Francis Patrick (Frank) Mulvey, a Democrat who served on the Surface Transportation Board (STB) from May 2004 to December 2013, died Oct. 18 at 81. Among just six Ph.D. economists…

National Mediation Board member Deirdre E. Hamilton, a Democrat, was fired Oct. 14 by POTUS 47, making her one of many legally questionable independent regulatory agency terminations by the POTUS.…

Democrat Robert E. Primus, fired Aug. 27 from his Senate-confirmed seat on the Surface Transportation Board (STB) by POTUS 47, wants his job back—and he is suing the Republican POTUS,…

WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE, OCTOBER 2025 ISSUE: The proposed marriage of Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) to form the first U.S. seamless Atlantic to Pacific transcontinental railroad is a…

This just in, from Union Pacific: “CEO Jim Vena was honored to meet [POTUS 47] in the Oval Office, a special place for America with a longstanding history. They discussed…

POTUS 47 has nominated Republican Richard Kloster to fill a vacant seat at the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and renominated Republican Michelle A. Schultz to a second term. The Sept.…

WATCHING WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 2025 ISSUE: One’s eyes are wide shut not to acknowledge a polarizing dispute ensnaring railroads and their captive shippers—those lacking effective transportation alternatives—in a muddy morass as…

The firing by POTUS 47 of outspoken Surface Transportation Board (STB) member and Democrat Robert E. Primus Aug. 27 leaves the five-member agency short two members as it awaits a…

Here we go with another shutdown of democratic free speech by a POTUS and his inner circle consolidating power in pursuit of a unitary form of government controlling every aspect…

Call it the little railroad that did and does, and know that twice during the previous century it attracted iconic Wall Street titans nurturing seamless transcontinental schemes.

If you think federal regulatory agencies—even federally owned Amtrak—have strayed from what former Southern Railway and Conrail CEO L. Stanley Crane termed, “stick to your knitting,” you’re not ridin’ the…

Following weeks of “perhapses,” “maybes,” and a “conceivably” or two—self-serving bait for valuable feedback—railroads Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) have officially announced merger plans. BNSF and CSX have…

Big Four railroads BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern (NS) and Union Pacific have been awarded summary judgment by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia—the court rejecting shipper…

As the proverb provides, “Be careful for what you wish,” as wishes sometimes deliver unintended consequences. Railroads may have experienced a wishes backfire July 8 when the U.S. 7th Circuit…

WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE, JULY 2025 ISSUE: What is more delightfully amusing than a paradox—that we park on driveways and drive on parkways; that foul is fair when batted baseballs collide…

It is eminently logical that if one relocates to a community zoned for heavy industry, they shouldn’t be surprised that a 24/7 distribution hub is constructed near them, bringing with…

WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE JUNE 2025 ISSUE: Students of freight railroading are conversant with how Congress and the Surface Transportation Board’s predecessor Interstate Commerce Commission imposed on the industry such…

WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE MAY 2025 ISSUE: The Ethical Culture Fieldston School and University Heights High School, both in the Bronx, N.Y., are but minutes apart by public transit, yet…

Railway Age has learned that Fritz Reiner Kahn, a former general counsel to Surface Transportation Board (STB) predecessor Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), died in October at age 98. He established…

In a rare event, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) is expected to return to the U.S. Treasury in October a portion of its congressionally appropriated fiscal year 2024-2025 budget. The…