STB

STB chairman will not seek reappointment to agency

Surface Transportation Board Chairman Marty Oberman will not seek reappointment to the agency, the STB confirmed late Thursday.

STB spokesman Michael Booth said Oberman announced at the RailTrends conference in New York that he had decided against seeking reappointment, according to a news release from the board. The release said Oberman will continue to serve several months into next year, which is within his one-year holdover period. His current term is set to expire on Dec. 31 of this year.

STB...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/stb-chairman-will-not-seek-reappointment-to-agency

Rail service becomes bigger political football

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Bipartisan agreement that rail service is poor 

As described by FreightWaves’ Joanna Marsh, a group of 19 senators from 13 states wrote a letter to Surface Transportation Board (STB — the federal agency tasked with economic regulation of the freight railroads) Chairman Marty Oberman...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rail-service-becomes-bigger-political-football

What is the Surface Transportation Board?

A photograph of a train passing through a rail crossing.

Freight rail mergers and acquisitions. Disagreements over rail rates. There is a federal agency that oversees these and a host of other issues: the Surface Transportation Board.

The STB is an independent agency separate from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The board primarily oversees economic regulations related to the railroads, although it also has some jurisdiction over pipelines and certain motor carrier-related functions. 

For the railroads, STB’s economic oversight includes railroad...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/what-is-the-surface-transportation-board

STB presses Class I railroads for workforce, equipment input

A photograph of a train rolling by.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has asked the Class I railroads through a series of recent letters to keep in close touch with regulators as the U.S. economy recovers, fall peak approaches and port congestion and chassis availability clog the supply chain.

Specifically, the board is asking the Class I railroads to provide their long-term plans in hiring as well as continue to provide information on demurrage and accessorial charges. 

Last Thursday, STB Chairman Marty Oberman sent a letter...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/stb-presses-class-i-railroads-for-workforce-equipment-input

Biden nominates rail expert to Surface Transportation Board

A photograph of a rail yard with a city skyline in the distance.

U.S. President Joe Biden has nominated passenger rail expert Karen Hedlund to serve as a member of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), according to a Wednesday announcement from the White House.

Hedlund could replace current board member and former board chairman Ann Begeman, whose term will come to a close at the end of 2021.

Hedlund has served as a legal adviser at the federal, state and local levels and has been involved in the development and financing of infrastructure projects related...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/biden-nominates-rail-expert-to-surface-transportation-board

News Alert: Regulators say older merger rules apply to Kansas City Southern

A photograph of a Kansas City Southern train in a rail yard.

A proposed merger between Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) and Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) can proceed under older rules governing Class I mergers, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) determined Friday.

In a late Friday decision, STB confirmed that Kansas City Southern (KCS) is exempt from following the newer merger rules made after 2001. By allowing KCS to maintain its waiver from the post-2001 rules, a proposed merger between KCS and CP could occur under pre-2001 rules.

Under the post-2001...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/news-alert-regulators-say-older-merger-rules-apply-to-kansas-city-southern

Justice Department, CP and KCS spar over rail merger process

A photograph of two locomotives. One is from Canadian Pacific and the other is from Kansas City Southern.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) disagree on whether CP’s use of a voting trust during its proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) will interfere with how regulators review the merger.

To facilitate the merger, CP and Kansas City Southern (KCS) plan to establish a voting trust to acquire KCS shares, pending shareholder approval. CP says that putting KCS shares in a voting trust will insulate KCS from control by CP until the Surface...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/justice-department-cp-and-kcs-spar-over-rail-merger-process

CP, KCS send regulators scores of additional letters backing rail merger

A photograph of Kansas City Southern train traveling through a grassy field.

Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) and Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) have submitted 75 more letters from a variety of organizations to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in support of the merger between the two Class I railroads.

The STB will be responsible for approving the proposed merger, which CP and Kansas City Southern (KCS) first announced in late March. The railroads hope STB will complete its review of the merger in mid-2022. Shareholders of CP and KCS must also approve the plan.

The...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/cp-kcs-send-regulators-scores-of-additional-letters-backing-rail-merger

Shippers embrace STB’s demurrage billing rule

A photograph of a train at a manufacturing facility.

Shippers groups are praising the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) effort to address issues with demurrage billing, saying the final rule brings transparency and accountability into the billing process.

Some also hope that this week’s final rule will be part of a longer-term study of how precision scheduled railroading (PSR) has affected the industry, since the number of demurrage billing disputes increased as the railroads implemented PSR. Demurrage charges are the fees that the freight...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shippers-embrace-stbs-demurrage-billing-rule

Surface Transportation Board chair weighs in on proposed mergers

A composite image of two train locomotives. On the left is CP and on the right is KCS.

Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairman Martin J. “Marty” Oberman provided glimpses Tuesday into how the agency will consider two proposed acquisitions: CSX’s (NASDAQ: CSX) plan to purchase New England short line Pan Am Railways and Canadian Pacific’s (NYSE: CP) goal of merging with Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU).

The board expects to treat the proposed CP-Kansas City Southern (KCS) merger as a “major” transaction.This acquisition would be “the first major transaction to seek board...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/surface-transportation-board-chair-weighs-in-on-proposed-mergers

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