STB – Page 9 – Railfanning.org

STB Orders $345M in Rate Relief

February 20, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Boardgranted an estimated $345 million in reparations and rate reductions from the BNSF Railway (BNSF) to Western Fuels Association, Inc. and Basin Electric Power Cooperative Inc. The Utilities had challenged the railroad transportation rates charged by BNSF to haul 8 million tons of coal each year from mines in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin to their electric-generating plant in Moba Junction, Wyo., the STB said. The utility plant is captive to BNSF and provides electricity into grids serving consumers in Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming, the STB said.

STB Announces Speakers Lineup

February 6, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board provided a schedule of speakers’ appearances and their time allocations for the Board’s Feb. 11 public hearing on the Board’s new responsibilities under the recently passed Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008. The Act enhances the Board’s role with regard to Amtrak and its relationships with commuter rail operators, host railroads, states and the public.

STB: New Method for Calculating Railroad Industry Cost of Capital

January 28, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — the Surface Transportation Board issued its final decision revising its method for calculating the railroad industry’s cost of capital. The Board adopts a simple average of a Capital Asset Pricing model (CAPM) and a multi-stage Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model to calculate the cost of equity—one component of the cost of capital. The Board concludes that this methodology will yield a more precise determination than relying on CAPM alone. In January 2008, the Board replaced its single-stage DCF model with a CAPM model. During the CAPM rulemaking process, several parties urged the Board to use a multi-stage DCF

STB Asks for Comments on Clean Railroads Act of 2008

January 14, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking requesting comments on proposed rules to implement The Clean Railroads Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110-432), concerning solid waste rail transfer facilities. The proposed rules also will serve as interim rules until completion of the rulemaking proceeding. The Clean Railroads Act, enacted in October 2008, adds new sections 10908-10 to Title 49 of the United States Code. Those sections limit the Board’s authority related to solid waste rail transfer facilities and expand the authority of states to regulate these facilities. The proposed rules address such topics as

Surface Transportation Board Approves Routes for Southwest Gulf Railroad Line

December 31, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

SAN ANTONIO — Southwest Gulf Railroad (SGR), a subsidiary of Vulcan Materials Co., announced it has received approval from the federal Surface Transportation Board to construct a 9-mile rail line in Medina County, Texas. The STB’s approval allows three environmentally acceptable route options for the SGR line. The approval follows an extensive five-year review of the project that included multiple revisions and improvements, resulting in route modifications that were requested as well as extensive mitigation measures designed to protect the environment and historic resources. SGR said it fully supports these mitigation measures. “We are pleased with the STB’s decision. We

STB Approves CN Acquisition of EJ&E

December 24, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board unanimously approved the Canadian National Railway Company and Grand Trunk Corporation application to acquire control of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E), subject to a number of Board-imposed conditions. “Approval of this important railroad merger, with the conditions we have imposed, marks a significant step forward in our nation’s efforts to alleviate rail and highway congestion,” Board Chairman Charles D. Nottingham said. “I am pleased that the Board agreed, in a bipartisan and unanimous manner, after an unprecedented public involvement process, to grant the relief that this merger will provide to the

STB to Hole Hearing on Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008

December 23, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board announced it will hold a public hearing on Feb. 11 to allow interested persons to comment on the Board’s new responsibilities in the recently passed Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008. The Act enhances the Board’s role in various types of disputes between the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), commuter rail operators, host railroads over which they operate, or States that seek to use Amtrak equipment or services with respect to cost allocations, quality of service, compensation, liability, and other terms for provision of service.

STB Grants Final Approval for Texas Line

December 19, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board (Board) announced it has issued a decision granting final approval for Southwest Gulf Railroad Company (SGR) to construct and operate a rail line in Medina County, Texas, subject to environmental mitigation conditions. The Board identified three environmentally acceptable routing alternatives, any one of which SGR may now build. The new rail line will extend from Vulcan Construction Material’s planned limestone quarry in the north central part of Medina County to a connection with the Del Rio Subdivision of the Union Pacific Railroad Co. near Dunlay, Texas. Limestone aggregate from the quarry will be transported

New Rail Competition Study Rejects Reregulation

December 19, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – A new study for the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on competition in the freight railroad industry says that “both railroads and their customers benefited” from the partial rail deregulation introduced by the Staggers Rail Act of 1980. The study also rejected the principal proposals for reregulation of the railroad industry, saying they could harm the industry or would otherwise be inappropriate. “We’re pleased that this independent study has affirmed key economic principles on which the STB has relied for many years in its regulation of the railroad industry,” said Association of American Railroads (AAR) President and CEO Edward

CN, Schererville, Ind., Agree on Mitigation Plan for EJ&E Transaction

December 19, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO — CN announced an agreement with the Town of Schererville, Ind., located 28 miles south of Chicago, that would mitigate the impact on the community of CN’s proposed acquisition of the principal lines of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E). Under the agreement, CN will assist in the creation and maintenance of quiet zones in Schererville, and take various steps to improve train operations, communications, and emergency preparedness in the municipality. The agreement is contingent upon regulatory approval of CN’s proposed acquisition of the EJ&E. The transaction is being reviewed by the Surface Transportation Board (STB), which