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During a Feb. 27 hearing, Commissioner Linda Morgan acknowledged plans to resign from Surface Transportation Board April 8, about nine months before her term expires.


A Democrat, Morgan must be succeeded another Democrat to reflect her seat's minority-party affiliation, says STB spokesman Dennis Watson. The Bush Administration is expected to soon nominate a candidate, who will need to be confirmed by the Senate.


Chairman of STB and predecessor Interstate Commerce Commission between March 1995 and November 2002, Morgan presided over the Union Pacific Railroad-Southern Pacific Railroad merger in 1996, and Conrail split between CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway in 1999.


In June 2001, she helped establish new merger rules designed to increase the burden on applicants to demonstrate that a proposed transaction would serve the public interest.


Prior to joining ICC in 1994, Morgan served for 15 years in various positions with the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, where she was responsible for much of the legislation that established the framework for today's surface-transportation system. She also served as an associate for two years for Washington, D.C., law firm Welch & Morgan.


— Jeff Stagl