WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board announced today that it will hold a public hearing April 30 to examine issues related to the Uniform Railroad Costing System (URCS) used by the Board to determine a railroad’s variable costs in a variety of regulatory proceedings.
URCS calculates system-average variable costs for each Class I railroad based on information annually reported to the Board. The Board believes it is time for a review of URCS to determine whether, and to what extent, modifications are needed to account for recent changes in agency procedures, to improve system outputs, and to further the national rail transportation policy set by Congress.
Accordingly, the Board is seeking comments and suggestions on changes to URCS in a variety of areas. The Board has identified 13 specific topics but welcomes comments on other aspects of URCS that require updating.
The April 30 public hearing will begin at 9 a.m. in the Board’s Hearing Room on the 1st Floor of the agency’s headquarters at Patriot’s Plaza, 395 E Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.
