The STB is an economic regulatory agency charged with resolving freight railroad rate and service disputes, reviewing proposed rail mergers, rail line purchases, constructions and abandonments. The Board also oversees Amtrak’s on-time performance and has jurisdiction over other matters. For more information click here.
Items of Interest
Berkshire Hathaway Compliance with Railroad Control Law
The Board has directed Berkshire Hathaway to remedy promptly its noncompliance with railroad control requirements for its 2010 acquisition of BNSF Railway Company. According to Berkshire, its subsidiaries owned two shortline railroads prior to the BNSF acquisition, but it had not sought required Board approval for the BNSF acquisition because, Berkshire states, it was unaware at that time of these holdings. Click here to read Berkshire's notification letter and to read the Board's reply, click here. To read Berkshire's response, click here. Click here to read the STB's process for handling the Berkshire Hathaway
noncompliance matter.
Draft Environmental Assessment Issued
The Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis has issued for public review
and comment its Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) on CSX’s proposed
acquisition of an easement over the “Elsdon Line,” between Munster and
Elsdon, Illinois, southeast of Chicago, to move some of its trains more
quickly and at less expense through the area. The Draft EA analyzes
potential environmental impacts from increased train traffic over a portion
of the Elsdon Line. Comments are due November 9th. To view the Draft EA,
click here.
CN Acquisition Audit Report
The Board released on June 18th a report on a second independent Board-ordered audit of the Canadian National Ry. and Grand Trunk Corp., --Control--EJ&E West Co. (STB Finance Docket No. 35087) transaction. The audit report was prepared by HDR Engineering, Inc. To view the audit report, click here.
Managing Service Demands
Chairman Daniel R. Elliott III wrote a letter to railroads on June 8, 2012 requesting their plans for managing service demands through the end of year. To see the Chairman's letters and the railroads’ responses, click here.
URCS
The STB has made technical improvements to several aspects of the Uniform Railroad Costing System (URCS) Phase III Railroad Cost Program to make it more user-friendly. To learn more, click here.
2010 Public Use Waybill
The 2010 Public Use Waybill Sample is now available. To download that information click here.
2010 URCS Data Available
2010 Uniform Railroad Costing System (URCS) information, which applies the Board's 2010 cost-of-capital finding for the rail industry, is now available. To see that information, click here.
Got a Complaint?
Need help from the Board without filing a formal complaint? The Rail Customer and Public Assistance team offers a free, confidential avenue to settle disputes between shippers and railroads. Read more about the program here.