(Source: The Hill opinion column by Bruce Carlton, March 18, 2014. Carlton is president and CEO of the National Industrial Transportation League.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Next week, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) will hold a public hearing on proposed reforms to rules that underlie the nation’s freight rail policy. While the STB and freight rail policy rarely garner much attention or make many headlines, the topic of this hearing has important ramifications for the future economic health of many American industries. Specifically, the STB will hear testimony on a proposed new rule that would give rail customers (“shippers”) that are served by a single major railroad the ability to seek competing bids for service from a nearby railroad through the use of “competitive switching.” Proponents of the new rule are attempting to introduce a modicum of competition and bring market forces to bear on freight rail service where none exists today.
Full story: The Hill