WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board is creating an advisory panel that will guide the board on passenger and commuter rail issues.
The Passenger Rail Advisory Committee will have 18 voting members that will include representatives from Amtrak, commuter rail agencies, intercity operators other than Amtrak, a state that provides funding for Amtrak service, a state that’s only served by Amtrak long-distance trains, Class I railroads, short line railroads, passenger rail advocacy groups, a rail shipper, rail labor, and three at-large members.
“I am very pleased that the Board is taking this necessary step in creating the PRAC,” Chairman Martin J. Oberman said in a statement today (Monday, Nov. 13). “Once we are able to seek nominations and select members for the inaugural committee, the Board looks forward to working with the members to better understand the issues impacting passenger rail and hear their valuable insights. Based on the Board’s very positive experience with our other advisory committees, I fully expect the creation of this new passenger-oriented committee will prove equally valuable to the Board members.”
The board will issue a separate decision seeking nominees to serve on the committee once the panel’s charter is filed with the STB’s congressional oversight committees.
The committee will provide advice and make recommendations to the board on improving efficiency on passenger rail routes; reducing disputes between passenger rail carriers and freight rail hosts regarding the use of freight rail carrier-owned facilities and infrastructure for passenger service, including passenger on-time performance issues; and improving regulatory processes related to intercity passenger rail to the benefit of the public, the communities served by passenger rail, and the environment.
Last December the board selected a senior staff member, Neil Moyer, to serve as acting director of the agency’s Office of Passenger Rail, which was created in October 2022 to investigate and analyze Amtrak on-time performance matters.
In July the STB opened an investigation into the on-time performance of Amtrak’s Sunset Limited service. And last year the board held hearings on the dispute between Amtrak and CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Port of Mobile, Ala., regarding the proposed revival of Gulf Coast service between Mobile and New Orleans.
The full decision is available here.
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