Under 49 U.S.C. § 11143, railroads may only include, under operating expenses, depreciation charges for those classes of property for which the Board has prescribed a rate of depreciation. Pursuant to the Board's authority under § 11145, Class I (large) rail carriers are required to submit to the Board Rail Depreciation Studies. Information in these studies is not available from any other source. The Board uses the information in these studies to prescribe depreciation rates.
US Code:
49 USC 11145
Name of Law: Reports by rail carriers, lessors, and associations
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.