Short Line/Regional
STB
Canadian National
CN: Disappointed in Court Decision on EJ&E Grade Separation Projects
CHICAGO — CN expressed disappointment with the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Washington, D.C. denying the company’s request to reverse the Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) order requiring the railroad pay for the majority of the costs associated with two highway grade separation projects. In its Dec. 24, 2008 decision approving CN’s acquisition of the principal portion of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E), the STB ordered CN to pay 67 percent of the cost for a grade separation at Ogden Avenue in Aurora, Ill., and 78.5 percent of a separation at Lincoln Highway in Lynwood,
Short Line/Regional
STB Issues Supplemental Draft EIS for R.J. Corman Line in Penn.
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board said its Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) has issued a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) for the R. J. Corman Railroad Company/Pennsylvania Lines Inc.’s (RJCP) proposed construction, operation, and reactivation of a 20-mile railroad line between Wallaceton and Gorton, in Clearfield and Centre Counties, Penn.
STB
STB Lowers Filing Fees
The Surface Transportation Board said it has moved to significantly reduce filing fees for shipper complaints to $350. Currently, shippers are charged as much as $20,600 to file a complaint. The proposed rulemaking, approved by the STB, would implement a new fee schedule that would charge shippers $350 to file a rate or unreasonable practice complaint. The fee to file an expedited small rate case would remain $150. “Charging a small business more than $20,000 to bring a complaint is not right,’’ said STB Chairman Daniel R. Elliott III. “I am afraid that some meritorious cases were discouraged by the high filing fees.” Elliott said that while the new
STB
STB Reschedules Competition Hearing
The Surface Transportation Board has rescheduled to June 22, 2011 the public hearing on the current state of competition in the railroad industry. The hearing earlier was announced to take place on May 3. The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m., in the Surface Transportation Board Hearing Room, at 395 E Street, SW, in Washington, D.C. Written comments will now be due by April 12, 2011, and replies will be due on May 27, 2011. Notices of intent to participate in the hearing will be due by June 10, 2011.
Short Line/Regional
STB Plans Colo. Public Hearing
The Surface Transportation Board announced a public hearing to be held in Conejos, Colo., on a proposal by the San Luis and & Rio Grande Railroad to transfer onto railcars containers of contaminated dirt and debris from trucks originating at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The Board has instituted a declaratory order proceeding to determine whether the Board’s jurisdiction preempts the land-use code of Conejos County, Colo., where the transloading would take place. The public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Hall, 6631 County Road 13, Conejos, Colo.
STB
STB Plans Hearing on Competition
The Surface Transportation Board announced today a public hearing on May 3 to explore the current state of competition in the railroad industry and possible policy initiatives to promote more rail-to-rail competition. “I said last year that it was time for the Board to revisit the current rail regulatory framework and that is what we are doing,” said Board Chairman Daniel R. Elliott III. “We need to strike a balance between providing access to competitive rail transportation for shippers while maintaining the rail industry’s impressive economic renaissance.” The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m., in the Surface Transportation Board Hearing Room,
STB
CSX