List of U.S. Class I railroads
From Railroad Depot
As of 2004 a Class I railroad in the United States has an operating revenue exceeding $277.7 million. There are currently seven, as well as two Canadian railways that would qualify. The classification was started in the 1930s, with the cutoff at $1 million until 1956. Many railroads have become Class II or III due to the rising cutoff; others have been merged or leased by others.
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[edit] Current Class I railroads
[edit] BNSF Railway
Main Article: BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway (AAR reporting marks BNSF) is the second-largest Class I railroad in the United States, serving mainly the land west of the Mississippi River. It was formed in 1996 as a merger of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway into the Burlington Northern Railroad, and was known as the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway until 2005. BNSF is based in Fort Worth, Texas.
[edit] CSX Transportation
Main Article: CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation (AAR reporting marks CSXT) is the third-largest Class I, serving the area east of the Mississippi River. The company was formed in 1986 as a renaming of the Seaboard System Railroad, and in 1987 the last of a long line of consolidations saw the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway merging into CSX. CSX absorbed the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad in 1991. In 1999 CSX began operating its portion, 42%, of the former Conrail system through its lease on the new Conrail subsidiary New York Central Lines (AAR reporting marks NYC).
[edit] Grand Trunk Corporation/CN
Main Article: Grand Trunk Corporation Main Article: CN - Parent of Grand Trunk Corp.
The Grand Trunk Corporation is the corporation under which the CN operates railroads within the United States. The Grand Trunk Corporation also includes the Illinois Central Railroad. The CN identity is being phased in over the U.S. lines.
[edit] Kansas City Southern Railway
Main Article: Kansas City Southern Railway
The Kansas City Southern Railway (AAR reporting marks KCS) is the smallest of the Class I railroads, with a main line from Kansas City, Missouri south to Port Arthur, Texas. It is owned by KCS Industries along with the Texas Mexican Railway and Grupo Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana, extending its line south into Mexico as the NAFTA Railway. The company was chartered in 1890 as the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad, completing its line from Kansas City to the Gulf of Mexico (at Port Arthur) in 1897. In 1900 it was reorganized as the Kansas City Southern Railway. In 1997 the KCS acquired the Gateway Western Railway, formerly part of the Alton Railroad, extending its system from Kansas City to East St. Louis, Illinois.
[edit] Norfolk Southern Railway
Main Article: Norfolk Southern Railroad
The Norfolk Southern Railway (AAR reporting mark NS), usually called Norfolk Southern, is a major Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. The company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada. The most common commodity hauled on the railroad is coal from mines in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky. The railroad also offers an extensive intermodal network in eastern North America. The current system was planned in 1982 with the formation of the Norfolk Southern Corporation, merged on December 31, 1990 with the lease of the Norfolk and Western Railway by the renamed Southern Railway, and augmented on June 1, 1999 with the acquisition of over half of Conrail.
[edit] Soo Line Railroad
Main Article: Soo Line Railroad
The Soo Line Railroad (AAR reporting mark SOO) is the United States arm of the Canadian Pacific Railway, serving Chicago, Illinois and the areas to the east and west. In 1985 the Soo Line purchased the Milwaukee Road and attempted to operate it as a wholly-owned subsidiary, the Lake States Transportation Division. This plan didn't work out too well for the Soo; most of the LSTD and most of the original Wisconsin Central Railway was sold in 1987 to the newly formed Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation.
The Soo Line is a part of the Canadian Pacific Railway system. As time passes, more and more Soo Line equipment is being repainted into the Canadian Pacific's current paint scheme, slowly erasing the Soo's identity as a subsidiary railroad.
[edit] Union Pacific Railroad
Main Article: Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad is the largest railroad in the United States. Its primary AAR reporting mark is UP.
The Union Pacific's route map covers most of the central and western United States, westward of Chicago and New Orleans. It has achieved this size thanks to purchasing a large number of other railroads; notable purchases include the Missouri Pacific, Chicago and North Western, Western Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and Southern Pacific (which itself was purchased by the Rio Grande before UP purchased it).
Union Pacific's chief competitor is the BNSF Railway, which covers much of the same territory in the Western United States. Union Pacific is based in Omaha, Nebraska.
[edit] AMTRAK
See article for AMTRAK
Amtrak (AAR reporting marks AMTK and AMTZ) is the brand name of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, created on May 1, 1971, by the mergers of several rail passenger services, as the United States' intercity passenger train system. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "American" and "track".
Amtrak is a quasi-governmental agency; all of its preferred stock is owned by the federal government. The members of its board of directors are appointed by the President of the United States, and are subject to confirmation by the United States Senate. Some common stock is held by the private railroads that transferred their passenger service to Amtrak in 1971. Though Amtrak stock does not pay dividends and is not routinely traded, a small number of private investors have purchased Amtrak stock from its original owners.
Amtrak employs over 19,000 people. The nationwide network of 22,000 miles (35,000 km) of routes serves 500 communities in 46 states of the United States, with some of the routes serving communities in Canada. In fiscal year 2006, Amtrak served an estimated 25 million passengers, a company record.
