Surface Transportation Board

Metra renews suit against STB over CP-KCS merger approval

Chicago commuter rail provider Metra has renewed its lawsuit criticizing how the Surface Transportation Board handled its review of the merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern. Metra joins Union Pacific and a Chicago-area citizens group in suing STB.

In a Sept. 29 filing before the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., Metra asked the court to find that STB’s March 15 approval of the CP-KCS merger was unlawful and should be sent back to the board so it can address...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/metra-sues-stb-over-cp-kcs-merger-approval

‘More needs to be done to promote freight rail competition’

U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., want the Surface Transportation Board to press on with a rulemaking they say could enable shippers to receive better rail service and make the U.S. rail network more resilient.

The two senators sent a letter to STB Chairman Marty Oberman dated Monday asking him to “move swiftly” on regulation for reciprocal switching. 

Reciprocal switching is a process that would grant a shipper with access to the network of another Class I...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/more-needs-to-be-done-to-promote-freight-rail-competition

How will a government shutdown affect freight railroads?

On the surface, a government shutdown — which can occur if Congress can’t agree on how to handle the appropriations budgets — would have a limited impact on freight rail operations.

Freight railroads will keep running, transporting parts, materials and goods within North America and to and from the coastal ports. Ensuring safe operations will also be paramount, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

“As a privately owned and maintained industry, rail operations will continue...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-will-a-government-shutdown-affect-freight-railroads

Reciprocal switching proposal gets mixed reactions from rail shippers

Rail shippers are still digesting the Surface Transportation Board’s proposed rule for reciprocal switching, but initial reactions are mixed. Shippers back efforts to make the collection of first- and last-mile data permanent and standardize metrics for sufficient rail service, but some also wish the rule would do more to incentivize rail competition.

“All five board members said yes. That’s huge, right? There were no dissenting votes. So, we as the shipper community and the railroad community...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/reciprocal-switching-proposal-gets-mixed-reactions-from-rail-shippers

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

STB takes long-awaited step in addressing rail service standards

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The Surface Transportation Board has taken a major step in addressing rail service to shippers by...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/stb-takes-long-awaited-step-in-addressing-rail-service-standards

Appeals court chides STB for failures in Uinta Basin Railway project review

A three-person panel of judges determined that the Surface Transportation Board’s review of a planned project to construct an 85-mile-long rail line in the Uinta Basin in Utah that would carry crude oil was insufficient and lacked substance in part because it didn’t delve deeply into the project’s environmental ramifications. The decision puts the project into timeline limbo.

“Despite its protestations to the contrary, the Board cannot ignore and, in the past, has not ignored serious concerns...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/appeals-court-chides-stb-for-failures-in-uinta-basin-railway-project-review

STB decides against BNSF’s request to stay coal order

The Surface Transportation Board has denied a request from BNSF to halt part of an order that compels the railway to ship coal from Navajo Transitional Energy Company’s (NTEC) mine in Montana to the Pacific Northwest for export.

The board’s June order had two parts: It called for BNSF to transport a minimum of 4.2 million tons of coal on an annual basis in 2023 from the Spring Creek mine to Westshore Terminal and it called for BNSF to transport an additional 1 million annual tons in 2023 should...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/stb-decides-against-bnsfs-request-to-stay-coal-order

CSX exec to depart; rail shippers urge renomination of STB members

A pair of unrelated statements Friday on freight rail leadership transitions underscore the push and pull of leadership dynamics of the industry.

CSX’s executive vice president of operations to depart

Jamie Boychuk, executive vice president of operations for eastern U.S. Class I rail carrier CSX, is leaving, the company said Friday.

CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) didn’t specify when his last day would be, but the railroad thanked Boychuk for his six years of contributions to the company as well as his role in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/csx-exec-to-depart-rail-shippers-urge-renomination-of-stb-members

STB will investigate Amtrak claim of ‘freight train interference’

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The Surface Transportation Board said it will look into why Amtrak’s Sunset Limited passenger train...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/stb-will-investigate-amtrak-claim-of-freight-train-interference

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