Reported by Joanna Marsh for Freight Waves
Railroads, shippers and unions are tracking hot topics ranging from service improvement to government oversight to safety regulations in 2024. Here is an overview.
Reciprocal switching, common carrier obligation
The Surface Transportation Board is continuing work on rail service issues, including finalizing a rulemaking on reciprocal switching in the first half of the year, if not in the first quarter, industry stakeholders told FreightWaves.
Under reciprocal switching, shippers that have access to one Class I railroad can gain access to the network of another at an interchange point between the two railroads.
STB’s proposed rule, announced on Sept. 7, would allow shippers to seek reciprocal switching if the railroad that they have access to fails to meet certain service thresholds. The proposal also would make permanent the collection of first- and last-mile service data from the Class I railroads. This would include data such as industry spot and pull, which addresses rail service at the local level, and on-time performance for manifest trains. STB began requiring the railroads to submit that data regularly following an April 2022 public hearing on deteriorating service.
Read more here.