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Short line railroads, also as defined by the AAR, fall into two categories:
Local railroads are line-haul railroads below the Regional criteria, plus switching and terminal railroads. Switching & Terminal railroads are railroads that are either jointly owned by two railroads for the purpose of transferring cars between railroads or operate solely within a facility or group of facilities. There is also a precise revenue-based definition of categories of U.S. railroads found in the regulations of the Surface Transportation Board (STB). The STB's accounting regulations group rail carriers into three classes for purposes of accounting and reporting (49 CFR Part 1201 Subpart A):
Class I: Carriers with annual carrier operating revenues of $346.8 million* or more Class II: Carriers with annual carrier operating revenues of less than $346.8 million* but in excess of $28 million* Class III: Carriers with annual carrier operating revenues of $28 million* or less, and all switching and terminal companies regardless of operating revenues. * These threshold figures are adjusted annually for inflation using the base year of 1991.
Generally, Class III carriers are referred to as short lines, and Class II carriers are referred to as regional railroads. This is not always the case, as the STB and AAR have different criteria that define regional and short line railroads. More about Shortline Railroads...