STB UPDATE: Schultz, Not Yet Kloster

The Senate Commerce Committee will meet in executive session Wednesday, Nov. 19, to vote on whether to recommend for Senate confirmation numerous POTUS 47 nominees, including Republican Michelle A. Schultz, who is

POTUS 47 nominated Republican Richard Kloster to fill a vacant seat at the Surface Transportation Board and renominated Republican Michelle A. Schultz to a second term.

STB Nominees Endure Partisan Politics

What was expected to be a low-key Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing Nov 6 on the nomination of two Republicans to serve on the independent (from the Executive Branch) Surface Transportation Board (STB) took a dark turn into partisan politics.

New ICLE Report Highlights State of U.S. Rail Sector Competition

“The regulatory framework for freight rail must be updated to reflect both the current competitive landscape and the legal consequences of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v.

Commentary

Eliminating Paper Barriers is the Pro-Competitive Move

Prior to the Staggers of Act of 1980, the only way a Class I railroad could shed the cost of marginal or money losing light density rail line was abandonment. It was

CN on UP+NS Merger: ‘Our Customers’ Voices Must Be Heard’

Joining BNSF and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) in expressing their concerns about the proposed Union Pacific (UP)-Norfolk Southern (NS) merger, CN recently launched a page on its website encouraging its customers

Commentary

Why Not a Merger Timeout?

WATCHING WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 2025 ISSUE: Perhaps the gutsiest-ever regulatory agency decision was the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) 2001 imposition of a railroad merger moratorium. Its architect was then-STB Chairperson Linda J. Morgan. 

Former STB Member Frank Mulvey, 81

Francis Patrick (Frank) Mulvey, a Democrat who served on the Surface Transportation Board (STB) from May 2004 to December 2013, died Oct. 18 at 81. Among just six Ph.D. economists (of 117

Ryan Ratledge of Pinsly and Anna Lynn Smith of HDR. (Photographs courtesy of the respective organizations)

People News: Pinsly/STB, HDR, OLI

Pinsly Railroad Company President and CEO Ryan Ratledge joins the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council (RSTAC). Also, Anna Lynn Smith rejoins HDR as Intercity and High-Speed Rail Lead; and Operation Lifesaver, Inc., (OLI) welcomes four new state coordinators.

Commentary

Recusal for Primus if He Returns?

Democrat Robert E. Primus, fired Aug. 27 from his Senate-confirmed seat on the Surface Transportation Board (STB) by POTUS 47, wants his job back—and he is suing the Republican POTUS, as well

Commentary

The ‘End Game’ UP-NS Merger

On July 30, 2025, at the Surface Transportation Board, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern filed a notice of intent to file an Application for authority to merge. The earliest the Application may

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