(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on July 1.)
On June 30, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) announced it reached unanimous decisions ordering rate relief for the E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. in the three rate complaint cases filed against CSX Transportation under the board’s new small rate-dispute resolution process.
The STB determined CSXT was charging “unreasonably high” rates and ordered the Class I to reduce rates and pay reparations on six of seven chemical moves challenged by DuPont. The rate reductions range from about 5 percent to 40 percent of the challenged rates. The routes associated with the reductions and reparations are between Heyden, N.J., and Washington, W.Va.; Heyden and Duart, N.C.; Ampthill, Va., and Wyandotte, Mich.; Niagara Falls, N.Y., and New Johnsonville, Tenn.; Niagara Falls and Carney’s Point, N.J.; and Pascagoula, Miss., and Neuse, N.C.
DuPont will obtain reparations and reduced rates totaling up to $3 million for the three cases over a five-year period, the STB said. The exact size of the award will depend on the actual number of shipments made by DuPont along the routes.