Modernizing freight rail regulation / Committee for a Study of Freight Rail Transportation and Regulation, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee for a Study of Freight Rail Transportation and Regulation, author.

Contributor:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee for a Study of Freight Rail Transportation and Regulation, author.

National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board, issuing body.

Series:

Special report (National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board) ; 318.

Transportation research board special report 318

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Railroads--Freight--United States.

Railroads.

Railroads--Freight.

Railroads--Economic aspects.

United States.

Railroads--Freight--Rates--United States.

Railroads--Freight--Rates.

Railroads and state--United States.

Railroads and state.

Railroads--Economic aspects--United States.

Physical Description:

xii, 264 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : Transportation Research Board, 2015.

Summary:

"TRB Special Report 318: Modernizing Freight Rail Regulation examines the future role of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in overseeing and regulating the service levels and rate offerings of railroads. This congressionally-requested report recommends approaches to resynchronize a regulatory program that has become outdated. The U.S. freight railroad industry has modernized and has become financially stable since the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, but the study committee finds that some of the industry's economic regulations have not kept pace and should be replaced with practices suited to today's freight rail system. The study committee finds that more appropriate, reliable, and usable procedures are needed for resolving rate disputes. The committee recommends that Congress should prepare to repeal the formula for eligibility for rate relief and should direct the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a screening tool that compares disputed rates with rates charged in competitive rail markets. Current methods make artificial and arbitrary estimates of the cost of rail shipping. Adjudication can cost millions of dollars, and some cases have taken years to resolve, deterring shippers with smaller claims. Simplified methods that are economically valid and practical have yet to be introduced. The study committee recommends that STB replace hearings on the reasonableness of rates with arbitration hearings that compel faster, more economical resolutions. Merger reviews should be transferred to antitrust agencies, according to the committee, which also recommends that STB collect and analyze shipment-level data on service quality in overseeing the railroads' response to common carrier service obligations."

Contents:

Study background, charge, and approach

Historical and policy context

Persistent concerns and regulatory challenges

Study charge and approach

Content and organization of report

Recent rate trends and service and capacity issues

Recent rate trends

Service quality issues

Concerns about long-term capacity constraints

Chapter summary

Review of the rate relief process

Historical context and links to revenue adequacy

Variable cost formula

Market dominance inquiries

Rate reasonableness standards

Summary assessment of rate relief procedures

Rate arbitration in Canada

Competitive rate benchmarking to identify unusually high rates

Review of other regulatory provisions

Common carrier service obligation

Annual revenue adequacy determination

Merger review according to a public interest standard

Authority to order reciprocal switching

Summary assessment and recommendations

Study context

Review of rates, service, and capacity issues

Findings from a review of rail regulation

Recommendations for regulatory change.

ISBN:

9780309369060

0309369061

OCLC:

913711912