Instructions in Proposed Rule

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incumbent LEC, no later than the
twenty-ninth day following the release
of the Commission’s public notice. All
objections filed under this section must:
(1) State specific reasons why the
objector cannot accommodate the
incumbent LEC’s changes by the date
stated in the incumbent LEC’s public
notice and must indicate any specific
technical information or other
assistance required that would enable
the objector to accommodate those
changes;
(2) List steps the objector is taking to
accommodate the incumbent LEC’s
changes on an expedited basis;
(3) State the earliest possible date (not
to exceed six months from the date the
incumbent LEC gave its original public
notice under this section) by which the
objector anticipates that it can
accommodate the incumbent LEC’s
changes, assuming it receives the
technical information or other
assistance requested under paragraph
(h) of this section;
(4) Provide any other information
relevant to the objection; and
(5) Provide the following affidavit,
executed by the objector’s president,
chief executive officer, or other
corporate officer or official, who has
appropriate authority to bind the
corporation, and knowledge of the
details of the objector’s inability to
adjust its network on a timely basis:
‘‘I, (name and title), under oath and
subject to penalty for perjury, certify
that I have read this objection, that the
statements contained in it are true, that
there is good ground to support the
objection, and that it is not interposed
for purposes of delay. I have appropriate
authority to make this certification on
behalf of (objector) and I agree to
provide any information the
Commission may request to allow the
Commission to evaluate the truthfulness
and validity of the statements contained
in this objection.’’
(h) Responses to Objections. If an
objection is filed, an incumbent LEC
shall have until no later than the
sixtieth business day following the
release of the Commission’s public
notice to file with the Commission a
response to the objection and to serve
the response on all parties that filed
objections. An incumbent LEC’s
response must:
(1) Provide information responsive to
the allegations and concerns identified
by the objectors;
(2) State whether any implementation
date(s) proposed by the objector(s) are
acceptable;
(3) Indicate any specific technical
assistance that the incumbent LEC is
willing to give to the objectors; and

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(4) Provide any other relevant
information.
(i) Resolution of Objections to Timing.
If an objection based on timing is filed
pursuant to paragraph (h) of this
section, then the Chief, Wireline
Competition Bureau, will issue an order
determining a reasonable public notice
period, provided however, that if an
incumbent LEC does not file a response
within the time period allotted, or if the
incumbent LEC’s response accepts the
latest implementation date stated by an
objector, then the incumbent LEC’s
public notice shall be deemed amended
to specify the implementation date
requested by the objector, without
further Commission action. An
incumbent LEC must amend its public
notice to reflect any change in the
applicable implementation date
pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section.
■ 6. Section 51.333 is amended by
revising the section heading and
paragraphs (b) and (c) to read as follows
and removing paragraph (f).
§ 51.333 Notice of network changes: Short
term notice, objections thereto.

*

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*
*
*
(b) Implementation date. The
Commission will release a public notice
of filings of such short term notices. The
public notice will set forth the docket
number assigned by the Commission to
the incumbent LEC’s notice. The
effective date of the network changes
referenced in those filings shall be
deemed final on the tenth business day
after the release of the Commission’s
public notice, unless an objection is
filed pursuant to paragraph (c) of this
section.
(c) Objection procedures for short
term notice. An objection to an
incumbent LEC’s short term notice may
be filed by an information service
provider or telecommunications service
provider that directly interconnects
with the incumbent LEC’s network.
Such objections must be filed with the
Commission, and served on the
incumbent LEC, no later than the ninth
business day following the release of the
Commission’s public notice. All
objections filed under this section must:
(1) State specific reasons why the
objector cannot accommodate the
incumbent LEC’s changes by the date
stated in the incumbent LEC’s public
notice and must indicate any specific
technical information or other
assistance required that would enable
the objector to accommodate those
changes;
(2) List steps the objector is taking to
accommodate the incumbent LEC’s
changes on an expedited basis;

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(3) State the earliest possible date (not
to exceed six months from the date the
incumbent LEC gave its original public
notice under this section) by which the
objector anticipates that it can
accommodate the incumbent LEC’s
changes, assuming it receives the
technical information or other
assistance requested under paragraph
(c)(1) of this section;
(4) Provide any other information
relevant to the objection; and
(5) Provide the following affidavit,
executed by the objector’s president,
chief executive officer, or other
corporate officer or official, who has
appropriate authority to bind the
corporation, and knowledge of the
details of the objector’s inability to
adjust its network on a timely basis:
‘‘I, (name and title), under oath and
subject to penalty for perjury, certify
that I have read this objection, that the
statements contained in it are true, that
there is good ground to support the
objection, and that it is not interposed
for purposes of delay. I have appropriate
authority to make this certification on
behalf of (objector) and I agree to
provide any information the
Commission may request to allow the
Commission to evaluate the truthfulness
and validity of the statements contained
in this objection.’’
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2014–30776 Filed 1–5–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
49 CFR Part 1250
[Docket No. EP 724 (Sub-No. 4)]

United States Rail Service Issues—
Performance Data Reporting
Surface Transportation Board
(the Board or STB), Department of
Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
AGENCY:

Through this Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking, the Board is
proposing to establish new regulations
requiring all Class I railroads and the
Chicago Transportation Coordination
Office (CTCO), through its Class I
members, to report certain service
performance metrics on a weekly basis.
DATES: Comments are due by March 2,
2015. Reply comments are due by April
29, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Comments and replies may
be submitted either via the Board’s efiling format or in the traditional paper
SUMMARY:

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format. Any person using e-filing should
attach a document and otherwise
comply with the instructions at the EFILING link on the Board’s Web site, at
http://www.stb.dot.gov. Any person
submitting a filing in the traditional
paper format should send an original
and 10 copies to: Surface Transportation
Board, Attn: Docket No. EP 724 (SubNo. 4), 395 E Street SW., Washington,
DC 20423–0001.
Copies of written comments and
replies will be available for viewing and
self-copying at the Board’s Public
Docket Room, Room 131, and will be
posted to the Board’s Web site. Copies
will also be available (for a fee) by
contacting the Board’s Chief Records
Officer at (202) 245–0238 or 395 E Street
SW., Washington, DC 20423–0001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Valerie Quinn at (202) 245–0382.
Assistance for the hearing impaired is
available through the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at
(800) 877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Surface Transportation Board has been
closely monitoring the rail industry’s
performance since service problems
began to emerge in late 2013. Service
challenges have impacted a wide range
of commodities, including grain,
fertilizer, ethanol, coal, automobiles,
chemicals, propane, consumer goods,
crude oil, and industrial commodities.
In response to the service challenges
affecting this broad cross-section of rail
shippers, the Board held two public
hearings this year, in April in
Washington, DC, and in September in
Fargo, N.D., to provide the opportunity
for interested persons to report on
service problems, to hear from rail
industry executives on plans to address
rail service problems, and to explore
additional options to improve service.
During and after these hearings,
shippers expressed concerns about the
lack of publicly available information
related to rail service and requested
access to performance data from the
railroads to better understand the scope,
magnitude, and impact of the service
issues,1 as well as the underlying causes
and the prospects for recovery.
Based on these concerns and our own
need to better understand railroad
operating conditions, on October 8,
2014, the Board ordered all Class I
1 See generally National Grain and Feed
Association Letter, U.S. Rail Serv. Issues, EP 724
(filed May 6, 2014); Western Coal Traffic League
Letter, U.S. Rail Serv. Issues, EP 724 (filed Apr. 17,
2014); Apr. Hr’g Tr. 154–155, U.S. Rail Serv. Issues,
EP 724 (Apr. 10, 2014); Western Coal Traffic League
Statement 5–6, U.S. Rail Serv. Issues, EP 724 (filed
Sept. 5, 2014); Sept. Hr’g Tr. 48, 290, U.S. Rail Serv.
Issues, EP 724 (Sept. 4, 2014).

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railroads and the Class I railroad
members of the CTCO to file weekly
reports on an interim basis, containing
specific performance data. See U.S. Rail
Serv. Issues—Data Collection (Interim
Data Order), EP 724 (Sub-No. 3) (STB
served Oct. 8, 2014). Specifically,
railroads were asked to report weekly
average train speeds, weekly average
terminal dwell times, weekly average
cars online, number of trains held short
of destination or scheduled interchange,
and loading metrics for grain and coal
service, among other items. The data
were intended to give both the Board
and its stakeholders access to near realtime information about the operations
and performance of the Class I railroads,
and the fluidity of the Chicago gateway.
In addition, the data were expected to
assist rail shippers in making logistics
decisions, planning operations and
production, and mitigating losses amid
the challenging railroad operating
environment.
On October 22, 2014, the Class I
railroads and the Association of
American Railroads (AAR) (on behalf of
the CTCO) filed the first set of weekly
reports in response to the Interim Data
Order. As requested by the Board, each
carrier also provided an explanation of
its methodology for deriving
performance data in response to each
request. Generally, the responses
corresponded to the elements of the
Interim Data Order; however, some
railroads approached individual
requests differently, leading to
variations in the reported data. The
different approaches primarily were due
to the railroads’ disparate data-keeping
systems, different railroad operating
practices, and/or unintended
ambiguities in certain requests. Certain
railroads also departed from the Board’s
prescribed reporting in order to
maintain consistency with their own
weekly data runs and analysis. For the
most part, however, railroads made
reasonable efforts to respond to each
request, substituting analogous data
when precise information could not
readily be derived.
In addition to the weekly data reports,
AAR, on behalf of its Class I freight
railroad members (except Canadian
Pacific Railway Company (CP)),
submitted a letter to the Board
indicating that it believes the public, the
Board, and the railroads would have
benefited from ‘‘[a] constructive public
discourse regarding service data [which]
could have led to a more productive and
less burdensome collection of
information that would have satisfied

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the Board’s regulatory objectives.’’ 2
With the first several weeks of filings in
response to the Interim Data Order
complete, we invite public comment to
determine whether to establish new
regulations for permanent reporting and
to receive constructive input to revise,
as necessary, and improve the existing
data reporting structure.
The weekly filings have allowed the
Board and rail stakeholders to monitor
the industry’s performance in near realtime, and allowed the Board to begin to
develop baseline performance data.
Based on the Board’s experience with
the reporting to date, and as expressly
contemplated in the Interim Data Order,
the Board is now moving forward with
a rulemaking to determine whether to
establish new regulations for permanent
reporting by the members of the Class I
railroad industry, the Class I carriers
operating in the Chicago gateway, and
the CTCO through its Class I members.
The permanent collection of
performance data on a weekly basis
would allow continuity of the current
reporting and improve the Board’s
ability to identify and help resolve
future regional or national service
disruptions more quickly, should they
occur. Transparency would also benefit
rail shippers and other stakeholders, by
helping them to better plan operations
and make informed decisions based on
publicly available, near real-time data,
and their own analysis of performance
trends over time.
The proposed data requirements have
been designed to impose as small a
burden as possible on the carriers that
would be subject to the rule, while
achieving the Board’s goal of continued
rail service performance transparency.
The Board believes that the benefit to
the Board, rail shippers, and other
stakeholders would outweigh the
burden of reporting under the proposed
rule. The data collected pursuant to the
rule would continue to provide for
service performance transparency in the
industry and allow the Board to more
rapidly identify and respond to service
performance issues.
Accordingly, the Board seeks public
comments on proposed new regulations
to be codified at 49 CFR 1250.1–1250.3
to require Class I rail carriers, Class I
carriers operating in the Chicago
gateway, and the CTCO, through its
Class I members, to submit to the Board
weekly reports on railroad performance.
The proposed reporting requirements
are based on and include those
contained in the Interim Data Order, but
include the following modifications:
2 AAR Letter 1, U.S. Rail Serv. Issues—Data
Collection, EP 724 (Sub-No. 3) (filed Oct. 22, 2014).

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• In subsection (a), instructions have
been added to Requests nos. 1–3 to align
the requests with performance data
being published by AAR;
• In subsection (a), Request no. 4 has
been modified to capture average dwell
time for ‘‘loaded’’ unit trains at origin
‘‘or interchange receipt,’’ and to clarify
that the data is to be reported by the
railroad receiving the loaded train at a
shipper facility or interchange location;
• In subsection (a), Requests nos. 5
and 6 have been revised to cure
ambiguities that emerged during the
initial reporting periods and to clarify
the data intended to be reported.
Request no. 5 is intended to capture
every instance during the reporting
week in which specific types of loaded
or empty trains are held at a location on
the reporting railroad’s system short of
destination or scheduled interchange for
longer than six consecutive hours.
Request no. 6 is intended to capture an

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average of daily snap shots of cars in
specific services that have not moved
for the specified durations (48–120
hours; greater than 120 hours);
• In subsection (a), Request no. 9 has
been deleted from the proposed
requirements because it appears to have
limited application to the carriers’
disparate grain unit train operations;
however, we ask that commenters
propose an appropriate measure to
capture performance data for grain unit
train operations;
• In subsection (a), Request no. 10 has
been renumbered as Request no. 9 and
revised to allow carriers to report
weekly total coal unit train loadings or
weekly total coal car loadings by coal
production region;
• In subsection (b), Request no. 1 has
been modified to clarify that the request
is for the average daily car ‘‘volume’’ at
the key Chicago yards, meaning cars on
hand, rather than cars processed;

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• In subsection (b), Request no. 2 has
been modified to clarify the method for
deriving trains held outside the Chicago
gateway;
• A new item has been added in
subsection (d) to request a quarterly
listing of all work-in-progress, major rail
infrastructure projects, including project
location by state, planned completion
date for the project, percentage complete
at the time of reporting, and project
description and purpose. For purposes
of this request, ‘‘work-in-progress’’
refers to projects for which ground
breaking has taken place, ‘‘major’’ refers
to any rail infrastructure project
budgeted at $25 million or more over
the life of the project, and ‘‘rail
infrastructure’’ refers to capacity
expansion or enhancement projects,
excluding maintenance-of-way.
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

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Table 1. Major changes to the data requests between the Interim Data Order and the
proposed rule.
Interim Data Order
Proposed Rule
Description of Change
Subsection (a), Request nos. Subsection (a), Request
Adds instructions to align
1-3: Train speed, terminal
nos. 1-3 (with added
requests with performance
instructions)
data being published by
dwell time, total cars on
line.
AAR.
Subsection (a), Request no.
Subsection (a), Request no. Captures average dwell
4: Weekly average dwell
4: Weekly average dwell
time for loaded unit trains at
origin or interchange
time at origin for unit train
time at origin or
shipments sorted by grain,
interchange location for
receipt, and clarifies that the
coal, automotive, crude oil,
loaded unit train shipments data is to be reported by the
ethanol, and all other unit
sorted by grain, coal,
railroad receiving the
trains.
automotive, crude oil,
loaded train.
ethanol, and all other unit
trains .... The data is to
be reported by the
receiving carrier.
Subsection (a), Request no.
Subsection (a), Request no. Adds instructions to cure
5: Trains held short of
5 (with added instructions)
ambiguities that emerged
destination or scheduled
during the initial reporting
interchange for longer than
periods.
six hours.
Subsection (a), Request no.
Subsection (a), Request no. Adds instructions to cure
6: The v1eekly total number 6: The daily average
ambiguities and clarifies
of loaded and empty cars,
number of loaded and
data intended to be
stated separately, in revenue empty cars, operating in
reported.
service that have not moved normal movement and
in ... sorted by the
billed to an origin or
following classifications
destination, which have
(intermodal, grain, coal,
not moved in ... sorted by
crude oil, automotive,
service type (intermodal,
grain, coal, crude oil,
ethanol, or all other) ....
automotive, ethanol, or all
other).
Subsection (a), Request no.
Deleted
Prior request no. 9 appears
9: Plan versus performance
to have limited application
for grain shuttle (or
to the carriers' disparate
dedicated grain train) round
grain unit train operations;
trips.
commenters are asked to
propose an appropriate
measure to capture
performance data for grain
unit train operations.
Subsection (a), Request no.
Subsection (a), Request no. Allows carriers to report
coal
unit
1O· A· ....... ~= ,.1,..,;1.
9:
Weekly total coal unit
weekly total coal unit train
...
•• 1

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As the Board noted in the Interim
Data Order, at both hearings, carriers
cited congestion in Chicago as one
significant cause of the service
problems.3 While congestion in the area
was particularly acute last winter, it has
been a recurring problem at this crucial
network hub. The Board continues to
recognize the longstanding importance
of Chicago as a hub in national rail
operations and the impact that recent
extreme congestion in Chicago has had
on rail service in the Upper Midwest
and nationwide. CP asserts, in its
response to the Interim Data Order, that
if either the Belt Railway of Chicago
(BRC) or the Indiana Harbor Belt
Railroad (IHB) becomes congested, the
Chicago Terminal then becomes
congested and that congestion then
‘‘reverberates throughout the system.’’ 4
CP urges the Board to require BRC and
IHB to report appropriate metrics on a
weekly basis.5 Under the Interim Data
Order, AAR has been reporting average
daily car counts in key Chicago area
yards, including Clearing and Blue
Island, which are BRC and IHB yards,
respectively. Commenters are invited to
propose the reporting of additional
metrics, from the BRC and IHB or
others, that could improve oversight and
support a better understanding of
service issues in the Chicago area.
Finally, the Board in the Interim Data
Order directed the Class I members of
the CTCO to file a general summary of
the CTCO’s service contingency
3 Apr. Hr’g Tr. 186–87, 208, U.S. Rail Serv. Issues,
EP 724 (Apr. 10, 2014); North Dakota Public Service
Commission Comments 3, U.S. Rail Serv. Issues, EP
724 (filed Sept. 4, 2014).
4 CP Comment 1, U.S. Rail Serv. Issues—Data
Collection, EP 724 (Sub-No. 3) (filed Oct. 22, 2014).
5 Id.

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protocols. However, given that the
Chicago gateway remains a concern, we
believe that having more information
about how the Class I carriers are
managing operations in Chicago would
be beneficial. Accordingly, the Class I
members of the CTCO are directed to
file a detailed explanation of the CTCO’s
service contingency protocols, including
the protocol triggers and
countermeasures. Should the members
need to provide proprietary information
to sufficiently explain the CTCO
protocols (such as car counts and
specific locations that trigger the
protocols), they may request a protective
order.
The Board also asks that Class I
railroads comment on the capabilities of
their respective internal data-keeping
systems for capturing and generating
data and the appropriate timeframe (i.e.,
starting day and ending day) for the
reporting week and for filing reports.
Commenters are also asked to address
whether and how geographical
parameters could be practically
incorporated into the requests in order
to identify parts of the freight rail
network experiencing acute congestion
or service issues. The proposed rules
address the same specific commodities
covered under the Interim Data Order.
If commenters believe it would advance
the Board’s goals, they may include
metrics focused on other commodities
along with an explanation of why it
would be beneficial to collect that
information.6 Additionally, commenters
may propose revised definitions for
6 On October 24, 2014, The Fertilizer Institute
submitted a letter asking the Board to require
separate reporting with regard to fertilizer
shipments. The Fertilizer Institute Letter 1–2, U.S.
Rail Serv. Issues—Data Collection, EP 724 (Sub-No.
3) (filed Oct. 24, 2014).

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477

terms used in the data requests, such as
‘‘unit train,’’ if they believe such revised
definitions would be necessary or
helpful to the uniform collection of
data, and methodologies for deriving
data.
Additionally, on October 22, 2014,
Kansas City Southern Railway Company
(KCS) filed a petition for a waiver from
certain requirements due to the nature
of its grain business and its very limited
number of customers in a discrete
number of states in its service territory.7
In response to the petition, the Board
proposes to exempt KCS from filing
state-specific information in response to
Request nos. 7 and 8. Commenters may
address whether this exemption is
appropriate.
Because the Board is considering
whether to implement a standardized
set of weekly reporting requirements,
proposals for new reporting items
should take into account whether they
may be obtained from data likely
maintained by railroads in the ordinary
course of business. Proposed items
should not call for narrative responses
or impose requirements that vary from
week to week. Also, the Class I railroads
are asked to comment on which requests
can be reported through AAR or Railinc
Corporation 8 on behalf of the industry.
In seeking public comments, the
Board requests that interested
stakeholders evaluate the utility of each
7 See KCS Petition for Waiver, U.S. Rail Serv.
Issues—Data Collection, EP 724 (Sub-No. 3) (filed
Oct. 22, 2014).
8 Railinc Corporation provides information
technology, applications, and electronic data
services to the North American freight railway
industry. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AAR.
See Railinc, Company Overview, https://
www.railinc.com/rportal/company-overview (last
visited Dec. 19, 2014).

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data request, offer proposed
modifications, and/or propose other
requests that would assist the Board and
the public in gaining complete and
accurate near real-time assessment of
the performance of Class I railroads.
Regulatory Flexibility Act. The
Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980
(RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601–612, generally
requires a description and analysis of
new rules that would have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. In drafting a
rule, an agency is required to: (1) Assess
the effect that its regulation will have on
small entities; (2) analyze effective
alternatives that may minimize a
regulation’s impact; and (3) make the
analysis available for public comment.
§§ 601–604. In its notice of proposed
rulemaking, the agency must either
include an initial regulatory flexibility
analysis, § 603(a), or certify that the
proposed rule would not have a
‘‘significant impact on a substantial
number of small entities.’’ § 605(b). The
impact must be a direct impact on small
entities ‘‘whose conduct is
circumscribed or mandated’’ by the
proposed rule. White Eagle Coop. v.
Conner, 553 F.3d 467, 480 (7th Cir.
2009).
The rules proposed here would not
have a significant economic impact
upon a substantial number of small
entities, within the meaning of the RFA.
The reporting requirements would
apply only to Class I rail carriers, which,
under the Board’s regulations, have
annual carrier operating revenues of
$250 million or more in 1991 dollars
(adjusted for inflation using 2013 data,
the revenue threshold for a Class I rail
carrier is $467,063,129). Class I carriers
generally do not fall within the Small
Business Administration’s definition of
a small business for the rail
transportation industry.9 Therefore, the
Board certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b)
that this rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities within the
meaning of the RFA. A copy of this
decision will be served upon the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy, Office of
Advocacy, U.S. Small Business
Administration, Washington, DC 20416.
Paperwork Reduction Act. Pursuant to
the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44
U.S.C. 3501–3549, and Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
9 The Small Business Administration’s Office of
Size Standards has established a size standard for
rail transportation, pursuant to which a line-haul
railroad is considered small if its number of
employees is 1,500 or less, and a short line railroad
is considered small if its number of employees is
500 or less. 13 CFR 121.201 (industry subsector
482).

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regulations at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(3), the
Board seeks comments regarding: (1)
Whether the collection of information in
the proposed rule, and further described
in the Appendix, is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of
the Board, including whether the
collection has practical utility; (2) the
accuracy of the Board’s burden
estimates; (3) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information collected; and (4) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of
information on the respondents,
including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, when
appropriate. Information pertinent to
these issues is included in the
Appendix. The collection in this
proposed rule will be submitted to OMB
for review as required under 44 U.S.C.
3507(d) and 5 CFR 1320.11.
This proposal would not significantly
affect either the quality of the human
environment or the conservation of
energy resources.
It is ordered:
1. Comments are due by March 2,
2015. Reply comments are due by April
29, 2015.
2. A copy of this decision will be
served upon the Chief Counsel for
Advocacy, Office of Advocacy, U.S.
Small Business Administration.
3. Notice of this decision will be
published in the Federal Register.
4. The Class I members of the CTCO
shall file a detailed explanation of the
CTCO’s service contingency protocols,
including the protocol triggers and
countermeasures, by January 14, 2015.
5. This decision is effective on its
service date.
List of Subjects

1250.2
1250.3

Definitions
Data Elements

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 721 and 11145.
§ 1250.1

Reporting Requirements.

Each Class I railroad is required to
report to the Board on a weekly basis,
the performance data set forth in
§ 1250.3(a)(1)–(9). The Class I railroads
operating at the Chicago gateway are
required to jointly report on a weekly
basis the performance data set forth in
§ 1250.3(b)(1)–(2). The reports required
under § 1250.3(b)(1)–(2) may be
submitted by the Association of
American Railroads (AAR). The data
must be reported to the Board between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time on
Tuesday of each week, covering the
previous reporting week (12:01 a.m.
Sunday–11:59 p.m. Saturday). In the
event that a particular Tuesday is a
Federal holiday or falls on a day when
STB offices are closed for any other
reason, then the data should be reported
on the next business day when the
offices are open. The data must be filed
in Excel format, using an electronic
spreadsheet made available by the
Board’s Office of Public Assistance,
Governmental Affairs, and Compliance
(OPAGAC), and should be emailed to
[email protected]. Each week’s
report must include data only for that
week, and should not include data for
previous weeks. Unless otherwise
provided, the data will be publicly
available and posted on the Board’s Web
site.
§ 1250.2

Definitions.

(a) Unit train. Unit train refers to a
train comprising 50 or more railcars of
the same or similar type, carrying a
single commodity in bulk.

49 CFR Part 1250

§ 1250.3 Railroad Performance Data
Elements.

Administrative practice and
procedure, Railroads, Reporting and
record keeping requirements.

(a) Each Class I railroad must report
the following performance data
elements for the reporting week.
However, with regard to elements 7
and 8, Kansas City Southern Railway
Company is not required to report
information by State, but instead shall
report system-wide data.
(1) System-average train speed by the
following train types for the reporting
week. (Train speed should be measured
for line-haul movements between
terminals. The average speed for each
train type should be calculated by
dividing total train-miles by total hours
operated.)
(i) Intermodal
(ii) Grain unit
(iii) Coal unit
(iv) Automotive unit
(v) Crude oil unit

Decided: December 30, 2014.
By the Board, Chairman Elliott, Vice
Chairman Miller, and Commissioner
Begeman.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.

For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, the Surface Transportation
Board proposes to amend title 49,
chapter X, subchapter D, of the Code of
Federal Regulations by adding Part 1250
as follows:
PART 1250—RAILROAD
PERFORMANCE DATA REPORTING
Sec.
1250.1

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 3 / Tuesday, January 6, 2015 / Proposed Rules
(vi) Ethanol unit
(vii) Manifest
(viii) All other
(2) Weekly average terminal dwell
time, measured in hours, excluding cars
on run-through trains (i.e., cars that
arrive at, and depart from, a terminal on
the same through train) for the carrier’s
system and its 10 largest terminals in
terms of railcars processed. (Terminal
dwell is the average time a car resides
at a specified terminal location
expressed in hours.)
(3) Weekly average cars on line by the
following car types for the reporting
week. (Each railroad is requested to
average its daily on-line inventory of
freight cars. Articulated cars should be
counted as a single unit. Cars on private
tracks (e.g., at a customer’s facility)
should be counted on the last railroad
on which they were located.
Maintenance-of-way cars and other cars
in railroad service are to be excluded.)
(i) Box
(ii) Covered hopper
(iii) Gondola
(iv) Intermodal
(v) Multilevel (Automotive)
(vi) Open hopper
(vii) Tank
(viii) Other
(ix) Total
(4) Weekly average dwell time at
origin or interchange location for loaded
unit train shipments sorted by grain,
coal, automotive, crude oil, ethanol, and
all other unit trains. (For the purposes
of this data element, dwell time refers
to the time period from release of a unit
train at origin or interchange location
until actual movement by the receiving
carrier. The data is to be reported by the
receiving carrier.)
(5) The weekly total number of loaded
and empty trains held short of
destination or scheduled interchange for
longer than six consecutive hours sorted
by train type (intermodal, grain unit,
coal unit, automotive unit, crude oil
unit, ethanol unit, other unit, and all
other) and by cause (crew, locomotive
power, track maintenance, mechanical
issue, or other (explain)). (This request
is intended to capture every instance
during the reporting week in which a
loaded or empty train is held at a
location on the reporting railroad’s
system short of its destination or
scheduled interchange for longer than
six consecutive hours. For example, if,
during a reporting week, a coal unit
train originating from the Powder River
Basin, and scheduled to be interchanged
in St. Louis were held for six
consecutive hours in Nebraska due to
crew unavailability and held again for
nine consecutive hours in Iowa due to

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track maintenance, during the same
reporting week, then this train would be
reported twice in the weekly report to
the STB (once for ‘‘crew’’ and once for
‘‘track maintenance’’).)
(6) The daily average number of
loaded and empty cars, operating in
normal movement and billed to an
origin or destination, which have not
moved in (a) more than 120 hours; and
(b) more than 48 hours, but less than or
equal to 120 hours, sorted by service
type (intermodal, grain, coal, crude oil,
automotive, ethanol, or all other). In
order to derive the daily averages for the
reporting week, carriers are requested to
run a same-time snapshot each day of
the reporting week, capturing cars
within each category. The number of
cars captured on the daily snapshot for
each category should be added, and
then divided by the number of days in
the reporting week (typically seven
days). In deriving this data, carriers
should include cars in normal service
anywhere on their system, but should
not include cars placed at a customer
facility; in constructive placement;
placed for interchange to another
carrier; in bad order status; in storage;
or operating in railroad service (e.g.,
ballast).
(7) The weekly total number of grain
cars loaded and billed, reported by
State, aggregated for the following
Standard Transportation Commodity
Codes (STCCs): 01131 (barley), 01132
(corn), 01133 (oats), 01135 (rye), 01136
(sorghum grains), 01137 (wheat), 01139
(grain, not elsewhere classified), 01144
(soybeans), 01341 (beans, dry), 01342
(peas, dry), and 01343 (cowpeas, lentils,
or lupines). ‘‘Total grain cars loaded and
billed’’ includes cars in shuttle service;
dedicated train service; reservation,
lottery, open and other ordering
systems; and, private cars. Additionally,
separately report the total cars loaded
and billed in shuttle service (or
dedicated train service) versus total cars
loaded and billed in all other ordering
systems, including private cars.
(8) For the aggregated STCCs in Item
7, report by State the following:
(i) The total number of overdue car
orders (a car order equals one car;
overdue means not delivered within the
delivery window);
(ii) Average number of days late for all
overdue grain car orders;
(iii) The total number of new orders
received during the past week;
(iv) The total number of orders filled
during the past week; and
(v) The number of orders cancelled,
respectively, by shipper and railroad
during the past week.
(9) Weekly total coal unit train
loadings or car loadings for the

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479

reporting week by coal production
region.
(b) The Class I railroads operating at
the Chicago gateway (or AAR on behalf
of the Class I railroads operating at the
Chicago gateway) must jointly report the
following performance data elements for
the reporting week:
(1) Average daily car volume in the
following Chicago area yards: Barr,
Bensenville, Blue Island, Calumet,
Cicero, Clearing, Corwith, Gibson, Kirk,
Markham, and Proviso for the reporting
week; and
(2) Average daily number of trains
held for delivery to Chicago sorted by
receiving carrier for the reporting week.
The average daily number should be
derived by taking a same time snapshot
each day of the reporting week,
capturing the trains held for each
railroad at that time, and then adding
those snapshots together and dividing
by the days in the reporting week. (For
purposes of this request, ‘‘held for
delivery’’ refers to a train staged by the
delivering railroad short of its
scheduled arrival at the Chicago
gateway at the request of the receiving
railroad, and that has missed its
scheduled window for arrival.)
(Note: If Chicago terminal yards not
identified in § (b)(1), are included in the
Chicago Transportation Coordination
Office’s (CTCO) assessment of the
fluidity of the gateway for purposes of
implementing service contingency
measures, then the data requested in
§ (b)(1) shall also be reported for those
yards.)
(c) The Class I railroad members of
the CTCO (or one Class I railroad
member of the CTCO designated to file
on behalf of all Class I railroad
members, or AAR) must:
(1) File a written notice with the
Board when the CTCO changes its
operating Alert Level status, within one
business day of that change in status.
(2) If the CTCO revises its protocol of
service contingency measures, file with
the Board a detailed explanation of the
new protocol, including both triggers
and countermeasures, within seven days
of its adoption.
(d) On a quarterly basis, each Class I
railroad must report all work-inprogress, major rail infrastructure
projects, including location by State,
planned completion date for each
project, percentage complete for each
project at the time of reporting, and
project description and purpose. For
purposes of this request, ‘‘work-inprogress’’ refers to projects for which
ground-breaking has taken place;
‘‘major’’ refers to projects whose budget
equals or exceeds $25 million over the
life of the project; and ‘‘rail

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infrastructure’’ refers to network
capacity expansion or enhancement,
excluding maintenance-of-way. The
data must be reported to the Board
between 9AM and 5PM Eastern Time on
the first Tuesday of each quarter. In the
event that the first Tuesday of a quarter
is a Federal holiday or falls on a day
when STB offices are closed for any
other reason, then the data should be
reported on the next business day when
the offices are open.
The following will not appear in the
CFR:

STB Form Number: None.
Type of Review: New collection.
Respondents: Class I railroads (on behalf of
themselves and the Chicago Transportation
Coordination Office (‘‘CTCO’’)).
Number of Respondents: Seven.
Estimated Time per Response: The
proposed rules seek three related responses,
as indicated in the table below.

Description of Collection
Title: Rail Service Data Collection.
OMB Control Number: 2140–XXXX.

Weekly ......................................
Quarterly ...................................
On occasion ..............................

Estimated
time per response
(hours)

Type of responses

Weekly ......................................
Quarterly ...................................
On occasion ..............................

3
3
3

Frequency: The frequencies of the three
related collections sought under the
proposed rules are set forth in the table
below.

Frequency
of responses
(per year)

Type of responses

TABLE—ESTIMATED TIME PER
RESPONSE

Appendix
The additional information below is
included to assist those who may wish to
submit comments pertinent to review under
the Paperwork Reduction Act:

TABLE—FREQUENCY OF RESPONSES

52
4
2

Total Burden Hours (annually including all
respondents): The recurring burden hours are
estimated to be no more than 1,182 hours per
year, as derived in the table below. In
addition, there are some one-time, start-up
costs of approximately 2 hours for each
respondent filing a quarterly report that must
be added to the first year’s total burden
hours. To avoid inflating the estimated total
annual hourly burden, the two-hour start-up
burden has been divided by three and spread
over the three-year approval period. Thus,
the total annual burden hours for each of the
three years are estimated at no more than
1,186.67 hours per year.

TABLE—TOTAL BURDEN HOURS
[Per year]
Number of respondents

Estimated time
per response
(hours)

Weekly .............................................................................................................
Quarterly ..........................................................................................................
On occasion .....................................................................................................

7
7
1

3
3
3

52
4
2

1,092
84
6

Total ..........................................................................................................

........................

........................

........................

1,182

Type of responses

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Total ‘‘Non-hour Burden’’ Cost: None
identified. Reports will be submitted
electronically to the Board.
Needs and Uses: The new information
collections would allow the Board to better
understand current service issues and
potentially to identify and resolve possible
future regional and national service

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disruptions more quickly. Transparency
would also benefit rail shippers and
stakeholders, by allowing them to better plan
operations and make informed business
decisions based on publicly-available realtime data, and their own analysis of
performance trends over time.

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Frequency of
responses
(per year)

Total yearly
burden hours

Retention Period: Information in this report
will be maintained in the Board’s files for 10
years, after which it is transferred to the
National Archives.
[FR Doc. 2014–30940 Filed 1–5–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P

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