STB seeks seasonal plans from Class1 RRs

[Limitedclear]

FOR RELEASE Contact: Dennis Watson
06/29/2006 (Thursday) [phone]
No. 06-08 FIRS 1 [phone]
www.stb.dot.gov

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD SEEKS RAILROAD PLANS FOR FALL "PEAK" SHIPPING SEASON

Surface Transportation Board Chairman W. Douglas Buttrey today announced that he has corresponded with the chief executive officers of each of the seven largest railroads concerning their respective goals and plans to meet the expected increase in demand for railroad service during the fall shipping season known as the "fall peak." Chairman Buttrey similarly corresponded with the association that represents the Nation's small and regional railroads.

In announcing his correspondence with the railroads, the Chairman noted:

"There is heightened focus this year on the ability of the railroads to meet demands for rail service. At least four major factors have converged to cause this heightened focus: the healthy domestic economy; growth in import/export traffic; the agriculture sector's forecast of record harvests; and the fact that rail infrastructure has begun to show capacity constraints.

"Consequently, I believe it is essential that the Surface Transportation Board continue its close monitoring of the railroads' service plans. This will contribute to the Board's confidence level that appropriate planning is being done to ensure that spikes in rail traffic demand that are expected for the remainder of the year can be handled as efficiently as possible. As in past years, this will also provide an important tool for rail customers to keep them better informed and enable them to plan efficiently for the needs of their rail-served businesses."

Click here for a hotlink to Chairman Buttrey's letter to the railroads. A fact sheet is attached.

FACT SHEET

The fall "peak-season" letters that Surface Transportation Board Chairman W. Douglas Buttrey sent on June 28, 2006, to the seven largest railroads requested information relative to each railroad's service plans and operational goals during this year's peak shipping season. The letters specifically focused on each railroad's

o Steps being taken to ascertain demand for, and to prepare for, the provision of fall
peak-season service;

o Performance goals for the remainder of 2006;

o Plans for achieving those performance goals; and

o Plans to communicate goals, plans and steps with customers.

From STB

[MichaelSol]

This is now standard procedure.

STB seeks railroad plans for "fall peak" shipping season
(The Surface Transportation Board issued the following news release on June 16, 2005.)

WASHINGTON -- Surface Transportation Board Chairman Roger Nober today announced that he has asked each of the seven largest railroads to report to the Board within 30 days on its plans to meet the expected increase in demand during the fall shipping season, which is known as the "fall peak." He made a similar request of the association that represents the nation's small and regional railroads.

The Chairman noted:

"This year, as last, the demand for rail services continues to grow, and is straining the ability of our railroads to meet that growing demand. At the same time, the shipping community and our economy as a whole depends on reliable and efficient freight rail service. Therefore, I am again asking the railroads to submit to us their operational plans for handling the fall peak and capital plans for relieving bottlenecks, so that our agency, rail shippers and railroad stakeholders may all understand how the railroads plan to meet demand.

"This is the second year that we have sought this valuable information. The Congressional Budget Office praised our efforts in monitoring the fall peak last year and said that it 'may have prompted the railroads to enhance their efforts to meet demand.' I believe it did just that, which is a good reason to seek these plans again."

Clink here for a hotlink to Chairman Nober's letter to the railroads: http://www.stb.dot.gov/stb/docs/fallpeakletter2005.pdf.

A fact sheet is attached.

In the fall peak letters sent June 15, 2005, the Chairman Roger Nober requested the specifics of each railroad's service and operational plans for this year's fall peak, focusing on:

-->Steps each railroad is taking to ascertain demand for, and to prepare for, the fall peak;

-->Each railroad's performance goals for at least the next 120 days, with a view toward meeting the service demands for the fall peak; and

-->Each railroad's plan for achieving those goals.

Recognizing that many of the service issues experienced by railroads and their customers are related to insufficient rail capacity, the Chairman also sought information on each railroad's:

-->Capital plans for increasing capacity in 2005;

-->Critical capacity-related infrastructure needs; and

-->Plans for addressing those critical capacity-enhancing infrastructure needs and expectations for timely completion of those improvements.

The Chairman also asked each railroad to provide details on how it intended to keep its customers informed.