STB
SurfaceBelow are links for parties looking to find information on the economic data, service data, and other materials collected or prepared by the Surface Transportation Board. Parties with questions regarding economic data should contact the Board’s Office of Economics at . Parties with questions regarding rail service data, demurrage and accessorial charge reports, agricultural contract summaries, or water carrier tariff certifications should contact the Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs and Compliance at .
Economic Data
The economic data collected by the Board includes information on railroad revenues, income, volumes, employment, wages, fuel surcharges, cost of capital, and revenue adequacy.
Rail Service Data
The service data collected by the Board includes information on railroad performance on their systems and by commodity, as well as information on the Chicago gateway. Reports are submitted weekly.
Demurrage & Accessorial Charges
At the Board’s request, Class I rail carrier’s provide quarterly reports on the amount of revenue they collect from demurrage and accessorial charges. Those reports can be accessed here.
Economic Reports & Studies
The Board often prepares reports and conducts studies to more deeply explore economic issues of importance, or contracts with consultants to do so. Depreciation reports are also available here.
Rail Cost Adjustment Factor
The rail cost adjustment factor (RCAF) is an index formulated to represent changes in railroad costs over time, which the Board publishes quarterly. The most recent figures are available here.
Uniform Rail Costing Systems
The Uniform Rail Costing Systems (URCS) is the agency’s general costing system; it estimates unit costs and total variable costs for Class I railroads. The most recent version of the URCS program is available here.
Carload Waybill Sample
The Carload Waybill Sample is a stratified sample of carload waybills for U.S. rail traffic that can be used to show volumes and traffic flows. The most recent version of the public Waybill Sample is available here.
Agricultural Contract Summaries
Water Carrier Annual Certifications
The Board has limited jurisdiction over water carriers that operate in the non-contiguous domestic trade. The annual certifications filed by carriers that opt to display their tariffs electronically are available here.