Class I railroad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Class I Railroads

A Class I railroad in the United States, or a Class I railway (also Class I rail carrier) in Canada, is one of the largest freight railroads, 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 through the years, and they are now continuously adjusted for inflation.

Contents

[edit] Current criteria

As of 2005, a Class I railroad, as defined by the Association of American Railroads, has an operating revenue exceeding $319.3 million. The exact setting of the cut-off figure has always been as much a political decision as anything else, as different rules apply to the different classes. For instance, in early 1991, Montana Rail Link and Wisconsin Central asked the Interstate Commerce Commission to raise the bar, then set at $93.5 million, to avoid being redesignated as Class I, due to extra costs and paperwork.[1] The cutoff was raised at the end of 1992 to $250 million, dropping the Florida East Coast Railway to Class II (the Class II/III line stayed at $20 million).[2]

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

Currently seven United States railroads are classified as Class I. The two major players east of the Mississippi River are CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway (the latter called "Norfolk Southern Combined Railroad Subsidiaries" by the AAR). West of the Mississippi, the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad cover roughly the same territory. The Kansas City Southern Railway is a smaller system, mainly forming part of the NAFTA Railway corridor from the Midwest into Mexico. Canadian National Railway & Canadian Pacific Railway are also considered Class I, since they have major trackage lines in the Northern United States.

Two Canadian railways are currently Class I - the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway. Those companies would be Class I by the U.S. definition. Two Mexican railroads would fit the definition if they were U.S. companies - Ferrocarril Mexicano and Kansas City Southern de México; the latter being wholly owned by the Kansas City Southern Railway.

Amtrak and VIA Rail provide intercity passenger service in the U.S. and Canada, respectively, but as they are not typical freight carriers, they are not classified.

[edit] History

The classification of U.S. railroads 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 [3]); 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 redesignated as Class III.

Nowadays, the Class II and Class III designations are rarely used. The Association of American Railroads instead splits 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.

The Surface Transportation Board continues to use Class II and Class III, as labor regulations are different for the two classes.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Table of Class I railroads by year

Fiscal year Cutoff Railroads Changes from previous year
1950s  

ACY, AGS, CA, AA, ATSF, ASAB, GA, 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, Omaha Road, 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, International-Great Northern Railroad, KCS, KOG, LS&I, LHR, LNE, LV, LI, L&A, LN, MC, KO&G, MSTL, SOO, MSC, MKT, MP, Missouri-Illinois Railroad, MGA, MTR, N&C, NYC, NKP, NYCN, NH, OW, NYSW, NW, NS, NP, NWP, OCAA, Oregon Electric Railway, PRR, PRSL, PM, PLE, PS, P&WV, RDG, RFP, R, SN, SLSF, SSW, SAL, SP, SOU, SI, SPS, SIRT, TC, TN, TP, TM, TPW, UP, UTAH, VGN, WAB, WA, WM, WP, WLE, WC,

  
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, GTW, KCS, NS, SOO, TFM, UP

  

[edit] Class I railroads timeline

[edit] See also


Current (operating) Class I railroads of North America
United States: AMTK, BNSF, CSXT, GTW, KCS, NS, SOO, UP - Canada: CN, CP, VIA - Mexico: FXE, TFM, KCSM
See also: List of USA/Canada/Mexico Class I Railroads, List of USA/Canadian Class II Railroads, Class III railroad, Class 2 Railraods in Canada,
Short-line railroad, List of United States railroads, List of Canadian railroads, list of Mexican railroads

[edit] References

  1. ^ Arrivals and Departures, Trains March 1991
  2. ^ Arrivals and Departures, Trains November 1992
  3. ^ Profiles of the regionals, Trains December 1991
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/l/a/Class_I_railroad_a1f8.html"
In other languages