United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2006-11-08 monographic deposited born digital 29 p. GA 1.13:GAO-07-207R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-207R P0b002ee1803842b6 f:d07207r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-207R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-207R GAO-07-207R Competition Economic analysis Freight transportation rates Prices and pricing Railroad industry Railroad regulation Shipping industry Strategic planning Policy evaluation Correspondence A62844 Over 25 years ago, Congress transformed federal freight rail transportation policy. At that time, after almost 100 years of economic regulation, the railroad industry was in serious economic decline, with rising costs, losses, and bankruptcies. In response, Congress passed the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 and the Staggers Rail Act of 1980. Together, these pieces of legislation substantially deregulated the railroad industry. Since the passage of the Staggers Rail Act in 1980, we have issued several reports on the freight railroad industry. In October 2006, we issued our most recent report on the freight rail industry. The objectives of this report were to determine (1) the changes that have occurred in the freight railroad industry since the enactment of the Staggers Rail Act, including changes in rail rates and competition in the industry; (2) the actions STB has taken to address concerns about competition and captivity and any alternative approaches that could be considered to address remaining concerns; and (3) the projections for freight traffic demand over the next 15 to 25 years, the freight railroad industry's ability to meet that demand, and potential federal policy responses. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-207R/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-207R.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-207R/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-207R.pdf GAO-07-207R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-207R Correspondence GAO-07-207R; Freight Railroads: Highlights of GAO Report on Freight Rail Industry Performance, Competition, and Capacity; Competition Economic analysis Freight transportation rates Prices and pricing Railroad industry Railroad regulation Shipping industry Strategic planning Policy evaluation