[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 65 (Friday, April 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18948-18949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07605]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. EP 724]


United States Rail Service Issues

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Public Hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation Board (Board) will hold a public 
hearing on April 10, 2014, at its offices in Washington, DC, to provide 
interested persons the opportunity to report on recent service problems 
in the United States rail network, to hear from rail industry 
executives on plans to address their service problems, and to discuss 
additional options to improve service.

DATES: The hearing will be held on April 10, 2014, beginning at 9:30 
a.m., in the Hearing Room at the Board's headquarters located at 395 E 
Street SW., Washington, DC. The hearing will be open for public 
observation. Any person wishing to speak at the hearing shall file with 
the Board a notice of intent to participate, identifying the party and 
the proposed speaker, no later than April 7, 2014. The notices of 
intent to participate are not required to be served on the parties of 
record; they will be posted to the Board's Web site when they are 
filed.

ADDRESSES: All filings may be submitted either via the Board's e-filing 
format or in the traditional paper format. Any person using e-filing 
should attach a document and otherwise comply with the instructions at 
the ``E-FILING'' link on the Board's Web site at ``www.stb.dot.gov.'' 
Any person submitting a filing in the traditional paper format should 
send an original and 10 copies of the filing to: Surface Transportation 
Board, Attn: Docket No. EP 724, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-
0001.
    Copies of written submissions will be posted to the Board's Web 
site and will be available for viewing and self-copying in the Board's 
Public Docket Room, Suite 131. Copies of the submissions will also be 
available (for a fee) by contacting the Board's Chief Records Officer 
at (202) 245-0238 or 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Valerie Quinn at (202) 245-0382. 
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board has been closely monitoring the 
rail industry's performance metrics, and is concerned about the service 
problems that have been occurring across significant portions of the 
nation's rail network, particularly on the Canadian Pacific Railway 
Company (CP) and BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) systems. The Board Members 
have written to CP and BNSF \1\ to express concerns that poor service 
is negatively affecting agricultural, coal, passenger, and other 
traffic. Per the Board's request, senior management representatives of 
CP and BNSF met individually with each Board Member, and the Board 
requested certain additional data from CP and BNSF.
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    \1\ See Letter from Daniel R. Elliott III, Chairman, and Ann D. 
Begeman, Vice Chairman, Surface Transportation Board, to Carl Ice, 
President and Chief Exec. Officer, BNSF Railway Company (Feb. 5, 
2014) (on file with the Board), available at http://stb.dot.gov 
(open tab at ``E-Library, select ``Correspondence'', select ``Fall 
Peak Letters'', follow ``02/05/2014'' hyperlink, and select the 
``.pdf'' icon); Letter from Daniel R. Elliott III, Chairman, and Ann 
D. Begeman, Vice Chairman, Surface Transportation Board, to E. 
Hunter Harrison, Chief Exec. Officer and Dir., Canadian Pacific 
Railway Company (Mar. 6, 2014) (on file with the Board), available 
at http://stb.dot.gov (open tab at ``E-Library, select 
``Correspondence'', select ``Fall Peak Letters'', follow ``03/06/
2014'' hyperlink, and select the ``.pdf'' icon).
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    The Board's Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs and 
Compliance (OPAGAC) has also been working with CP and BNSF to address 
and correct service issues as they arise. Representatives of OPAGAC 
have held numerous meetings and conference calls with affected parties 
to better understand the specific problems shippers are facing, and to 
help facilitate a quick resolution whenever possible. Board staff has 
facilitated meetings in Fargo, North Dakota, on service issues with 
shippers from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. We 
anticipate that, following this public hearing, additional field 
meetings in other affected areas will be held. The Board's hearing is 
not intended to replace the informal and confidential process 
facilitated by OPAGAC, and shippers and railroads are encouraged to 
continue communicating through that office.
    The Board will hold a public hearing beginning at 9:30 a.m., on 
April 10, 2014,\2\ at its offices in Washington, DC, to provide an 
opportunity for interested persons to report on the status of rail 
service and to discuss ways to remedy the current service problems.\3\ 
The Board will direct executive-level officials from CP and BNSF to 
appear at the hearing to discuss their ongoing and future efforts to 
improve service on their railroads and to provide an estimated timeline 
for a return to normal service levels. The Board particularly 
encourages impacted shippers and/or shipper organizations to appear at 
the hearing to discuss their service concerns and to comment on the 
railroads'

[[Page 18949]]

plans.\4\ Also, given the service disruptions that have hindered nearly 
all carriers that connect through the Chicago area, other Class I 
railroads are also invited to file notices to appear at the hearing.
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    \2\ Our regulations at 49 CFR 1012.3(c) provide generally for at 
least seven days' advance notice of a public meeting. This decision 
is being served more than seven days in advance of the April 10 
hearing. Although Federal Register publication will not be effected 
until April 7, 2014, we find that the service issues discussed above 
require that this hearing be held as soon as possible. See 49 CFR 
1012.3(e).
    \3\ The Board and other agencies have held similar hearings in 
the past to address transportation service issues. See, e.g., Rail 
Transp. of Res. Critical to the Nation's Energy Supply, EP 672 (STB 
served June 6, 2007); Notice of Discussions, AD06-8-000 (FERC issued 
May 30, 2006); Discussions with Utility & R.R. Representatives on 
Market & Reliability Matters, AD06-8-000 (FERC Transcript dated May 
23, 2006).
    \4\ On March 24, 2014, the Western Coal Traffic League (WCTL) 
filed a Petition to Institute a Proceeding to Address the Adequacy 
of Coal Transportation Service Originating in the Western United 
States, Docket No. EP 723. The concerns raised in WCTL's petition 
will be addressed as part of this docket.
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    This decision will not significantly affect either the quality of 
the human environment or the conservation of energy resources.
    It is ordered:
    1. A public hearing will be held on April 10, 2014, at 9:30 a.m., 
in the Board's Hearing Room, at 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC, as 
described above.
    2. CP and BNSF are directed to appear at the hearing.
    3. By April 7, 2014, any person wishing to speak at the hearing 
shall file with the Board a notice of intent to participate 
(identifying the party and the proposed speaker). The notices of intent 
to participate are not required to be served on the parties of record; 
they will be posted to the Board's Web site when they are filed.
    4. This decision is effective on its service date.

    By the Board, Chairman Elliott and Vice Chairman Begeman.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2014-07605 Filed 4-3-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P