List of U.S. Class I railroads

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In the United States, railroads are designated as Class I, Class II, or Class III, according to size criteria first established by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in 1911, and now governed by the Surface Transportation Board (STB). The STB's current definition of a Class I railroad was set in 1992, that being any carrier earning annual revenue greater than $250 million. The threshold was reported to be $289.4 million in 2023. [1]

Contents

This is a list of current and former Class I railroads in North America under the older criteria and the newer as well as today's much different post-railroad consolidation classifications.

Current Class I railroads

As of 2023 there are just four American owned Class I freight railroad companies and one passenger railroad company (Amtrak). The list also includes two Canadian-owned Class I freight railroads, both of which have trackage in the US, and one, CPKC, has trackage in Mexico. [1] [2]

Former Class I railroads

This list includes diverse financial entities. Some of these refer to operating companies which were turned into investments, some hanging onto a corporate skeleton owning properties as holding companies, or have assigned their properties in mergers, bankruptcy or other legal acts (dissolution of the corporation), and others defunct and dismantled.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missouri Pacific Railroad</span> Defunct American Class I railroad

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The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.

The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.

The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Locomotive Works</span>

Grant Locomotive Works was a manufacturer of steam railway locomotives from 1867 to 1895, first in Paterson, New Jersey, and then in Chicago. The company built about 1,888 locomotives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway</span>

Chartered on June 6, 1903, the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway was a 200-mile (321 km) U.S. railroad that operated from Brownsville, Texas, to Gulf Coast Junction in Houston, Texas. It served numerous towns and cities along its routes and operated a rail bridge between Brownsville and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in junction with the Mexican government. The Brownie connected the citizens of Brownsville to nearby Corpus Christi for the first time on land rather than using water transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wabash Railroad</span> American Class I railroad

The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Detroit, Michigan; Buffalo, New York; St. Louis, Missouri; and Toledo, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf Coast Lines</span> Defunct American railway company

The Gulf Coast Lines was the name of a railroad system comprising three principal railroads, as well as some smaller ones, that stretched from New Orleans, Louisiana, via Baton Rouge and Houston to Brownsville, Texas. Originally chartered as subsidiaries of the Frisco Railroad, the system became independent in 1916 and was purchased by the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1925.

References

  1. 1 2 "Class I railroads". Trains. February 21, 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Class I vs. Short Line & Regional Railroads". Genesee & Wyoming Inc. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
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