Commentary

Kloster Advances; STB Questions Lurk

Surface Transportation Board (STB) nominee and Republican Richard Kloster received a favorable vote from the Senate Commerce Committee March 12 to fill one of two vacant seats on the five-member Board. The positive vote was along party lines, 15-13. Kloster’s name now will be forwarded to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) for advancement to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote.

Commentary

The 1,550-Pound Gorilla – Part 4 of 5

This is the fourth in a five-part series about railroad growth coming from truck conversions focused on the criticality of rail-to-rail competition to achieve Union Pacific’s growth outcome stated in the Dec.

Commentary

STB’s Preordained ‘Energizer Bunny’

WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE MARCH 2026 ISSUE: For Surface Transportation Board (STB) Vice Chairperson Republican Michelle A. Schultz, preparation and persistence paved what likely was an already preordained career path.  Serving a

(Courtesy of the Government Accountability Office)

U.S. Army to STB: ‘Consider the Unique Needs of National Defense’

The Railroads for National Defense (RND) Program within the U.S. Army Transportation Command has submitted comments in response to the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) decision last month proposing what it called “a

(Map Courtesy of GRTA)

STB Denies California Adverse Abandonment Request

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has denied a State of California agency’s application for third-party, or “adverse,” abandonment of Mendocino Railway’s (MRY) approximately 40-mile stub-ended rail line so that it can facilitate the development of a recreational trail on an adjacent rail corridor. The Board noted that, among other factors, “MRY has demonstrated a present and future need for use of its line” between Fort Bragg and Willits, Calif.

(Composite photograph courtesy of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern)

UP-NS Release Merger-Application Refiling Date

Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) submitted a letter of intent for their major merger application refiling on Feb. 17, the deadline the Surface Transportation Board (STB) set earlier this year

STB Chairman Patrick Fuchs (Courtesy of STB)

STB Continues Clearing Case Backlog

Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairman Patrick Fuchs has released a progress report on outstanding proceedings. The move, the STB said Feb. 6, continues the agency’s “efforts to promote transparency and accountability.”

Commentary

UP-NS Merger Perspectives, With Farrukh Bezar: RAIL GROUP ON AIR

Farrukh Bezar and Railway Age Editor-In-Chief William C. Vantuono discuss the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk merger to create the first east-west transcontinental Class I railroad in the U.S. Bezar offers his views on

(Courtesy of UP)
Commentary

STB Rejection of UP-NS Merger: A Delay, Not a Judgment

Americans experience the economy through reliability and affordability—not through the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) document review process. When a factory stops production because railcars arrive three days late, consumers do not care

(Bruce Kelly Photograph)
Commentary

Multiple Tracks

FREIGHT RAIL WASHINGTON OUTLOOK, RAILWAY AGE FEBRUARY 2026 ISSUE: Federal oversight and investment top the list of Washington issues beyond UP-NS, but tech policy also merits scrutiny in this midterm election year.

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