Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Class I railroad
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)
| Contents |
History
| Fiscal year | Cutoff | Railroads | Changes from previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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, BNSF, 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 CR was split into CSX and NS |
| 2002 | $266.7 million | BNSF, CN, CP, CSXT, FXE , GTW, IC, KCS, NS, SOO, TFM, UP | |
| 2004 | $277.7 million | BNSF, CN, CP, CSXT, FXE , GTW, KCS, NS, SOO, TFM, UP |
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
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