Surface Transportation Board

Shippers, unions, railroads take sides at Senate hearing

A photograph of a train traveling through a desert.

The debate about how much oversight Congress and the Surface Transportation Board (STB) should have regarding freight rail operations and rates took center stage at a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee last week.

At one corner was the Association of American Railroads (AAR), which represents the Class I railroads operating in the U.S. and argues that the status quo enables the railroads to make the millions needed to maintain, invest and expand the nation’s freight rail network. At the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shippers-unions-railroads-take-sides-at-senate-hearing

Wabtec to reduce headcount as rail industry copes with lower volumes

A photograph of a locomotive traveling through a desert field.

Wabtec (NYSE: WAB) plans to let go of 150 employees at its facility in Erie, Pennsylvania, amid ongoing rail volume softness exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The headcount reduction comes as the Surface Transportation Board (STB) released data this week that showed that employment levels within the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads fell 13.7% in September year-over-year (see below).

Wabtec, a rail equipment and technology provider, said the reduction was made “to align with today’s...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/wabtec-to-reduce-headcount-as-rail-industry-copes-with-lower-volumes

Freight rail shippers press STB to consider additional data requirements

A photograph of a train passing by a rail crossing.

A coalition of freight rail shippers is still urging the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to press for additional rail service data from the Class I railroads, according to a filing last week.

The shippers say the additional data might help better inform the board and other rail stakeholders on how to resolve rail service issues that arise at the first mile and last mile. Furthermore, the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads already collect the data and so it wouldn’t cause an additional...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freight-rail-shippers-press-stb-to-consider-additional-data-requirements

Staggers Act settles a bit uneasily onto cusp of middle age

On Oct. 14, 1980, President Jimmy Carter affixed pen to paper and put nearly a century of U.S. railroad history permanently out to pasture.

The Staggers Rail Act, named for its sponsor, Rep. Harley O. Staggers, a West Virginia Democrat, ended much of the 93 years of federal railroad regulation. The act drastically diminished the influence of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which had been established in 1887 to oversee the railroads and curb their abuse of market power. It sent a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-staggers-act-settles-a-bit-uneasily-onto-cusp-of-middle-age

Freight rail advocacy group to STB: Keep rail regulation ‘balanced’

A photograph of railcars parked in a rail yard.

An advocacy group for U.S. freight rail is asking the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to be mindful of how it applies its oversight in governing rail service.

GoRail, a national grassroots advocacy organization, said the freight railroads need “balanced” rail regulation that doesn’t cause wholesale changes, according to a Wednesday letter to the STB. 

Unlike other transportation modes, the Class I railroads spend billions of dollars annually to maintain and develop their networks, and the rail...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/freight-rail-advocacy-group-to-stb-keep-rail-regulation-balanced

Cargill urging regulators to seek last-mile metrics from railroads (with video)

Responding to pressure to be more transparent about their service performance following the major railroad mergers of the 1990s, the freight railroads began providing shippers and regulators weekly data on metrics such as rail car velocity and terminal dwell times.

But one measure that they haven’t been providing, asserts an executive at one of the country’s largest agribusiness companies, is how well they’ve been performing against the promise of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), an...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cargill-urging-regulators-to-seek-last-mile-metrics-from-railroads-with-video

Surface Transportation Board seeks input on class exemption methods

A photograph of grain hopper cars traveling on some railroad track. There is a mountain range in the distance.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is seeking input on a new approach that looks at how it considers class exemption and revocation issues.

The board’s request came a day before it declared that five of the seven Class I railroads were revenue adequate for 2019.

Shippers for commodities such as forest products and scrap recycling have sought for their exemptions to be lifted so that the STB has greater oversight over them. These shoppers say that lifting the exemptions would give them  access...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/surface-transportation-board-seeks-input-on-class-exemption-methods

Grain shippers brace for tight rail market

A photograph of a train with hoppers. The train is crossing a desert-like landscape.

As U.S. grain producers prepare for the 2020-21 crop year, one concern is that the Class I railroads won’t have enough network capacity to handle the double whammy of a bountiful harvest and higher export volumes.

Unlike harvests in recent years, there is stronger export demand from China following the Phase One trade deal in which China agreed to buy as much as $80 billion worth of U.S. agricultural goods over the next two years. 

“You’re going to see our supply chain tasked with having to do a...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/grain-shippers-brace-for-tight-rail-market

Commentary: Railway insight from New England

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

Rail business is often best understood right up close — along a Class I rail company’s branch lines or out along a much smaller regional rail carrier’s track or sometimes inside a port.

With this in mind, this column examines what’s happening in New England. That is the small, six-state area, plus some geography into eastern New York, eastern Quebec and the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary-railway-insight-from-new-england

Class I railroads, shippers alike weigh in on federal agencies’ feedback request

A photograph of a train at a highway grade crossing.

An August request from the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) asking the Class I railroads to report how they’re addressing service issues amid rising rail volumes got a response from shippers as well.

Shippers seek data for first-mile/last-mile movements

A coalition of shippers is asking the Board and FRA to consider collecting data covering first-mile and last-mile rail movements so that the Board can have a more informed view of rail service.

“Our...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/class-i-railroads-shippers-alike-weigh-in-on-federal-agencies-feedback-request

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