This AskWaves article looks at how a U.S. federal government shutdown would affect freight rail operations and proposed rail safety and economic rulemakings.
Rail shippers largely welcome a reciprocal switching rule proposed last week by the Surface Transportation Board, but some wish it did more to incentivize rail competition.
Regulatory policy expert Rosyln Layton says it’s dangerous to have the Surface Transportation Board lay the grounds for defining how rail service should look under the common carrier obligation.
After years of wrangling over the issue, the Surface Transportation Board has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on reciprocal switching that will seek to define the service parameters where a switching action could take place.
Environmental and financial concerns weighed in the U.S. appeals court decision to reject the Surface Transportation Board’s approval of the construction of the Uinta Basin Railway.
In a 3-2 vote, the Surface Transportation Board denied BNSF’s request to halt an order compelling the railway to ship 1 million more tons of Montana coal should it reach the capacity to do so.
CSX’s chief operating officer, Jamie Boychuk, will be leaving the company, while the Rail Customer Coalition wants President Joe Biden to renominate Surface Transportation Board Chairman Marty Oberman and board member Patrick Fuchs to the board.
The Surface Transportation Board will look into whether freight rail operations are affecting the on-time performance of Amtrak’s passenger rail service between New Orleans and Los Angeles.
The Reliable Rail Service Act would charge the Surface Transportation Board to provide more clarity on the freight railroads’ common carrier obligation.
The Surface Transportation Board has ordered BNSF to meet the Navajo Transitional Energy Company’s request for more coal trains.
Calls to remove Surface Transportation Board Chairman Marty Oberman are misguided in light of regulatory efforts that Oberman and the current board have undertaken, labor groups tell President Joe Biden.
Passenger rail advocates call for swift action to resolve Amtrak’s substandard on-time performance for its Sunset Limited service. But freight rail supporters say better data is needed to assess what the problems are.
Surface Transportation Board Chair Marty Oberman at a national rail shippers conference urged the railroads to increase their employee levels as a way to improve rail service.
The unions blast the Class I railroads’ public statements on the railroads’ efforts to bolster employee head count in a filing to the Surface Transportation Board.
The Surface Transportation Board is grappling with fallout from its March decision to approve the CP-KCS merger. Three progressive groups want STB Chairman Marty Oberman stripped of his role, while western Chicago suburbs have filed a lawsuit against the board.
Union Pacific wants a federal court to review STB’s approval of the merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.
Shippers want Congress to expand FMC’s power over rail storage fees, but shipping lines say the power is already in the hands of the STB.
Union Pacific, BNSF and Norfolk Southern need to go further in improving rail service, according to a Surface Transportation Board decision requiring the railroads to submit service performance reports.
A roundup of recent news items from Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, Amtrak and the Surface Transportation Board.
BNSF and three unions reach sick leave deals; Trinity Industries acquires a 3PL; and STB names new members to an energy transportation advisory committee.
