STB sets hearing on competitive switching rules

The Surface Transportation Board announced Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 that it will hold a public hearing on March 25-26, 2014 "in Petition for Rulemaking to Adopt Revised Competitive Switching Rules, EP 711, to explore issues surrounding The National Industrial Transportation League's (NITL) petition to modify the Board's standards for mandatory competitive switching."

NITL has proposed that certain captive shippers located in terminal areas be granted access to a competing railroad if there is a working interchange within a reasonable distance (30 miles, under NITL’s proposal), STB notes. STB has received numerous comments in response to NITL’s proposal, and has scheduled the hearing to explore the issues.

The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time on both days in the Board’s Hearing Room at the agency’s headquarters at 395 E Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. The hearing will be open for public observation. The Board has already received notices of intent to participate and summaries of testimony, as the upcoming hearing is a rescheduling of a postponed October 22, 2013 hearing on this matter.

STB’s notice may be viewed at STB’s website, filed under “E-LIBRARY / Decisions & Notices/02/03/14.”