Jay Roman in a recent Railway Age article (STB’s Annual Rail Rate Index Study: A Deeper Dive – Railway Age) alleged the new STB rate study was flawed because it did not
GATX Corp. elevated Paul F. Titterton to President of Rail North America. In addition, Keolis North America (Keolis) promoted Ryan Adams to Executive Vice President; Pacific West, LLC named Peter Touesnard CEO; Surface Transportation Board (STB) Member Michelle Schultz has been designated agency Vice Chair; and Société de transport de Montréal (STM) CEO Luc Tremblay is stepping down.
Decision Day draws closer in the tussle between Amtrak and potential host railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern (NS) before the Surface Transportation Board (STB) over whether or not there will be passenger trains running between New Orleans and Mobile in the near future.
The Surface Transportation Board on Jan. 28 issued a decision denying a request from the Association of American Railroads to extend the procedural schedule in Docket No. EP 711 (Sub-No. 1) et al., Reciprocal Switching; regarding the Board’s NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) on reciprocal switching regulations. “All procedural dates remain unchanged, including those for the public hearing beginning on March 15, 2022,” STB said.
The newly released STB Annual Rail Rate Index Study (Study) summarizes trends in freight rail rates between 1985 and 2019. The Study shows that inflation-adjusted Real Rail Rates have decreased 27% over the past 34 years. Because Real rail rates are lower now than in 1985, the STB Study may be read by some to imply that current rail rates are reasonable in relation to what they have been historically. Unfortunately, this is not an accurate conclusion, because the historical trend in rates provides an incomplete picture of the change in cost of shipping freight by rail.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) have been allowed to file additional comments with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) regarding Amtrak’s application to operate Gulf Coast service.
American Chemistry Council members late last year reported experiencing shipping delays, shortages of raw materials and increased transportation costs—disruptions that “proved costly, with more than one-third of companies reporting additional costs exceeding $20 million over a one-year period,” according to an association survey.
On Dec. 17, the Surface Transportation Board released a new rate study, which you may have missed in the holiday rush. I know I did. If you did and have an interest
CN reported on Jan. 13 that it will ask the Surface Transportation Board (STB) “to condition any approval of a Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger on the divestiture of KCS lines from Kansas City, Missouri to Springfield and East St. Louis, Illinois (the Springfield Line) to CN, pursuant to the STB’s statutory authority to order ‘the divestiture of parallel tracks’ as a merger condition.” CP immediately responded, negatively.
Amtrak is backing Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern’s proposed combination, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), and CP is committing to support Amtrak’s service expansion in two U.S. regions, the railroads reported on Jan. 6.