Current Class I railroadsToday 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.
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Amtrak NetworkIt is the nation's only high-speed intercity passenger rail provider, operating at speeds up to 150 mph (241 kph). Nearly half of all trains operate at top speeds of 100 mph (160 kph) or greater.
This is an interactive map of the major freight railroads, also known as class I railroads in the United States. They include CSX, Norfolk Southern (NS), Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (BNSF), Union Pacific (UP), Canadian Pacific (CP), Canadian National Railway (CN), and the Kansas City Southern (KCS).
The history of the Class 1 railroad traces back to our country's first common-carrier, the Baltimore & Ohio. During the next century more than 140 such systems came to serve this great country. After World War II a series of mergers, bankruptcies, and takeovers reduced the number to the current seven.
Amtrak Locomotive Engineers are responsible for safely and efficiently operating trains at all hours of the day and night, and under all kinds of weather conditions in order for us to deliver intercity transportation with superior safety.
The nation's fastest train is Amtrak's Acela, which tops 150 mph. New Acela trains are expected to reach 160 mph when they debut next year — still below the 186 mph considered high-speed in systems across the world.
Union Pacific became the safest U.S. Class 1 railroad in employee safety for the third consecutive year. The top-performing railroad had a 0.79 reportable injury rate in 2017, according to Federal Railroad Administration data.
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.
With the merger of Canada Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern Railway, the Class I railroads will be much closer in size to each other now that the two smallest railroads have combined.
Their speed, however, will be limited by the complexities of the 457-mile route, which is old, curvy and carries a mix of freight, commuter and intercity trains. Most Amtrak trains travel between 110 mph to 145 mph in the corridor, depending on the track and proximity to stations.
Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, with which it shares a duopoly on transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western, Midwestern and West South Central United States.
Amtrak is a federally chartered corporation, with the federal government as majority stockholder. The Amtrak Board of Directors is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Amtrak is operated as a for-profit company, rather than a public authority.