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The three-member Surface Transportation Board (STB) was established by the ICC Termination Act of 1995 as a quasi-judicial agency of the United States Department of Transportation. The Board has exclusive jurisdiction to implement the federal laws regarding the relationship of the railroads with their customers and with each other.
STB’s Jurisdiction
- The reasonableness of rates charged to captive rail customers;
- Issues regarding switching facilities and terminal area access;
- Railroad mergers and acquisitions, including the sale of track to short line railroads from major railroads;
- Competition issues, including the bottleneck issue and “paper barriers”; and,
- Emergency service orders.
Most activities of the railroad industry, including mergers and acquisitions, are exempt from the antitrust laws of the nation. Issues within the jurisdiction of the Board may not be litigated in the federal or state courts.
The decisions and policies of the STB establish the guidelines and parameters for railroad actions that are acceptable under the law. Every day, individual captive rail customers and their railroad carriers “negotiate” the rates and terms of movements guided by the decisions of the Board.
STB Commissioners
The three Board members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, each with a five-year term of office.
Current STB:
- Charles “Chip” Nottingham, Chairman
- Francis P. Mulvey, Vice-Chairman
- W. Douglas Buttrey, Commissioner
STB Hearings
May 11, 2006 - Hearing on rail fuel surcharges
The following shippers testified:
October 19, 2005 - Hearing on the Staggers Act of 1980
(The 25th Anniversary of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980: A Review and Look Ahead, STB Ex Parte No. 658)
The following shippers testified:
Panel II-A: Shippers
Panel II-B: Shippers
The following rail customer groups submitted comments:
July 21, 2004 - Hearing on Rail Rate Challenges in Small Cases
(Rail Rate Challenges in Small Cases, STB Ex Parte No. 646)
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