CEI Submits Supplemental Comments on Railroad Competition Before the Surface Transportation Board

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On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a non-profit public policy organization that specializes in regulatory issues, I respectfully submit this letter to supplement our March 21 comments in reply to the Surface Transportation Board’s (hereafter STB or Board) request for comments on Competition in the Railroad Industry.

The Surface Transportation Board should resist attempts to reregulate the railroad industry, which, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ 2007 Commodity Flow Survey, accounts for about 46 percent of total ton-miles moved annually. While there are indeed regulatory inefficiency problems in the railroad industry, reform must come from Congress, not the STB. Given the very real dangers of reregulation, we respectfully request the Board to oppose regulatory changes related to Competition in the Railroad Industry at this time.