CSX
STB
Commuter Rail
STB
Canadian National
STB to CN: Explain Discrepancies on Street-Crossing Blockages
WASHINGTON — The Federal Surface Transportation Board has directed Canadian National Railway Co. to come before the Board and explain the significant differences between information on street-crossing blockages in the Chicago area that the railroad has provided to the Board and the results of an independent audit conducted by the Board.
STB
STB Sets Hearing on Maine Proposed Maine Abandonment
WASHINGTON — The federal Surface Transportation Board announced it will hold a public hearing in Presque Isle, Maine, on May 10 to allow citizens and stakeholders to provide testimony on the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway’s application to abandon 233 miles of rail line in Aroostook and Penobscot counties. The hearing will be held at the District Courthouse located at 27 Riverside Drive in Presque Isle. The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. The courthouse will open at 8 a.m. All speakers and attendees must present valid government-issued identification and pass security screening to gain entry to the hearing.
Short Line/Regional
Proposed Maine Abandonment Would Force More Trucks Onto Roads
WASHINGTON — The Section of Environmental Analysis at the Surface Transportation Board issued a draft environmental assessment on the proposed abandonment of 233 miles of rail line in the northern Maine counties of Aroostook and Penobscot. The draft review found that the abandonment of this line could divert onto Maine’s highways as many as an additional 73,344 truck trips per year, consuming an additional 3.3 million gallons of fuel per year. However, the draft review, which estimated it would take four trucks to replace every rail car, found that the diversion of rail traffic onto trucks would appear to be “within the level of traffic allowed by area roads.” The
Short Line/Regional
Short Line/Regional
STB Grants ARRC Permission to Build 80-Mile Extension
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board announced it has granted the request of the Alaska Railroad Corp. (ARRC, a state-owned railroad) to construct and operate a new, 80-mile railroad line—the Northern Rail Extension—in the State of Alaska, subject to extensive environmental-mitigation conditions. After considering the entire public record before it, including both the transportation aspects of ARRC’s proposal and potential environmental issues, the Board was satisfied that the proposed line would provide reliable, year-round freight and passenger service to the region south of North Pole, Alaska; access to training areas used by the United States military; and an alternative to the Richardson Highway, now the sole means for surface transportation
STB
Mulvey Named STB’s Vice Chairman
WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Daniel R. Elliott, III announced that the agency designated Board Member Francis P. Mulvey as its Vice Chairman. He succeeds former Board Chairman Charles D. Nottingham, who most recently served as Vice Chairman from March 13, 2009 to Jan. 4, and continues to serve as a Board Member. The Board’s Vice Chairmanship rotates among the Members on an annual basis. Vice Chairman Mulvey, the eighth Member since the Board’s creation in 1996, was nominated to the agency by President George W. Bush on November 17, 2003, and was confirmed by the Senate on May 21, 2004, for a term of office ending December 31,
STB
STB Makes Procedural Changes
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board announced an update to its regulations that eliminates the vacant position of Secretary and removes other incorrect or obsolete references. In recent years, most of the tasks and staff of the Secretary’s Office have been reassigned to other Board offices.