Viewpoint: The market, not regulators, should set freight rail prices

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.

By Roslyn Layton, PhD

A recent party-line vote at the Surface Transportation Board following a complaint from a coal shipper against a freight railroad is headed to court. A request to stay the decision at the STB was rejected. The conflict is shaping up to be a referendum on STB Chair Martin Oberman’s interpretation of common carriage.

The case features a Western...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/viewpoint-the-market-not-regulators-should-set-freight-rail-prices

Senators reintroduce ‘reasonable’ rail service bill

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A bipartisan bill that charges the Surface Transportation Board to better define what should...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/senators-reintroduce-reasonable-rail-service-bill

Expect to hear more about rail service issues in 2023

The Surface Transportation Board’s regulatory to-do list, train crew sizes and merger conditions related to Canadian Pacific’s acquisition of Kansas City Southern are just some of the big issues that rail industry stakeholders will be watching in 2023.

One of the biggest issues that the U.S. freight industry will tackle is how to improve rail service. Closely related to that are the potential actions that STB could take to address that issue.

“After being dormant for much of the last decade, the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/expect-to-hear-more-about-rail-service-issues-in-2023

Shippers tell STB railroads aren’t fulfilling common carrier obligation

Several shippers told federal regulators Tuesday that they don’t believe the railroads are meeting the common carrier obligation because of the service issues they’ve encountered in the past year, including an increased use of embargoes as a means to control congestion.

Per federal regulations, the common carrier obligation binds railroads to carry freight, provided that the tendered agreement has reasonable terms and conditions.

Shippers told the Surface Transportation Board at a public hearing...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shippers-tell-stb-railroads-arent-fulfilling-common-carrier-obligation

Transportation Trades Department asks Congress for regulation addressing rail service

Congress should consider implementing an annual “stress test” for the railroads to ensure that railroads have adequately invested in their infrastructure and people, according to policy position papers approved by the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) at a biannual meeting this week.

These position papers serve as policy action guidelines for the coalition for the upcoming months, according to TTD, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. These viewpoints have the support of the group’s 37...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/transportation-trades-department-asks-congress-for-regulation-addressing-rail-service

Wisconsin senator introduces bill aimed at improving railroad service

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin has introduced legislation that seeks to clarify what the railroads’ obligations are in providing good service.

The bill, called the Reliable Rail Service Act, aims to better define the common carrier obligation, which are the terms a railroad must abide by when working with a bulk commodities rail shipper to haul goods. 

The common carrier obligation bonds railroads to transport any freight that has been properly tendered on reasonable terms and conditions,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/wisconsin-senator-introduces-bill-aimed-at-improving-railroad-service

House bill would broaden Surface Transportation Board’s authority

Two hopper rail cars sit on a rail track.

Democrats on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have introduced a bill to let certain shippers charge demurrage and help the Surface Transportation Board set minimum service delivery standards that would ensure efficient and timely rail service.

The Freight Rail Shipping Fair Market Act would require contracts to detail service standards and remedies, as well as guide STB on how to resolve complaints related to compliance with the common carrier obligation, a federal...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/house-bill-would-broaden-surface-transportation-boards-authority

Rail union urgest senators to revise common carrier obligation

The Transportation Trades Department is asking Congressional senators to consider revising the common carrier obligation so its meaning is more clear and enforceable.

The common carrier obligation defines the freight railroads’ role in delivering bulk goods, and the Surface Transportation Board uses it as a basis in rendering decisions. 

“It is clear that the major U.S. freight railroads are failing to meet their statutory ‘common carrier’ obligation to provide freight rail customers with...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-union-urgest-senators-to-revise-common-carrier-obligation

What does the common carrier obligation mean for US railroads?

A parked grain train waits at a grain elevator.

When a U.S. freight railroad engages with a rail shipper of bulk commodities to haul goods, the railroad must abide by terms expressed in federal code. That federal code is known as the common carrier obligation.

According to the definition for common carrier obligation, “a rail carrier providing transportation or service subject to the jurisdiction of the [Surface Transportation Board] under this part shall provide the transportation or service on reasonable request.”

In other words, the common...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/what-does-the-common-carrier-obligation-mean-for-us-railroads

Stakeholders spar over scope of Surface Transportation Board’s authority

As Congress considers funding the Surface Transportation Board over the next several years, freight rail stakeholders are divided on whether the agency should maintain its current ability to address freight rail service and rate issues or if it is time to expand that authority.

That dispute was on display at a recent hearing on STB’s reauthorization in front of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) largely seeks to maintain the status...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/stakeholders-spar-over-scope-of-surface-transportation-boards-authority

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