List of U.S. Class II railroads explained

In the United States, a Class II railroad, sometimes referred to as a regional railroad, is a railroad company that is not Class I, but still has a substantial amount of traffic or trackage (and is thus not a short line). The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has defined the lower bound as 350miles of track or $40 million in annual operating revenue.^[1] (The Class I threshold is $250 million, adjusted for inflation since 1991.^[2])., a Class II railroad in the United States has an operating revenue greater than $39.2 million but less than $489.9 million.^[3]

Current Class II railroads

Name	Mileage	References
Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway	476	^[4] ^[5] ^[6]
Alaska Railroad	506	^[7]
Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad	756	^[8] ^[9]
Dakota, Missouri Valley and Western Railroad	502	^[10] ^[11] ^[12]
Decatur and Eastern Illinois Railroad	182	^[13] ^[14]
Evansville Western Railway	124	^[15]
Florida East Coast Railway	386
	424
Iowa Interstate Railroad	573	^[16]
Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad	910	^[17] ^[18]
Kyle Railroad	555
Nebraska Kansas Colorado Railway	509	^[19]
New England Central Railroad	594	^[20] ^[21] ^[22]
New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway	439	^[23]
Paducah and Louisville Railway	280	^[24]
Portland and Western Railroad	632	^[25]
Providence and Worcester Railroad	624	^[26]
Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad	970	^[27] ^[28]
Red River Valley and Western Railroad	574
Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway	902	^[29] ^[30] ^[31]
Wisconsin and Southern Railroad	778	^[32]

Former Class II railroads

• • Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad Alabama Great Southern Railroad (AGS), owned by Norfolk Southern Railway^[33]
• Atlanta and West Point Railroad (AWP), owned by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
• Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad^[34] (CORP)
• New York, Ontario & Western (NYOW)
• Lehigh and Hudson River Railway (LHR)
• Lehigh and New England Railroad (LNE)
• Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad (BLE), owned by Canadian National Railway
• Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad, incorporated by interests of the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad, later merged with the Tonopah and Tidewater and the Las Vegas and Tonopah.
• Central of Georgia Railroad (CG), owned by Norfolk Southern Railway^[33]
• Central Maine and Quebec Railway (CMQ), owned by Canadian Pacific Railway
• Bangor and Aroostook Railroad (BAR)
  • • • Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad Chicago, Missouri and Western Railway Carolina and Northwestern Railway Central Vermont Railway (CV), owned by Canadian National Railway (CN)
  • Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad^[35] (DME), owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway (DMIR), owned by Canadian National Railway^[36]
• Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad (DTS)
• Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway^[37] (EJE), owned by Canadian National Railway
• Fox Valley and Western Ltd. (FVW), owned by Canadian National Railway
• Gateway Western Railway (GWWR), owned by Kansas City Southern Railway^[38]
• Georgia Southern and Florida Railway (GSF), owned by Norfolk Southern Railway^[33]
• Georgia Railroad and Banking Company (GA) owned by Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL)
• Great Lakes Central Railroad^[39] (GLC)
• Gulf and Mississippi Railroad (GMSR)
• I&M Rail Link^[40] (IMRL)
• Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad^[41] (ICE), owned by Canadian Pacific Railway
  • • • • Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad Magma Arizona Railroad Minarets and Western Railway Monongahela Railway Montana Rail Link^[42] (MRL), until its reintegration into BNSF on January 1st, 2024^[43]
• Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA)
• MidSouth Rail Corporation (MSRC)
  • • Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad Pan Am Railways^[44] (PAR), acquired by CSX Transportation^[45]
• Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (RFP)
  • • • Spokane International Railroad Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad Texas Mexican Railway (TM), owned by Kansas City Southern Railway^[46]
• Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WC), owned by Canadian National Railway^[47]
• Western Railway of Alabama (WofA) owned by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad

Notes and References

1. Web site: Association of American Railroads . May 2008 . Overview of America's Freight Railroads . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121125231735/http://www.aar.org/PubCommon/Documents/AboutTheIndustry/Overview.pdf . November 25, 2012.
2. [Surface Transportation Board]
3. Web site: Marsh . Joanna . 2021-05-22 . Why are freight railroads separated into classes? . 2022-09-17 . FreightWaves . en-US.
4. Web site: Alabama: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
5. Web site: Florida: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
6. Web site: Mississippi: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
7. Web site: Alaska: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
8. Web site: New York: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
9. Web site: Pennsylvania: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
10. Web site: Montana: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
11. Web site: North Dakota: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
12. Web site: South Dakota: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
13. Web site: Illinois: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
14. Web site: Indiana: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
15. Web site: Evansville Western Railway, Inc.-Temporary Trackage Rights Exemption-Illinois Central Railroad Company . . June 13, 2022 . Federal Register . 2023-06-20.
16. Web site: Iowa: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
17. Web site: Colorado: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
18. Web site: Kansas: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
19. Web site: Nebraska: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
20. Web site: Connecticut: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
21. Web site: Massachusetts: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
22. Web site: Vermont: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
23. Web site: New Jersey: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
24. Web site: Kentucky: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
25. Web site: Oregon: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
26. Web site: Rhode Island: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
27. Web site: Minnesota: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
28. Web site: Wyoming: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
29. Web site: Maryland: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
30. Web site: Ohio: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
31. Web site: West Virginia: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
32. Web site: Wisconsin: Freight Rail 2021 Data . June 2023 . Association of American Railroads . July 11, 2024.
33. http://www.stb.dot.gov/econdata.nsf/f039526076cc0f8e8525660b006870c9/e0b533cb939e5e9b852574430067c0e9/$FILE/2007%20Annual%20Report%20Form%20R-1's%20Norfolk%20Southern%20Combined%20Railroad%20Subsidiaries.pdf Annual Report of Norfolk Southern Combined Railroad Subsidiaries to the Surface Transportation Board for the Year Ended December 31, 2007
34. [Surface Transportation Board]
35. [Surface Transportation Board]
36. [Surface Transportation Board]
37. [Surface Transportation Board]
38. [Surface Transportation Board]
39. [Great Lakes Central]
40. [Surface Transportation Board]
41. [Surface Transportation Board]
42. [Surface Transportation Board]
43. Web site: 2023-06-16 . BNSF Railway sets date for taking control of Montana Rail Link . 2024-01-26 . Trains . en-US.
44. [Surface Transportation Board]
45. Web site: STB Issues Additional Hearing Information in CSX/Pan Am Merger Application Review . 2022-01-06 . Surface Transportation Board . 2022-01-30.
46. [Surface Transportation Board]
47. [Surface Transportation Board]