STB Launches Office of Passenger Rail

(Photograph Courtesy of Amtrak)

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Oct. 1 established the Office of Passenger Rail, responsible for investigating and analyzing issues regarding Amtrak on-time performance (OTP).

“Section 213 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) authorizes, and on eligible complaints requires, the STB to investigate the causes of substandard passenger rail OTP; to identify mitigating measures; and, under specified conditions, to prescribe relief,” STB reported on Oct. 13.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Nov. 16, 2020, adopted a final rule establishing metrics and minimum standards for measuring the performance and service quality of Amtrak’s intercity passenger trains—following nearly 10 years of a contentious battle involving Amtrak and its host freight railroads that twice reached the U.S. Supreme Court. (FRA was charged to do so under PRIIA.)

STB said that FRA, in conjunction with Amtrak, “promulgated a ‘Customer OTP’ metric to measure passenger rail OTP, with a minimum standard of 80% of passenger arrivals at stations to occur within 15 minutes of the scheduled time for any two consecutive calendar quarters.” This standard began to apply on July 1, 2021.

Complaints may be brought by Amtrak, by an entity for which Amtrak operates intercity passenger rail service, by an intercity passenger rail operator, or by a host freight railroad.

In April 2021, STB established an in-house Passenger Rail Working Group to prepare for its new enforcement obligations. The group was charged with “developing plans to enhance the agency’s capacity to fulfill its passenger rail oversight efforts and to ensure it will fully meet its obligations to enforce OTP requirements,” STB said.

In August 2021, STB appointed Neil Moyer, a senior staff member from the Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance, as well as Ryan Lee, an attorney from the STB’s Office of Proceedings, to develop and begin to implement a plan for OTP investigation processing and resource allocation. According to STB, both have worked with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center “to develop data tools to quickly analyze FRA’s on-time performance quarterly data.”

A Director for the Office of Passenger Rail will now be hired, according to STB, which noted it is in the process of creating, under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, a Passenger Rail Advisory Committee to advise STB on passenger rail transportation issues.

“The creation of the Office of Passenger Rail is the next step in a carefully planned strategy for the Board to meet its responsibility to investigate and enforce Amtrak on-time performance,” STB Chairman Martin Oberman said. “The agency stands ready to handle any on-time performance cases that are filed. We are fully analyzing the quarterly data provided by the FRA, and we are developing a basis for determining whether any Board-initiated investigations may be necessary. The other Board members and I look forward to working closely with Amtrak and the freight railroads in the nation’s effort to improve its passenger rail system.

“I want to extend my many thanks to Mr. Moyer and Mr. Lee for their excellent work as the development team for this new office.”

“Amtrak welcomes the Board’s enhanced focus on Amtrak on-time performance, an important issue for our service reliability and something our customers have a right to expect,” Amtrak said in an Oct. 13 statement. “We look forward to working closely with the STB’s new Office of Passenger Rail to enforce the FRA’s performance standards for intercity passenger rail.

“We will also participate on the STB’s new Passenger Rail Advisory Committee. This will provide an opportunity for issues to be elevated and resolved before they require an investigation.”