The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has adopted a final rule in the U.S. Rail Service Issues—Performance Data Reporting, Docket EP 724 (Sub-No. 4) that will require all Class I railroads, and the Chicago Transportation Coordination Office (CTCO), through its Class I members, to report certain service performance metrics to the STB on a weekly, semiannual, and occasional basis. The final rule follows the contours of the interim request with modifications based on public comments and the STB’s experience with the data reported under the interim order.
The rulemaking is to facilitate the STB’s monitoring of current rail service conditions and to identify trends or aberrations that could indicate service problems. Shippers and other stakeholders will have access to the reported data to assist in their business decisions and supply-chain planning. The cumulative data also provides the STB with reference points for measuring an individual railroad against its past performance.
The final rule is an outgrowth of the STB’s response to widespread rail service problems that emerged in late 2013 and lasted into 2014. In October 2014, the STB asked Class I railroads to report publicly certain data on an interim basis, such as average train speed, average terminal dwell time, cars online, dwell time at origin, and coal and agricultural products loading statistics.
The rule follows several rounds of public comment, with the STB calling for data that will allow it to effectively monitor rail service performance. To reduce the burden on the rail industry, the Board tailored requests to information that railroads currently collect as part of their internal data runs.
“I am very pleased with the contents of this final rule, which will allow the Board to effectively monitor operating conditions in the railroad industry,” said STB Chairman Daniel R. Elliott III. “Also, I appreciate the valuable participation and input from our stakeholders and the work of STB staff in developing these rules.”