Current Criteria
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) defines a Class I railroad in the United States as "having annual carrier operating revenues of $250 million or more" after adjusting for inflation using a Railroad Freight Price Index developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), Class I railroads had minimum carrier operating revenues of $346.8 million (USD) in 2006, $359 million (USD) in 2007, $401.4 million (USD) in 2008 and $378.8 million (USD) in 2009.
In Canada a Class I rail carrier is defined (as of 2004) as a company that has earned gross revenues exceeding $250 million (CAD) for each of the previous two years.
The establishment of the criteria in the United States has always been subjective, since different regulations apply to the different classes. In early 1991 both Montana Rail Link and Wisconsin Central asked the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to increase the minimum annual operating revenue criteria (then established at $93.5 million USD) in order to avoid being re-designated as Class I, due to increased administrative and legal costs resulting from different regulations. This criterion was increased in 1992 to $250 million annually, which resulted in the Florida East Coast Railway having its status changed to Class II. Rail carriers with less than $20 million in revenue remained in Class III.
Currently eleven railroads in North America are classified as Class I, eight of which operate in the United States.
- Canada, with no trackage in the United States
- Via Rail
- Trackage in both the United States and Canada
- Amtrak
- BNSF Railway
- Canadian National Railway
- Canadian Pacific Railway
- CSX Transportation
- Norfolk Southern Railway
- United States, with no trackage in Canada or Mexico
- Union Pacific Railroad
- Trackage in both the United States and Mexico
- Kansas City Southern Railway (in Mexico via wholly owned and jointly operated subsidiary Kansas City Southern de México)
- Mexico, with no trackage in the United States
- Ferromex
- Kansas City Southern de México, wholly owned by the Kansas City Southern Railway which both operate together as one
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