President Obama announced his intention Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014, to renominate Daniel Ellliot III to the Surface Transportation Board for another term, and upon appointment assume the role of STB chair, which he currently holds.
Florida’s Canaveral Port Authority (CPA) has petitioned the Surface Transportation Board for permission to “construct and operate approximately 11 miles of new rail line to Port Canaveral (Port) in Brevard County, Florida.”
The Western Coal Traffic League (WCTL) has petitioned the Surface Transportation Board to “require BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) to submit to the Board a coal-specific service recovery plan, and for the Board to review, approve or revise, and enforce the recovery plan,” according to the STB. WCTL said that BNSF “intends to remove approximately 60 coal train sets from service,” despite ongoing service problems.
Figures released by the Surface Transportation Board on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, show total Class I railroad employment as of mid-September 2014 rose 3.35% to 168,703, from mid-September 2013, and also added 715 positions from mid-August 2014, a rise of 0.43%.
“Tawdry,” is how one Washington transportation attorney describes the self-interest assaults by powerful congressional lawmakers on federal regulatory agency officials.
The U.S. Surface Transportation Board announced Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014 that it is requiring all Class I railroads to publicly file weekly data reports regarding service performance “to promote industry-wide transparency, accountability, and improved service.”
TTX Co. said the Surface Transportation Board has approved a five-year extension of TTX’s pooling authority governing all types of flatcars, including those that handle intermodal traffic, finished automobiles, and specialized flatcars for lumber, heavy equipment, and other commodities.
