STB proposes removing restrictions on reciprocal switching

The Surface Transportation Board yesterday announced a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would remove regulations that limit options for businesses to access reciprocal rail switching through routes and rates. The STB's unanimous decision calls for repeal of 49 C.F.R. part 1144, which governs the prescription of reciprocal switching.

The proposed rulemaking would promote market forces in the freight-rail industry by removing regulatory barriers that limit those options and instead allow the STB to make decisions on a case-by-case basis, according to an STB press release. The new rule would "streamline the path for shippers to obtain competitive access before the STB, bringing the agency’s approach more closely in line with statutory intent," the STB stated in the release.

Comments on the proposed rulemaking are due March 10; reply comments are due April 24. 

The board's action follows the March 2025 launch of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force in response to Executive Order 14192, which declared a policy that federal agencies “alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens placed on the American people," STB officials said.

"This proposal would embrace market forces, enable meaningful choice for American businesses as provided under the statutes, and eliminate regulatory barriers unnecessarily stifling rail competition,” said STB Chairman Patrick Fuchs. “By proposing to remove these regulations, the board would return to the text of statutes that advance excellence, entrepreneurship, and innovation to support economic growth and supply chain resilience.”

The NPRM can be viewed and downloaded here.

The STB's action received praise from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), a major freight-rail shipping group. Last year, the ACC submitted comments to the Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force recommending that the STB's restrictions on reciprocal switching be eliminated.

"Reciprocal switching gives shippers captive to a single railroad access to a second carrier at a nearby interchange, providing access to competitive service options," ACC officials said in a prepared statement. "Under the current framework, no rail customer has ever successfully obtained reciprocal switching — a clear sign that current restrictions have failed. The new proposal would allow shippers to seek competitive access through a case specific review by the STB."