“Current ambiguity” around the common carrier obligation—“which under current law requires rail carriers to serve the wider shipping public ‘on reasonable request’”—has contributed to “insufficient rail services and exorbitant costs for American products to get to market,” the Senators said in announcements this month.
According to the Senators, the criteria the STB would be required to consider in its assessment under the legislation include:
- “(A) the impacts of reductions or changes in the frequency of transportation or service, and the availability and maintenance of reasonable local service schedules and delivery windows, on the provision of reasonable transportation service.
- “(B) the impacts of reductions in employment levels, including—(i) reductions in clerical, customer service, maintenance, dispatch and train and engine service employees; (ii) reductions or changes in train or yard crew availability; and ‘‘(iii) the consolidation or shifting of crews across or within service territories.
- “(C) the impacts of reductions in equipment and the availability of equipment, maintenance of equipment or railroad infrastructure, lines and yards, or shifting of equipment across or within service territories or customer and commodity groups.
- “(D) whether the service reasonably meets the local operational and service requirements of the person requesting transportation or service that are consistent with the person’s needs and requirements for the efficient and reliable receipt, transportation and delivery of property.
- “(E) the transportation needs or circumstances of the person requesting transportation or service based upon previous service experience and taking into account any physical or operational limitations or restrictions at a facility or location.
- “(F) the commitment of the person requesting transportation or service of equipment or other resources to support the transportation or service.
- “(G) whether any conditions imposed by the rail carrier as requirements for service are required to meet the local service requirements of the person requesting service or permit the rail carrier to recover its variable cost of providing the requested transportation or service.
- “(H) how the carrier is handling equipment owned by others.
- “(I) whether conditions imposed by the rail carrier as requirements for service, including demurrage, are reasonably reciprocated to meet the service requirements of the person requesting service.”
The Reliable Rail Service Act (S.2104) “gives the Board necessary statutory clarity along with significant discretion and flexibility to account for variations unique to local rail carrier and shipper circumstances, which will provide transparency for all stakeholders while improving STB’s oversight to help address our nation’s freight railroad supply chain challenges and lower costs for consumers,” according to the Senators. It would amend section 11101 of title 49, United States Code, “to ensure that rail carriers provide transportation or service in a manner that fulfills the shipper’s reasonable service requirements.”
The legislation is said to be supported by more than 40 members of the agricultural industry, labor organizations, energy producers, and manufacturers.* It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
The original bill debuted in 2022 and was reintroduced in 2023. It was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation each time, but it did not move forward.
“Across the Badger State, our farmers, small businesses, and manufacturers rely on rail service to get their products to market and make ends meet,” Sen. Baldwin said on June 18. “But when rail service is unreliable, it puts their livelihoods on the line, disrupts supply chains, and drives up costs for hardworking Wisconsin families. That’s why I am proud to work with my Republican colleague to once again introduce our Reliable Rail Service Act and help level the playing field for Wisconsin workers, grow our Made in Wisconsin economy, and keep costs down for consumers.”
“Kansas’s farmers and ranchers depend upon reliable transport of their world-class goods to the rest of the country, and Class I railroads are not meeting expectations,” Sen. Marshall said on June 18. “This bill lays out reasonable requirements for rail carriers to meet these important obligations, and I look forward to working with Senator Baldwin on getting this to the finish line.”
“If members of Congress are serious about bringing jobs back, leading global trade, and making more in America—not China—they should back this bill,” noted Chris Jahn, President and CEO of the American Chemistry Council. “We urge Democrats and Republicans to support this important legislation because it will help ensure that railroads deliver on their obligation to provide reliable service to U.S. manufacturers.”
“Clarification of the common carrier obligation has been needed for decades and this bipartisan bill provides STB with clear oversight rules to help address our nation’s freight railroad supply chain challenges and improve rail service for agricultural shippers,” added Mike Seyfert, President and CEO of the National Grain and Feed Association.
“Railroads oppose efforts to upend the market framework in place today through sweeping re-regulatory proposals like the Reliable Rail Service Act,” the AAR said in a June 20 statement to Railway Age. “These misguided reforms would impose inefficient mandates, empower bureaucratic micromanagement, and reverse over four decades of progress that have made America’s freight rail system the safest, most efficient, and most cost-effective in the world. Re-regulating rail in this way would raise costs across the economy, deter private investment, and stifle innovation. Lawmakers should reject this push for heavy-handed government control that prioritizes special interests and blatant rent seeking over a functioning and competitive freight rail network.”
* According to Sens. Baldwin and Marshall, the Reliable Rail Service Act is endorsed by the Agricultural Retailers Association; American Petroleum Institute; American Chemistry Council; American Forest & Paper Association; American Soybean Association; Consumer Brands Association; Essential Minerals Association; Freight Rail Customer Alliance; Glass Packaging Institute; Growth Energy; International Dairy Foods Association; International Warehouse Logistics Association; National Grain and Feed Association; National Industrial Transportation League; National Milk Producers Federation; National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association; North American Millers’ Association; Private Rail Car Food and Beverage Association; The National Grange; Western Coal Traffic League; American Cement Association; Recycled Materials Association; Alliance for Chemical Distribution (ACD); National Farmers Union; Great Lakes Timber Professionals; American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA); Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET); Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED)-IBT; Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC); Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS); International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM); International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; Iron Ship Builders; Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers (IBB); International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Teamsters Rail Conference; National Conference of Firemen and Oilers SEIU (NCFO); Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Mechanical Division (SMART-MD); Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD); Transportation Communications Union (TCU); Transport Workers Union of America (TWU); and Transportation Trades Department (TTD).
