STB Clarifies Decision in Sanimax V. Union Pacific

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Feb. 24 clarified its previous decision regarding Sanimax USA LLC’s common carrier obligation and unreasonable practices complaint against Union Pacific (UP).

Commentary

Point/Counterpoint: STB Annual Rail Rate Index Study

Editor’s Note: The following is the conclusion to a respectful exchange of ideas between former Surface Transportation Board Director and Chief Economist Dr. William Huneke and Jay Roman, President of Escalation Consultants, Inc. about the

Figure 1 shows the real, inflation-adjusted Rail Rate Index over time. (Courtesy: STB Annual Rail Rate Index Study: 1985-2020)

STB Issues Annual Rail Rate Index Study: 1985-2020

The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Economics (OE) has published the Annual Rail Rate Index Study: 1985-2020, summarizing trends in freight railroad rates.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg

USDOT Releases Supply Chain Resiliency Action Plan (Updated)

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Feb. 24 issued a report laying out steps the federal government, in partnership with Congress, states and private companies, can take to help boost supply chain resiliency across freight transportation modes, including rail.

CP-KCS Merger Proceeding Moves Forward

BNSF and CN last month told the Surface Transportation Board (STB) they may request limited overhead trackage rights and a line divestiture, respectively, due to the proposed merger of Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS).

STB’s FMLM Mounting Minutiae Mountain

The paperwork, or “mountain of minutiae,” as some observers see it, continues to pile up at the Surface Transportation Board as a growing list of hearings, complaint filings, litigation and proposed rulemakings continues to occupy the rail industry’s time and resources.

In September 2021, Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern agreed to combine, forming Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the first U.S.-Mexico-Canada rail network. The Surface Transportation Board on Nov. 23, accepted for consideration their merger application.

STB Advances Environmental Review of CPKC

The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) is moving forward with its assessment of Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s (CPKC) potential effects on the environment.

To Boost Conductor Trainee Recruits, NS Offering Bonuses

Norfolk Southern (NS) conductor trainees can now expect up to $5,000 in starting bonuses, the Class I railroad reported on Feb. 17.

Commentary

STB Slug-Out: Amtrak vs. CSX, Round 1

In the twelfth in a series of reports and commentaries concerning the ongoing “Second Battle of Mobile Bay,” Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono called for “reason” to prevail and urged the parties to

AAR to STB: Reciprocal Switching a ‘Wealth Transfer to More-Profitable Entities’

On March 15-16, the Surface Transportation Board, more than a year after emerging from a long period of public-near-silence following the election of Joe Biden as President of the United States, will hold a hearing (STB Ex Parte No. 711, Sub-No. 1) on reciprocal (“forced”) switching, a subject upon which freight railroads and many of their major customers have been deeply divided for a very long time.

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