advertisement

---

On July 27, the Surface Transportation Board will hold a public hearing in Washington, D.C., to review a petition filed by the Western Coal Traffic League (WCTL) regarding railroad sale or lease agreements and “paper barriers.”

WCTL has asked the board to adopt rules limiting the extent to which paper barriers are part of larger railroads’ agreements to sell or lease lines to existing or newly created short lines. The barriers “restrict the incentive or ability of a purchaser or tenant to interchange traffic with connecting railroads that could compete with the seller or landlord railroad,” according to the petition.

The hearing will enable board members to explore the topic, and provide railroads, shippers and other interested parties a forum to express their views, the STB said.