The Surface Transportation Board has proposed repealing a 1985 rule governing reciprocal switching, through routes, and through rates, saying the change would remove regulatory barriers and expand competitive options for shippers and railroads.
In a unanimous Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Board moved to rescind 49 C.F.R. part 1144, a framework that has been interpreted to require shippers to show anticompetitive conduct and satisfy other tests before the agency could order competitive access. The STB said those requirements narrowed its statutory discretion and have proven unworkable, noting the agency has never issued a competitive access prescription under part 1144 since the Staggers Rail Act granted authority more than four decades ago.
If adopted, the proposal would restore case-by-case decision-making under existing law. The Board could require reciprocal switching — transfers between carriers within a terminal area that are incidental to a line haul — when practicable, in the public interest or necessary to provide competitive rail service. It could also prescribe through routes and rates for long-distance movements involving multiple carriers when, in the public interest, desirable.
The Board framed the action as a pro-competitive step that better aligns with congressional intent and evolving industry conditions, allowing the agency to weigh each request in the full context of a carrier’s operations and market circumstances.
The move follows a broader federal effort to pare back rules seen as restraining competition. After the Justice Department launched an Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force in March, shipper groups representing the chemical, agricultural, energy, and other sectors urged the Board to revisit part 1144, arguing that current barriers leave many businesses with limited or no rail transportation options.
The proposal will proceed through the STB’s rulemaking process, including a public comment period.
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