STB
Shippers Ask Feds for Rail Changes
A national coalition of shippers, including electric co-ops, wants federal regulators to change a system of freight rail oversight that it says provides more protection for foreign imports than for U.S. goods and jobs.
Shippers want federal regulators to review freight rail practices. (Photo By: iStockphoto)
By taking steps to alleviate the pressure on shippers who lack access to competitive service, the Surface Transportation Board can boost the U.S. economy, job creation and exports, according to Consumers United for Rail Equity.
“With a few simple adjustments in policy, which rail customers are convinced the board has the legal authority to adopt, increased rail-to-rail competition will benefit at least some domestic manufacturers and producers,” the group said in an April 12 filing with the STB.
The three-member board has been taking comments in advance of a major hearing June 22 in Washington, D.C., on the state of competition in the freight rail business. NRECA CEO Glenn English is chairman of the shippers group and signatory on the comments.
Under the current system, shippers contended, imports arrive at U.S. ports with multiple railroad options, so they can choose from competing prices and levels of service.
“By contrast, many of our rail-dependent domestic manufacturers and producers are served by a single railroad system, often resulting in captive or at least very high rates and unreliable service,” the filing said.
Shippers asked the board to allow them to seek competitive rate quotes to any interchanging point on a competing rail system, something that past STB rulings have limited.
They also are seeking an end to long-term “paper barriers” that enable major carriers to extend their reach over smaller railroads for decades at a time.
The board traditionally has been viewed as closely tied to the rail industry, though it sided with shippers recently in a rate case filed by Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Bismarck, N.D., and a coal residue case filed by Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp., Little Rock.
Tags: Captive Shipper, Railroad Reform, Surface Transportation Board