List of California railroads

The following railroads operate in the U.S. state of California.

Common freight carriers[edit]

Freight carrier information is current since  2021.[1]

Class I
Name Carrier Code Parent company Route miles
BNSF Railway BNSF Berkshire Hathaway 2,114
Union Pacific Railroad UPRR 3,292
Class III
Name Carrier Code Parent company Route miles
Arizona and California Railroad ARZC Genesee & Wyoming 190 (84 in CA)
California Northern Railroad CFNR Genesee & Wyoming 210
Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad CORP Genesee & Wyoming 305 (56 in CA)
Central Valley Union Railroad CVUR 12
Lake County Railroad LCR/LCY Frontier Rail 54
Napa Valley Wine Train NVRR 18
Niles Canyon Railway NCRY Pacific Locomotive Association (PLA) 10
Northwestern Pacific Railroad NWP Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit 63
Pacific Sun Railroad PSRR Watco 62
Sacramento Southern Railroad SSR State of California 3
Sacramento Valley Railroad SAV Patriot Rail 7
San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad SDIY Genesee & Wyoming 1
San Joaquin Valley Railroad SJVR Genesee & Wyoming 297
San Francisco Bay Railroad SFBR 7
Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway SCBG Roaring Camp, Inc. 9
Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Railroad SCMB Progressive Rail, Inc. 31
Santa Maria Valley Railroad SMVRR 14
Sierra Northern Railway SERA 68
Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad STE OmniTrax 25
Trona Railway TRC Searles Valley Minerals/Nirma 31
Ventura County Railroad VCRR Genesee & Wyoming 9
West Isle Line, Inc. WFS Nutrien 5
Yreka Western Railroad YW Railmark Holdings 9
Switching and terminal
Name Carrier Code Parent company Route miles
Central California Traction Company CCT BNSF/UPRR 96
Los Angeles Junction Railway LAJ BNSF 64
Modesto and Empire Traction Company MET 49
Oakland Terminal Railway OTR BNSF/UPRR 10
Pacific Harbor Line, Inc. PHL Anacostia Rail Holdings Company 59
Quincy Railroad QRR 3
Richmond Pacific Railroad RPRC 6

Other[edit]

Passenger carriers[edit]

Intercity[edit]

Commuter rail[edit]

Local[edit]

Excursion[edit]

Amusement park[edit]

Defunct railroads[edit]

See also: List of California interurban railroads
Common carriers
Name Mark System[nb 1] From To Successor Notes
Alameda and San Joaquin Railroad WP 1895 1903 Western Pacific Railway
Alameda Belt Line ABL ATSF/ WP 1925 2007 N/A
Albion Railroad 1921 1930 N/A
Albion River Railroad NWP (ATSF) 1885 1891 Albion and Southeastern Railway
Albion and Southeastern Railway NWP (ATSF) 1902 1905 Fort Bragg and Southeastern Railroad
Almaden Branch Railroad SP 1887 1887 South Pacific Coast Railway
Amador Branch Railroad SP 1875 1888 Northern Railway
Amador Central Railroad AMC 1908 1997 Amador Foothills Railroad
Amador Foothills Railroad 1998 2004 N/A
Arcata and Mad River Railroad AMR 1881 1985 Eureka Southern Railroad
Arcata Transportation Company 1875 1881 Arcata and Mad River Railroad
Arizona and California Railway ATSF 1903 1911 California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway ATSF ATSF 1901 1996 Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad ATSF 1866 1897 Santa Fe Pacific Railroad
Bakersfield and Ventura Railroad 1908 1911 Ventura County Railway
Bakersfield and Ventura Railway 1903 1906 Bakersfield and Ventura Railroad
Barnwell and Searchlight Railway ATSF 1906 1911 California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway
Bay and Coast Railroad SP 1877 1887 South Pacific Coast Railway
Bay Point and Clayton Railroad BP&C 1906 1946 U.S. Navy
Bear Harbor and Eel River Railroad (?) 1893 1921 Abandoned
Berkeley Branch Railroad SP 1876 1888 Northern Railway
Black Diamond Coal Mining Railroad 1868 1885
Boca and Loyalton Railroad WP 1900 1916 Western Pacific Railroad
Bodie Railway and Lumber Company 1893 1906 Mono Lake Railway and Lumber Company
Bodie Railway and Lumber Company 1881 1882 Bodie and Benton Railway and Commercial Company
Bodie and Benton Railway and Commercial Company 1882 1890 Bodie Railway and Lumber Company
Bucksport and Elk River Railroad 1884 1932 Bucksport and Elk River Railway
Bucksport and Elk River Railway 1932 1952 N/A
Burlington Northern Inc. BN 1970 1981 Burlington Northern Railroad
Burlington Northern Railroad BN 1981 1996 Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway
Butte County Railroad SP 1903 1915 N/A Leased the Chico and Northern Railroad
Butte and Plumas Railway WP 1902 1905 Western Pacific Railway
California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway ATSF 1911 1963 Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
California Central Railroad 1912 1930 N/A
California Central Railroad SP 1857 1868 California and Oregon Railroad
California Central Railway ATSF 1887 1889 Southern California Railway
California Eastern Railway ATSF 1895 1911 California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway
California Midland Railroad NWP (ATSF) 1902 1903 San Francisco and Northwestern Railway
California and Mount Diablo Railroad ATSF 1880 1884 California and Nevada Railroad
California and Nevada Railroad ATSF 1884 1902 Oakland and East Side Railroad
California Northeastern Railway SP 1905 1911 Oregon Eastern Railway
California Northern Railroad SP 1860 1881 Northern California Railroad
California and Northern Railway NWP (ATSF) 1900 1904 San Francisco and Northwestern Railway
California Northwestern Railway NWP (SP) 1898 1907 Northwestern Pacific Railroad
California and Oregon Railroad SP 1865 1870 Central Pacific Railroad
California Pacific Railroad SP 1865 1898 Southern Pacific Railroad
California Pacific Railroad Extension Company SP 1869 1869 California Pacific Railroad
California, Shasta and Eastern Railway 1912 1927 N/A
California Southern Railroad ATSF 1914 1942 Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
California Southern Railroad ATSF 1880 1889 Southern California Railway
California Southern Railroad SP 1870 1870 Southern Pacific Railroad
California Southern Extension Railroad ATSF 1881 1882 California Southern Railroad
California Western Railroad CWR 1947 2003 N/A
California Western Railroad and Navigation Company CWR 1905 1947 California Western Railroad
Camino, Placerville and Lake Tahoe Railroad CPLT 1911 1986 N/A
Carrizo Gorge Railway CZRY 1997 2012 Pacific Imperial Railroad
Carson and Colorado Railroad SP 1881 1892 Carson and Colorado Railway
Carson and Colorado Railway SP 1892 1905 Nevada and California Railway
Cement, Tolenas and Tidewater Railroad 1911 1930 N/A
Central California Railway SP 1904 1912 Central Pacific Railway
Central Pacific Railroad SP 1861 1899 Central Pacific Railway
Central Pacific Railway SP 1899 1959 Southern Pacific Company
Chico and Northern Railroad SP 1903 1912 Central Pacific Railway
Chino Valley Railway 1888 1901 N/A
Chowchilla Pacific Railway SP 1913 1924 Visalia Electric Railroad
Cloverdale and Ukiah Railroad NWP (SP) 1886 1889 San Francisco and North Pacific Railway
Coal Fields Railway 1920 1935 N/A
Coast Line Railway SP 1905 1917 Southern Pacific Railroad
Colusa Railroad 1885 1886 Colusa and Lake Railroad
Colusa and Hamilton Railroad SP 1911 1917 Southern Pacific Railroad
Colusa and Lake Railroad 1886 1915 N/A
Corona and Santa Fe Railway ATSF 1926 1942 Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Coronado Railroad SP 1886 1908 San Diego Southern Railway
Crescent City Railway UP 1906 1915 Riverside, Rialto and Pacific Railroad
Death Valley Railroad 1914 1931 N/A
Diamond and Caldor Railway 1904 1952 N/A
Eel River and Eureka Railroad NWP (ATSF) 1882 1903 San Francisco and Northwestern Railway
Elsinore, Pomona and Los Angeles Railway ATSF 1895 1899 Southern California Railway
Eureka and Klamath River Railroad NWP (SP) 1896 1907 Northwestern Pacific Railroad
Eureka Southern Railroad EUKA 1984 1992 North Coast Railroad
Feather River Railway 1939 1966 N/A
Felton and Pescadero Railroad SP 1883 1887 South Pacific Coast Railway
Ferris and Lakeview Railway ATSF 1898 1911 California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway
Fernley and Lassen Railway SP 1909 1912 Central Pacific Railway
Folsom and Placerville Railroad SP 1876 1877 Sacramento and Placerville Railroad
Fort Bragg and Southeastern Railroad NWP (ATSF) 1903 1907 Northwestern Pacific Railroad
Freeport Railroad 1863 1865 N/A
Fresno County Railway ATSF 1905 1911 California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway
Fullerton and Richfield Railway ATSF 1910 1911 California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway
Fulton and Guerneville Railroad NWP (SP) 1877 1877 San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad
Goose Lake and Southern Railway SP 1908 1912 Central Pacific Railway
Great Northern Railway GN GN 1930 1970 Burlington Northern Inc.
Great Western Railway of Colorado GWR 1986 1987 Great Western Railway of Oregon
Great Western Railway of Oregon GWR 1987 1997 Lake County Railroad
Hanford and Summit Lake Railway SP 1910 1917 Southern Pacific Railroad
Harbor Belt Line Railroad HBL 1929 1998 Pacific Harbor Line, Inc.
Hetch Hetchy Railroad 1915 1949 N/A
Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valleys Railway of California 1900 1943 N/A
Holton Interurban Railway HI SP 1903 1985 Southern Pacific Transportation Company
Howard Terminal Railway HT 1917 Part of Port of Oakland Railroad
Hueneme, Malibu and Port Los Angeles Railway . 1905 1929 .
Humboldt Railroad NWP (SP) 1901 Northwestern Pacific Railroad
Imperial and Gulf Railway SP 1902 1905 Inter-California Railway
Indian Valley Railroad 1916 1938 N/A
Indian Valley Railway WP 1902 1905 Western Pacific Railway
Inter-California Railway SP 1904 1935 Southern Pacific Company
Ione and Eastern Railroad 1904 1908 Amador Central Railroad
Iron Mountain Railway 1895 1927 N/A
Kings Lake Shore Railroad 1917 1934 N/A
Kings River Railway ATSF 1909 1911 California, Arizona and Santa Fe Railway
Klamath Lake Railroad 1901 1913 Siskiyou Electric Light and Power Company
Lake County Railroad LCR 1997 Still exists as a lessor of the Lake Rai