Railroad classes

The classification of the railways in North America takes place in proportion to their revenue and serves as the basis for the compilation of statistics, reports, accounting duties, legal and labor regulations.

As the largest Class 1 freight railways are referred to in the United States and Canada. Smaller railroads were designated as Class 2 or Class 3. Today is used in "regional railroads " and "local railroads " by the Association of railway undertakings Association of American Railroads, the classification.

History

A first classification of railway companies in different categories was made with the establishment of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC ), 1887. To create its annual report, the railway companies " Class 1" were in the category ( more than 1,000 miles of track network), "Class 2 " (600 up to 1000 miles of track network), " Class 3" ( 400 to 600 miles of track network), " Class 4" ( 250 to 400 mile route network) and "Class 5 " (less than 250 miles of track network). This classification was in use until 1910. As a result of the Hepburn Act and the associated task expansion of the ICC a new classification was introduced in 1911. Under Class 1 enterprises were classified with a turnover of over one million U.S. dollars, Class 2 companies had a turnover of between $ 100,000 and $ 1,000,000 and Class 3 companies with revenues under $ 100,000. Pure Rangiergesellschaften were not included in this classification.

In 1956, the limit was raised for a Class 1 company 3 million dollars. At the same time the Class 2 and Class 3 companies were combined into one Class 2. The Rangiergesellschaften were no longer recorded from this point in the annual statistics and reports.

As of 1976 must have at least 10 million sales a Class 1 railway company. In 1978 a further change. The limit for Class 1 was raised to $ 50 million. Simultaneously, the Class 2 (10-50 million dollars ) and Class 3 were (less than $ 10 million ) reintroduced. In 1982 the boundaries were adjusted to reflect the annual inflation. However, it was already waived the reporting requirements for Class 2 and Class 3 companies from 1979. Thus, these limits have no practical impact.

In 1992, a new amendment now sales been fixed for a Class 1 company $ 250 million and for Class 2 companies to 20 million dollars. Since An annual adjustment in line with changes in transport prices in the rail sector ( Railroad Freight Rate Index ).

Since the classifications according to Class 2 and Class 3 has no effect, led the Association of American Railroads 1986 three categories for classification.

• Regional railroads - more than 350 miles of track network and more than 40 million U.S. dollars in sales.
• Local railroads (formerly shortline railroads ) - local and circulating railways, but with moderate scheduled route service.
• Switching and terminal railroads - railways, which do not perform point - to-point transport (scheduled ), but the connection between end users and the other railway companies.

In Canada Class 1 companies must have achieved since 2004 a gross income of 250 million Canadian dollars in each of the last two fiscal years.

Effect of the classification

The establishment of this boundary is a political decision, because different rules and reporting requirements are due to the different classification, even for the companies. Thus asked, for example, 1991, the Montana Rail Link and Wisconsin Central to raising the limit to 93.5 million U.S. dollars, so that these companies were able to reduce additional costs. End of 1992, the limit was raised to 250 million U.S. dollars, which meant that the Florida East Coast Railway was nothing more than a Class - 2 society.

Currently, there are seven Class 1 companies. East of the Mississippi, these are CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway, west of the Mississippi, the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad, as well as in the Midwest to Mexico, the Kansas City Southern. Addition there is the Grand Trunk Corporation, a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway and Soo Line Railroad, a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The two Canadian Class 1 companies, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, even after the U.S. rules Class 1 companies.

Applied to the Mexican railroad companies, Ferrocarril Mexicano and the Kansas City Southern de México meet the requirements.

Amtrak and VIA Rail as passenger transport companies in the USA and Canada are not classified.

Until the mid- 1980s all Class 1 companies together accounted for 94 to 96 % of the total road network of the United States and were responsible for 96 to 99 % of sales in the railway sector. By changing the classification boundaries as well as the delivery of many routes to smaller railway companies, the Class 1 companies achieve now around 67 % of the route network revenues of approximately 93 % of the web industry.