BNSF was 'revenue adequate' in 2012, STB rules

After considering refiled data submitted by BNSF Railway Co., the Surface Transportation Board (STB) determined that the railroad was one of three "revenue adequate" Class Is in 2012.

The designation means the railroads achieved a rate of return equal to or greater than the board's calculation of the rail industry's average cost of capital. In addition to BNSF, the revenue adequate Class Is were Norfolk Southern Railway and Union Pacific Railroad, according to a STB decision rendered on Dec. 31. In an Oct. 17 decision, the board had found that only NS and UP were revenue adequate in 2012.

The STB determined that the industry's cost of capital in 2012 was 11.12 percent. The board calculated a revenue adequacy figure for each Class I by comparing the cost-of-capital figure with return-on-investment data obtained from the railroads.

The STB previously determined that NS and UP were the only revenue adequate Class Is in 2011, and that UP was the only revenue adequate Class I in 2010.