FOR RELEASE
Contact: Janie Sheng (202) 245-0221
02/03/2014 (Monday)
Jamie Rennart
No. 14-1


FedRelay 1 (800) 877-8339
www.stb.gov
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD TO HOLD HEARING ON PETITION TO ADOPT REVISED COMPETITIVE SWITCHING RULES


The Surface Transportation Board announced today that it will hold a public hearing on March 25-26, 2014 in Petition for Rulemaking to Adopt Revised Competitive Switching Rules, EP 711, to explore issues surrounding The National Industrial Transportation League's (NITL) petition to modify the Board's standards for mandatory competitive switching.


NITL proposes that certain captive shippers located in terminal areas be granted access to a competing railroad if there is a working interchange within a reasonable distance (30 miles, under NITL's proposal). The Board has received numerous comments in response to NITL's proposal, and has scheduled the hearing to explore further the issues raised in this proceeding.


The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. on both days in the Board's Hearing Room at the agency's headquarters located at 395 E Street, S.W. in Washington, D.C. The hearing will be open for public observation. The Board has already received notices of intent to participate and summaries of testimony, as the upcoming hearing is a rescheduling of a postponed October 22, 2013 hearing on this matter.


The Board's notice announcing the hearing, together with a list of the participants and their order of appearances, may be viewed and downloaded at the Board's website, www.stb.dot.gov, under "E-LIBRARY / Decisions & Notices / 02/ 03 / 14". A live video broadcast of the hearing will be available via the Board's website, under "Information Center: / Webcast / Live Video" on the home page.


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