Earlier this week, Robert Primus, Chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Surface Transportation Board (STB), an independent adjudicatory and economic-regulatory agency charged by Congress with resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers, did not mince words in a statement addressing railroad retaliation by railroad carriers.
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This retaliation, according to Primus, is focused on shippers and other industry stakeholders who participate in the STB’s regulatory proceedings.
“In recent years, I have been advised of actual or threatened retaliation by railroads against stakeholders that provide the Board with information perceived as adverse to railroads or that avail themselves of STB processes,” wrote Primus. “Some allegations have been made in letters, filings, and testimony in specific proceedings, and some stakeholders have raised retaliation concerns to me in informal stakeholder meetings. Forms of retaliation can vary widely but may include actual or threatened increases in rail transportation rates, cutbacks in local service, and refusals to provide new service upon request. In other instances, shippers have advised me that rail carrier representatives have admonished them for contacting the Board to discuss rail service-related concerns. Shipper trade groups have explained that their members often are reluctant to contact the Board due to fears of railroad retaliation. Carriers have generally denied that they engage in such behavior.”
To that end, Primus said that even though he is not suggesting that most railroads engage in retaliatory acts or threats in response to shipper engagement with the agency, there have been enough concerns raised to remind the industry that the Board has been clear over the years that it does not tolerate retaliation.
“Shippers must be able to participate in Board processes, both to protect their rights and to provide information to the Board that is important to our mission, without fear of retaliation,” he said. “I believe the Board should closely monitor any reports of threatened or actual retaliation by railroads against rail shippers or other stakeholders based on their use of, or participation in, Board regulatory proceedings, formal or informal. Credible claims brought to the Board should be investigated, and appropriate actions should be taken against carriers that engage in unlawful retaliation, including, where appropriate, referring such complaints to the U.S. Department of Justice.
