The Surface Transportation Board (Board) seeks an extension of existing approval for information collections requiring certain large railroads to publicly file various data reports pertaining to service performance, primarily on a quarterly and weekly basis. This information is intended to give both the Board and its stakeholders access to near real-time information about the operations and performance of the Class I railroads (including the fluidity of the Chicago gateway) and is expected to assist rail shippers in making logistics decisions, planning operations and production, and mitigating losses during times of challenging railroad operating environment. It allows the Board to better understand current service issues and potentially to identify and resolve possible future regional and national service disruptions more quickly. This information would be published on the Board's website for the benefit of the Board, carriers, shippers, and the general public.
US Code:
49 USC 721
Name of Law: Administrative Powers
US Code:
49 USC 11145
Name of Law: Reports by Rail Carriers
The only adjustment is to exclude the one-time hourly burden that was added in the Boardâs previous modification request to include chemical and plastics traffic as a distinct reporting category for the âcars-heldâ metric to this collection. That additional traffic category has been integrated into this collection, so the one-time burden will not be included in this extension request.
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.