Class I railroad

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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.

1 Current criteria
2 History
- 2.1 Consolidations
3 Table of Class I railroads by year
4 Class I railroads timeline
5 See also
6 References

[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.<ref>Arrivals and Departures, Trains March 1991</ref> 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).<ref>Arrivals and Departures, Trains November 1992</ref>

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 <ref>Profiles of the regionals, Trains December 1991</ref>); 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:

1960: Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad and Erie Railroad merge to become Erie Lackawanna Railroad
July 1, 1967: Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Seaboard Air Line Railroad into Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
1968: New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad merge to become Penn Central
1969: New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (also known as the New Haven Railroad) becomes part of Penn Central on 1/1/1969
1970: Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railway and Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway all merge into Burlington Northern Railroad
1976: Central Railroad of New Jersey, Erie Lackawanna Railroad, Lehigh and Hudson River Railway, Lehigh Valley Railroad, Penn Central and Reading Railroad all merge into Conrail
1982: Louisville and Nashville Railroad and Seaboard Coast Line Railroad into Seaboard System Railroad
1982: Norfolk and Western Railroad and Southern Railway merge to form Norfolk Southern
1982: Western Pacific Railroad and Missouri Pacific Railroad merged into Union Pacific Railroad
1985: Milwaukee Road merged into Soo Line Railroad
1986: Seaboard System Railroad renamed CSX Transportation
1987: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and Chesapeake and Ohio Railway merged into CSX Transportation
1988: Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and Southern Pacific Railroad merge, keeps Southern Pacific name
1988: Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad merged into Union Pacific Railroad
1995: Chicago and North Western Railway merges into Union Pacific Railroad
1995: Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and Burlington Northern Railroad merge to become Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway
1996: Southern Pacific Railroad merges into Union Pacific Railroad
1998: Conrail's main operations divided between CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern; Conrail continues as a CSX-NS joint venture for shared trackage areas

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

<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:50 right:20 bottom:45 top:10

Legend = columns:3 left:10 top:20 columnwidth:200

AlignBars = late TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1939 till:01/01/2005 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:01/01/1940 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1939

Colors =

id:ind value:red legend:independent
id:con value:red legend:controlled
id:no value:blue legend:not_Class_I

LineData=

 at:01/01/1956 color:yellow layer:back #1 mil to 3 mil
 at:01/01/1965 color:yellow layer:back #3 mil to 5 mil (might have been 1974 or 1975)
 at:01/01/1976 color:yellow layer:back #5 mil to 10 mil
 at:01/01/1978 color:yellow layer:back #10 mil to 50 mil

BarData =

bar:AA text:"AA"
bar:ACL text:"ACL"
bar:ACY text:"ACY"
bar:AD text:"AD"
bar:AGS text:"AGS" #still separate
bar:ASAB text:"ASAB"
bar:ATSF text:"ATSF"
bar:AWP text:"AWP"
bar:BAR text:"BAR"
bar:BLE text:"BLE"
bar:BM text:"BM"
bar:BN text:"BN"
bar:BNSF text:"BNSF"
bar:BO text:"BO"
bar:BRI text:"BRI"
bar:BSLW text:"BSLW"
bar:CA text:"CA"
bar:CBQ text:"CBQ"
bar:CEI text:"CEI"
bar:CG text:"CG" #still separate
bar:C&G text:"C&G"
bar:CGW text:"CGW"
bar:CI text:"CI"
bar:CIL text:"CIL"
bar:CIM text:"CIM"
bar:CMO text:"CMO"
bar:CN text:"CN"
bar:CNJ text:"CNJ"
bar:CNTP text:"CNTP"
bar:CNW text:"CNW"
bar:CO text:"CO"
bar:CP text:"CP"
bar:CR text:"CR"
bar:CRP text:"CRP"
bar:CRR text:"CRR"
bar:CS text:"CS"
bar:CSXT text:"CSXT"
bar:CV text:"CV"
bar:CW text:"CW"
bar:CWC text:"CWC"
bar:DH text:"DH"
bar:DLW text:"DLW"
bar:DM text:"DM"
bar:DMIR text:"DMIR"
bar:DRGW text:"DRGW"
bar:DSA text:"DSA"
bar:DSL text:"DSL"
bar:DTI text:"DTI"
bar:DTS text:"DTS"
bar:DWP text:"DWP"
bar:EJE text:"EJE"
bar:EL text:"EL"
bar:ERIE text:"ERIE"
bar:FEC text:"FEC"
bar:FWD text:"FWD"
bar:GA text:"GA"
bar:GBW text:"GBW"
bar:GCSF text:"GCSF"
bar:GF text:"GF"
bar:GMN text:"GMN"
bar:GMO text:"GMO"
bar:GN text:"GN"
bar:GSF text:"GSF"
bar:GTW text:"GTW"
bar:IC text:"IC"
bar:ICG text:"ICG"
bar:IGN text:"IGN"
bar:ITC text:"ITC"
bar:KCS text:"KCS"
bar:KOG text:"KOG"
bar:LA text:"LA"
bar:LAT text:"LAT"
bar:LHR text:"LHR"
bar:LNE text:"LNE"
bar:LIRR text:"LIRR"
bar:LN text:"LN"
bar:LSI text:"LSI"
bar:LV text:"LV"
bar:M text:"M"
bar:MEC text:"MEC"
bar:MGA text:"MGA"
bar:MI text:"MI"
bar:MILW text:"MILW"
bar:MKT text:"MKT"
bar:MP text:"MP"
bar:MSC text:"MSC"
bar:MSTL text:"MSTL"
bar:MV text:"MV"

PlotData=

align:center textcolor:black fontsize:S width:10

bar:ACL from:start till:07/01/1967 color:ind
at:07/01/1967 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> SCL

bar:ACY from:start till:01/02/1982 color:ind
at:01/02/1982 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> NW

bar:ATSF from:start till:12/31/1996 color:ind
at:12/31/1996 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> BNSF

bar:BAR from:start till:01/01/1978 color:ind
bar:BAR from:01/01/1978 till:01/08/2003 color:no
at:01/08/2003 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> MMA

bar:BN from:03/02/1970 till:12/31/1996 color:ind
at:03/02/1970 align:right shift:(0,-5) text:CBQ GN NP >
at:12/31/1996 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> BNSF

bar:BNSF from:12/31/1996 till:end color:ind
at:12/31/1996 align:right shift:(0,-5) text:ATSF BN >

bar:BO from:start till:01/01/1963 color:ind
bar:BO from:01/01/1963 till:04/30/1987 color:con #by CO
at:04/30/1987 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> CO

bar:CA from:start till:05/31/1947 color:ind
at:05/31/1947 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> GMO

bar:CBQ from:start till:03/02/1970 color:ind
at:03/02/1970 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> BN

bar:CEI from:start till:10/15/1976 color:ind
at:10/15/1976 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> MP

bar:CGW from:start till:07/01/1968 color:ind
at:07/01/1968 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> CNW

bar:CIM from:start till:01/01/1978 color:ind
bar:CIM from:01/01/1978 till:02/09/1996 color:no
at:02/09/1996 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> IMRR

bar:CN from:start till:01/01/1978 color:ind
bar:CN from:01/01/1978 till:end color:no

bar:CNW from:start till:04/24/1995 color:ind
at:04/24/1995 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> UP

bar:CO from:start till:11/01/1980 color:ind #includes Chessie System
bar:CO from:11/01/1980 till:08/31/1987 color:con #by CSXT
at:08/31/1987 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> CSXT

bar:CP from:start till:01/01/1978 color:ind
bar:CP from:01/01/1978 till:end color:no

bar:CR from:04/01/1976 till:06/01/1999 color:ind
at:04/01/1976 align:right shift:(0,-5) text:EL PC >
at:06/01/1999 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> CSXT NS

bar:CS from:start till:12/31/1981 color:ind
at:12/31/1981 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> BN

bar:CSXT from:07/01/1986 till:end color:ind
at:07/01/1986 align:right shift:(0,-5) text:SBD >

bar:DTI from:start till:12/31/1983 color:ind
at:12/31/1983 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> GTW

bar:DTS from:start till:01/01/1978 color:ind
bar:DTS from:01/01/1978 till:01/01/1981 color:no #need date in 1981
at:01/01/1981 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> GTW

bar:DWP from:start till:01/01/1978 color:ind
bar:DWP from:01/01/1978 till:end color:no

bar:GA from:start till:01/01/1978 color:ind
bar:GA from:01/01/1978 till:01/01/1983 color:no #need date in 1983
at:01/01/1983 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> SBD

bar:GN from:start till:03/02/1970 color:ind
at:03/02/1970 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> BN

bar:ITC from:start till:01/01/1978 color:ind
bar:ITC from:01/01/1978 till:05/08/1982 color:no
at:05/08/1982 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> NW

bar:LN from:start till:12/29/1982 color:ind
at:12/29/1982 align:left shift:(5,-5) text:> SBD

bar:MEC from:start till:01/01/1978 color:ind
bar:MEC from:01/01/1978 till:end color:no

</timeline>