Transportation

Surface Transportation Board Chairman Ann Begeman this month sent a pair of letters to two Class I railroads, questioning the lack of reciprocity in Union Pacific Railroad’s (UP) recent tariff changes and alerting the Norfolk Southern Corp. that the agency’s staff will expect to engage in weekly conference calls to monitor the rail carrier’s implementation of aspects of a “precision scheduled railroading” operating plan. In a Nov. 20 letter to UP, Begeman urged the railroad to review tariff changes it announced on Nov. 1 (and which are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1) “from the standpoint ... Read More

In anticipation of shutting down several sections of the Illinois River system during the summer of 2020 for maintenance and upgrade work on six of the eight locks and dams, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Rock Island District will host an informational webinar on Nov. 5 from 2 to 3 p.m.  Login to the webinar by clicking here. (Use the “call me feature” for the webinar to call you. If asked for a security code, enter 1111. Alternatively, users can dial 877-848-7030 and enter access code 9079541 and security code 1111.) The LaGrange Lock is due for major rehabilitation in 2020, ... Read More

President Donald Trump on Oct. 23 signed into law legislation dubbed “America’s Water Infrastructure Act,” which includes the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2018 that authorizes U.S. Corps of Engineers’ work on inland waterway locks and dams, dredging and other water resources projects.  The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 99 to 1 on Oct. 10, and the House passed the WRDA legislation by voice vote in September. During the signing ceremony, President Trump said WRDA 2018 would help “upkeep our inland waterways, which are in deep, deep trouble, but they won’t be for ... Read More

The NGFA outlined priorities to alleviate trucking capacity constraints and improve efficiency within the motor carrier industry in a statement submitted Oct. 10 to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) regarding its hours-of-service rules for commercial motor carriers. In its comments, NGFA said its primary concern for the agricultural industry is the “significantly constrained commercial trucking capacity,” particularly the shortage of available truck drivers, and urged the agency to explore ways to modify its hours-of-service rules ... Read More

The Senate on Oct. 1 voted 99-1 to approve the “America's Water Infrastructure Act,” which includes the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2018 that authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ water resources projects.  In a victory for the NGFA and other organizations whose members are commercial users of the inland waterway users, the bill does not include any authorization language that would allow for lockage fees or tolls on the inland waterways system. Among other things, WRDA 2018 includes funding for the deepening of Savannah Harbor in Georgia and replacement for the ... Read More

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Director of Civil Works James Dalton recently approved the increase in depth of the Mississippi River shipping channel between Baton Rouge, La., and the Gulf of Mexico to 50 feet. In his approval memo sent to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works R. D. James on Aug. 3, Dalton said the project now will cost $237.7 million, compared to a 2016 estimate of $88.9 million. Dalton recommended that Congress appropriate the funds needed to move the project forward. The increased cost of annual dredging to maintain the 50-foot channel is estimated at almost ... Read More

By Randy Gordon, President The Surface Transportation Board on Sept. 20 notified the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) that it intends to initiate weekly conference calls with “UP senior management” to be briefed on the carrier’s plan to implement its version of the so-called “precision scheduled railroading” operating plan popularized by the late railroad CEO E. Hunter Harrison. UP on Sept. 19 announced that it plans starting Oct. 1 to begin implementing the “core tenets” of precision scheduled railroading as part of the railroad’s “UP Unified Plan 2020.”  UP said it will do so in ... Read More

During the 88th meeting of the Inland Waterways Users Board (IUWB) this week in Paducah, Ky., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials provided updates on lock rehabilitation projects that have significant influence on the efficiency of the nation’s agricultural transportation system and supply chain.  The IUWB is the federal advisory committee tasked with making recommendations to the Corps on the priorities and spending of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. Established in 1986, the IUWB is comprised of 11 members of the shipping and carrier community appointed by the secretary of the ... Read More

President Donald Trump on Aug. 2 signed into law a bill that halts a U.S. Coast Guard rule requiring the use of biometric readers for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) cards at high-risk maritime facilities until an assessment of the program’s effectiveness is prepared and submitted to Congress. The TWIC program was established after 9/11 to improve security at high-risk ports. The legislation (H.R. 5729), the “Transportation Worker Identification Credential Accountability Act of 2018,” prohibits implementation of a rule that was set to take effect this month. Rep. John ... Read More