Relief Captive Shippers
As railroads have merged and become more powerful in recent years, competition in the rail industry has all but disappeared, and North Dakota’s farmers, manufacturers and other shippers are paying the price.
Our rail system is broken. It is dominated by regional monopolies that can demand outrageous prices from North Dakota’s shippers without any fear of competition. In fact, one estimate by our Public Service Commission found that the lack of rail competition in North Dakota costs our farmers and businesses nearly $100 million each and every year.
Senator Dorgan, along with Senator Jay Rockefeller (D–WV) and a bipartisan group of Senators, introduced the Railroad Competition and Service Improvement Act of 2007, S.953, to prevent railroad companies from charging “captive shippers” exorbitant rates in areas where there is little or no rail competition. The legislation gives the Surface Transportation Board (STB) new authority to require that rail shippers are treated fairly and charged reasonable rates. The bill also puts an end to the high fees that the STB charges rail shippers when they want to file a complaint against railroads that overcharge them.
Senator Dorgan is a member of the Senate Commerce Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the rail industry.
All Americans whether they are farmers shipping their crops to market, businesses shipping goods, or consumers buying a product deserve to have a rail transportation system with fair prices.
