate company in 2000 and 2001);
CR was split between CSX and NS
2002 $266.7 million

BNSF, CN, CP, CSXT, FXE, GTW, KCS, NS, SOO, TFM, UP

  
2004 $277.7 million

BNSF, CN, CP, CSXT, FXE, KCS, NS, KCSM, UP

  

Class I railroads timeline


See also

v • d • e
Current (operating) Class I railroads of North America

References

  1. ^ 49 CFR Part 1201, General Instrucutions 1-1, GPO, 2007
  2. ^ Class I Railroad Statistics, AAR, April 21, 2008
  3. ^ Arrivals and Departures, Trains March 1991
  4. ^ Arrivals and Departures, Trains November 1992
  5. ^ Annual Report of Norfolk Southern Combined Railroad Subsidiaries to the Surface Transportation Board for the Year Ended December 31, 2007, p. 13
  6. ^ Annual Report of Grand Trunk Corporation to the Surface Transportation Board for the Year Ended December 31, 2007, p. 18
  7. ^ Annual Report of Soo Line Railroad Company to the Surface Transportation Board for the Year Ended December 31, 2007, p. 18
  8. ^ Profiles of the regionals, Trains December 1991
  9. ^ Anon (January 1963). "The Official Railway Equipment Register" 78 (3): xi–xxii. New York: The Railway Equipment and Publications Company. 
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