The Association of American Railroads (AAR) welcomed the passage of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015 (S. 808) by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 10.

 “In reauthorizing the Surface Transportation Board for the first time since the agency was created, Congress has clearly stated the critical need for railroads to be able to earn the revenues to build, maintain, and further modernize the nation’s 140,000-mile privately-owned rail network. These investments are needed to meet current and future freight transportation demands,” said Edward R. Hamberger, AAR president and CEO. “This legislation strikes the right balance of preserving a market-based structure for shippers and railroads, while also providing commonsense process improvements that will allow the STB to work more efficiently.”

 “The industry invests revenue it earns, not government funding, to grow the nation’s rail system and respond to the shipping needs of customers, large and small,” said Hamberger. “Congress has reaffirmed balanced economic regulations that allow market-based competition to establish rate and service standards, with a regulatory safety net available to rail customers.”

Since 1980, the freight rail industry has spent over $600 billion on private infrastructure and equipment.