Editing Railroad classes (section)

==Classes== <!--Anchor for redirected articles: Class I railroad, Class II railroad, and Class III railroad.  Any changes must be mirrored appropriately at the redirect pages. -->
In the United States, the [[Surface Transportation Board]] categorizes rail carriers into Class I, Class II, and Class III based on the carrier's annual revenue. The thresholds, last adjusted for inflation in 2023, are:<ref name="class i def">{{cite web |url=https://prod.stb.gov/reports-data/economic-data/ |title=Surface Transportation Board Economic Data|access-date=12 February 2025}}</ref>
*Class I: A carrier earning revenue greater than $1,053,709,560
*Class II: A carrier earning revenue between $47,299,851 and $1,053,709,560
*Class III: A carrier earning revenue less than $47,299,851
In [[Canada]], a '''Class I rail carrier''' is defined ({{As of|2004|lc=y}}) as a company that has earned gross revenues exceeding $250 million (CAD) for each of the previous two years.<ref>{{cite web|last=Branch|first=Legislative Services|date=June 3, 2019|title=Consolidated federal laws of canada, Transportation Information Regulations|url=http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-96-334/page-4.html#docCont}}</ref>

=== Class I ===
[[File:Norfolk Southern 6568 (410221739).jpg|alt=The Norfolk Southern Railway is a typical example of a Class I railroad in the eastern United States. Pictured is a locomotive from the Norfolk Southern Railway.|thumb|The [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] is a typical example of a Class I railroad in the eastern United States.]]
{{Further information|List of Class I railroads}}
Class I railroads are the largest rail carriers in the United States. In 1900, there were 132 Class I railroads, but as the result of mergers and bankruptcies, the industry has consolidated and {{As of|2023|04|lc=y}}, just six Class I freight railroads remain.

[[BNSF Railway]] and [[Union Pacific Railroad]] have a [[duopoly]] over all transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western United States, while [[CSX Transportation]] and [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] operate most of the trackage in the Eastern United States, with the [[Mississippi River]] being the rough dividing line. [[Canadian National Railway]] (via its subsidiary [[Grand Trunk Corporation]]) operates north–south lines near the Mississippi River. [[Canadian Pacific Kansas City]], doing business as CPKC, runs from southern Canada, then goes south through the central United States to central Mexico.

In addition, the national passenger railroads in the US and Canada—[[Amtrak]] and [[Via Rail]]—would both qualify as Class I if they were freight carriers. Mexico's [[Ferromex]] would qualify as a Class I railroad if it had trackage in the United States.

{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |Railroad
! colspan="3" |Trackage
|-
!Canada
!United States
!Mexico
|-
|[[BNSF Railway]]
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{No}}
|-
|[[Canadian National Railway]]
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes|Yes<br>{{refn|group="Note"|Operated by [[Grand Trunk Corporation]], a wholly owned subsidiary of [[Canadian National Railway]].}} }} 
|{{No}}
|-
|[[Canadian Pacific Kansas City|CPKC]]
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}} 
|{{Yes}} 
|-
|[[CSX Transportation]]
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{No}}
|-
|[[Norfolk Southern Railway]]
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{No}}
|-
|[[Union Pacific Railroad]]
|{{No}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{No}}
|}
{{reflist|group=Note}}

=== Class II ===
[[File:IAIS 153 (30780495877).jpg|thumb|The [[Iowa Interstate Railroad]] is a typical example of a Class II regional railroad in Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois.|alt=The Iowa Interstate Railroad is a typical example of a Class II regional railroad in Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois. Pictured is a locomotive from the Iowa Interstate Railroad.]]
{{Further information|List of U.S. Class II railroads}}
A Class II railroad in the United States hauls freight and is mid-sized in terms of operating revenue. Switching and terminal railroads are excluded from Class II status. Railroads considered by the [[Association of American Railroads]] as "Regional Railroads" are typically Class II. The [[Florida East Coast Railway]], the [[Iowa Interstate Railroad]], and the [[Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway]] are some examples of Class II railroads.

===Class III===
[[File:Buckingham Branch Railroad GP16 rebuild.JPG|thumb|The [[Buckingham Branch Railroad]] is a typical example of a Class III shortline in Virginia.|alt=The Buckingham Branch Railroad is a typical example of a Class III shortline in Virginia. Pictured is a locomotive from the Buckingham Branch Railroad.]]

{{Further information|Shortline railroad}}
Class III railroads are typically local [[shortline railroad]]s serving a small number of towns and industries or hauling cars for one or more railroads; often, they once had been branch lines of larger railroads or even abandoned portions of main lines. Some Class III railroads are owned by railroad holding companies such as [[Genesee & Wyoming]] or [[Watco]]. The [[Maryland and Delaware Railroad]], the [[San Pedro Valley Railroad]], and the [[Buckingham Branch Railroad]] are some examples of Class III railroads.