News item: Republican Ann Dawn Begeman, 52, was confirmed by the Senate in December to a second term—expiring Dec. 31, 2020—on the five-person Surface Transportation Board (STB). Expect her to be named STB Chairman by President Trump, succeeding Democrat Dan Elliott, who was President Obama’s choice as Chairman.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) on Jan. 13 responded to comments filed by a group of shippers to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for new mandated reciprocal switching (“forced access”) regulation. The AAR believes this new regulation “would force railroads to turn their traffic over to competitor railroads.”
The Surface Transportation Board on Dec. 15, 2016 granted Genesee & Wyoming Inc. authority to acquire control of Providence & Worcester Railroad Co.
The Surface Transportation Board announced Dec. 14 that it has adopted a final rule to establish procedures for Board-initiated investigations concerning railroad issues of national or regional significance pursuant to Section 12 of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015 (Reauthorization Act), Pub. L. No. 114-110, 129 Stat. 2228 (2015). Before passage of the Reauthorization Act, the Board could commence an investigation only in response to a stakeholder’s complaint, rather than upon its own initiative. Today’s final rule also marks the last milestone in the Board’s implementation of the Reauthorization Act.
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is seeking nominations for candidates to fill a small shipper representative vacancy, and a Class I railroad representative vacancy, on the Board’s Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council (RSTAC), and is soliciting suggestions for candidates to fill these vacancies.
Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), issued this statement on the confirmation of Ann Begeman to another term as Surface Transportation Board (STB) Board Member:
President Obama on Dec. 7 nominated Ann Begeman to another five-year term on the Surface Transportation Board. She was approved by voice vote in an Executive Session of the Senate Commerce Committee within hours of Obama’s nomination reaching the Committee, and then quickly confirmed by the full Senate on Dec. 9.
The U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) has released a study, “Freight Rail Pricing,” which suggests that rail shippers are amenable to longer-term contracts but wary of pricing.
The Surface Transportation Board is adopting a final rule, U.S. Rail Service Issues—Performance Data Reporting, Docket EP 724 (Sub-No. 4), that will require all Class I’s, and the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office (CTCO), through its Class I members, to report service performance metrics on a weekly, semiannual, and “occasional” basis.
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on November 29 issued a final rule implementing passenger rail-related dispute resolution provisions of Title XI of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (“FAST Act”), Pub. L. No. 114-94.