

railroad was defined as having annual operating revenues of at least $1 million. (The latter point is a stark change from years ago when railroads sought local and less-than-carload, or LCL, business.) History T hey operate in 44 states and the District of Columbia and concentrate largely on long-haul, high-density intercity traffic."

contain 69% of the industry’s mileage, 90% of its employees, and 94% of its freight revenue. However, the chances are high that one day two gigantic railroads linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans will eventually become a reality.ĬSX Transportation, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, Kansas City Southern, BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific The long-held dream since the early 20th century has been the creation of a true, transcontinental railroad. With annual earnings in the billions Class I's are always at the forefront of technology and innovation. Īs the industry leaders they contain the most trackage, largest annual operating revenue, greatest number of employees, and newest locomotives. It appeared CN would be the winning bidder before Surface Transportation Board unanimously rejected the proposal on August 31, paving the way once more for the CP-KCS union. Interestingly, between that and August 31, 2021, rival Canadian National made a counterproposal of $33.6 billion to acquire KCS. The new railroad to emerge will be known as Canadian Pacific-Kansas City. There will soon be a major shakeup as CP announced on Mathat it will acquire KCS. These enormous operations are spread throughout North America and include (currently) Canadian Pacific, Canadian National, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, BNSF Railway, and Kansas City Southern.
#Define rails series#
During the next century more than 140 such systems came to serve this great country.Īfter World War II a series of mergers, bankruptcies, and takeovers reduced the number to the current seven. The history of the Class I railroad traces back to our country's first common-carrier, the Baltimore & Ohio.
