STB CONSIDERS MANDATORY ARBITRATION FOR SMALL RAIL RATE DISPUTE

STB CONSIDERS MANDATORY ARBITRATION FOR SMALL RAIL RATE DISPUTE    The U.S. Surface Transportation Board is seeking public comment to assist in its development of a binding or mandatory arbitration policy to resolve small railroad rate cases.
   The STB said it favors private-sector dispute resolution, but the availability of binding arbitration is limited under the statute of the STB administers.
   “The proceeding addresses the situation of railroad customers who do not ship a substantial amount of traffic by rail and believe that the board’s formal rate complaint procedures are impractical for the limited amounts of traffic that they ship,” the STB said.
   The board wants comment on how best to identify these shippers, which handle 200 to 500 railcars a year and lack transportation alternatives. The STB also seeks input on the appropriate form of arbitration, such as baseball-style “final offer” arbitration that would limit an arbitrator to picking either the rate charged by a railroad, or the rate proposed by a shipper.
   Industry comments are due to the STB by Nov. 23.