Freight railroads in the United States are classified by the Association of American Railroads as Class I, Class II and Class III (also called Classes 1, 2 and 3) in terms of size. The classification has always been by means of annual operating revenue; the exact revenues required to be in each class have varied through the years since they have adjusted for inflation.

As of late 2004, a Class 1 railroad has an operating revenue exceeding $277.7 million. The exact setting of the cut-off figure has always been as much a political decision as anything else; there have always been rumors of the powerful Class 1 companies voting to increase the cut-off to deny an upstart membership of their exclusive "club".

The current Class I United States railroads are:

• Amtrak (AMTK) - technically not a Class 1, since it isn't a freight railroad, but it fits the rest of the definition
• Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF)
• CSX Transportation (CSX)
• Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) - part of the Canadian National Railway
• Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS)
• Norfolk Southern Railway (NS)
• Soo Line Railroad (SOO) - part of the Canadian Pacific Railway
• Union Pacific Railroad (UP)

Three Canadian railways and two Mexican railroads would fit the definition if they were U.S. companies:

• Canadian National Railway (CN)
• Canadian Pacific Railway (CP)
• VIA Rail (VIA) - publicly-owned passenger railway
• Ferrocarril Mexicano (FXE)
• Grupo Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana (TFM)

History

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 1 railroad into a larger one:

• July 1, 1967: Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Seaboard Air Line Railroad into Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
• 1982: Louisville and Nashville Railroad and Seaboard Coast Line Railroad into Seaboard System Railroad

See also

• Class II railroad
• Class III railroad

References

• AAR - Class I Railroad Statistics
• The Family Tree of North American Railroads