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Policy

Industry Backs Freight Rail Bill

by Glenn Hess
January 4, 2010 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 88, Issue 1

A Senate committee's approval of legislation that would give shippers more leverage against railroads is being lauded by the chemical industry as an important step toward creating "a more competitive and viable freight rail system." The bill (S. 2889), approved by the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, is designed to knock down regulatory barriers that prevent shippers from gaining access to competing railroads and to make it easier for shippers to challenge rates before the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the federal agency that regulates the railroad industry. "We are glad to see the bill enhances the role of STB and encourages it to proactively protect the rights of both the shippers and railroads," says Calvin M. Dooley, president of the American Chemistry Council, a trade group representing more than 130 chemical companies. The Association of American Railroads, a trade group representing freight rail carriers, says it has concerns about provisions in the bill that would require large railroads, such as CSX and Union Pacific, "to open their privately owned and maintained rail networks" and face "vastly expanded government involvement" in their operations.

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