Class I network comparison
116,204 route-miles of owned main line, one color per railroad, with 1,768 transload facilities along the track. Click a railroad to see it alone, shift-click to compare two or three, and switch on trackage rights to see where each runs on someone else's rails.
Track geometry from the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (main sub-network, as of 2026-09-08), simplified for display. Facility locations are geocoded from facility records and public sources. Directory last updated July 2026.
| Railroad | Owned main line | Trackage rights | Countries | Transload facilities | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSNorfolk Southern | 14,666 mi | 5,109 mi | United States | 537 | NS map |
| BNSFBNSF Railway | 24,257 mi | 8,244 mi | United States, Canada | 510 | BNSF map |
| CSXCSX Transportation | 16,182 mi | 3,651 mi | United States, Canada | 347 | CSX map |
| UPUnion Pacific | 25,402 mi | 6,086 mi | United States, Mexico | 324 | UP map |
| CPKCCanadian Pacific Kansas City | 16,253 mi | 5,684 mi | United States, Canada, Mexico | 210 | CPKC map |
| CNCanadian National | 19,444 mi | 3,102 mi | Canada, United States | 205 | CN map |
Route-miles are main sub-network links only (no yards, sidings, or minor industrial leads). A facility that lists more than one Class I is counted for each.
Class I is the Surface Transportation Board's largest revenue tier. Six railroads qualify today: BNSF Railway and Union Pacific in the West, Norfolk Southern and CSX in the East, and the two Canadian roads, CN and CPKC, which run north to south across the border. CPKC also reaches Mexico through the former Kansas City Southern de México.
A rail move that starts and ends on one railroad avoids an interchange, which adds days and a second carrier's rules and tariff. A facility on a rail siding is served by whoever owns that track, so the only way to choose a railroad is a dual-served site or a transload facility on the railroad you want. Solo one railroad on this map to see where that is possible.
The eastern and western roads hand off at Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans, and Kansas City. CN and CPKC cross into the US at Detroit, Port Huron, Chicago, and the northern plains, and CPKC continues to Laredo. Turn on all six and zoom to any of those cities to see the overlap.
The rail transload planner finds open-access terminals on the line you want and quotes the truck leg. Operators: your listing here is free.
