STB’s Torment of Precautions
WATCHING WASHINGTON, RAILWAY AGE, NOVEMBER 2023 ISSUE: Napoleon Bonaparte observed that “the torment of precautions often exceeds the dangers to be avoided.” Union Army General George B. McClellan was so tormented that he failed to pursue the Confederate army more aggressively. Most recently, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) appears afflicted with the torment—immobilized to take definitive action to protect captive shippers (those lacking effective transportation alternatives to a single railroad) from rail market power abuse.