STB Passenger Rail Advisory Committee holds first meeting (updated)

WASHINGTON — Rail industry professionals from around the country assembled in the hearing room at Surface Transportation Board headquarters  last week for the first meeting of the STB’s Passenger Rail Advisory Committee. The initial session’s purpose: to get acquainted with each other, discuss goals, and meet the four STB members to whom they will report.

Then-chairman Martin Oberman proposed forming the committee prior to his retirement. Its published mission is to “provide advice and guidance to the board, on a continuing basis, and to provide a forum to address passenger rail transportation issues in a manner that balances the interests of intercity and commuter rail passengers, and operators, government entities, freight rail shippers and carriers, railway labor, and the general public.”

The full list of members is available at the committee’s website. The geographically diverse roster selected from more than 90 applicants includes officers from Amtrak; operating authorities; Class I railroads; regional railroads and short lines; commuter agencies and operators; rail labor; passenger advocacy organizations; and state transportation departments.

Following welcoming remarks by Chairman Robert Primus, Vice Chairman Karen Hedlund, and board members Michelle Schultz and Patrick Fuchs, committee individuals shared the qualifications that prompted their selection.

Derwinski, Posner named chairmen

 The Advisory Committee charter provides for two co-chairman to be elected by the majority of the group: one representing passenger rail interests and the other from freight rail. There were four nominees for the passenger position:

— Jim Derwinski, CEO/executive director of Chicago’s Metra (Commuter rail category)
— Husein Cumber, chief strategy officer, Florida East Coast Industries (non-Amtrak)
— James Blair, Amtrak assistant vice president of host railroads (Amtrak)
— Roger Millar, Washington state secretary of transportation (state DOT funding Amtrak service)

There was no majority on the first ballot; in a run-off of the top two vote-getters, Derwinski topped Cumber.

On the freight side, Rail Development Corp. and Iowa Interstate Railroad Chairman Henry Posner was the lone nominee. He had a prior commitment at a Posner Foundation event, but Ida Posner, Rail Development Corp. vice president of strategic planning, attended and accepted the co-chairmanship on his behalf.

Ground rules

Designated Federal Officer Brian O’Boyle explained Federal Advisory Committee Act requirements, which allow the public to observe the proceedings but not participate. There is currently no provision to live-stream the meetings; minutes of the event had not been posted one week after it took place.

Committee members voted to require in-person attendance, but yet-to-be-determined subcommittees will be able to meet remotely. The charter provides for two annual meetings, but the group decided on three gatherings in 2025 because many members were serving two-year terms that began in March 2024.

It is expected the committee will be available to assist the STB’s recently-established Office of Passenger Rail, which is involved with the dispute brought by Amtrak against Union Pacific’s handling of the Sunset Limited [see “STB to end discovery portion of Sunset Limited on-time performance case,” News Wire, Aug. 20, 2024].

Ethics Officer Chris Oehrle told the group, “You were brought in for your (outside of government) point of view and financial interest, but you can’t trade on your position. A government employee can’t have those interests without committing a conflict-of-interest crime.”

But not so fast. He adds that any matter before the board can’t be discussed without all parties being present — the ex parte rule. When asked by News Wire during the next break if the Amtrak-UP on-time performance case can be discussed, Oehrle said committee members “can only advise the board in a general way; they can’t make an argument involving specifics of a proceeding under review.”

Tackling hot topics

What it does mean, though, is that the committee’s expertise and varying points of view may help nail down a meaningful definition of what “preference” really means. That was one of the issues committee members brought up as they revealed challenges the group might attempt to solve.

Derwinski noted, “Interstate commerce is vital to this country. It’s a big deal that we can’t get in each other’s way. This committee can help stimulate those conversations.”

Of harnessing public funds to add capacity and speaking of his Brightline experience, Florida East Coast’s Cumber observed, “It becomes very tough with elected officials who have term limits when they can’t see a project come to fruition while they are in office. And the private sector has to be concerned with cost of capital. But if you can deliver these projects in a much more efficient way, I do believe there is a passenger rail renaissance out there.”

For Rail Development Corp.’s Ida Posner it’s liability insurance. “The high cost is a huge barrier, especially for smaller projects.” She also wants to explore how branch lines are valued in abandonment proceedings. “If we’re thinking long-term, what’s the best use of that infrastructure?” she asked.

Liability and freight-passenger coexistence also topped Carl Warren’s list. The North Carolina Railroad President and CEO told News Wire, “[These concerns] are something our company has to think about all the time. The liability question is a big hurdle that doesn’t always get addressed at the right point in the project sequence. That makes it very challenging.” Warren’s state-owned tracks host the Carolinian, Silver Star, and Piedmont passenger trains as well as a variety of freight traffic. “We need to recognize where freight and passenger can reliably co-exist and when separate right-of-way and facilities make sense,” he said.

California Capitol Corridor Managing Director Rob Padgette says working groups will likely be established around these topics for the next meeting, to be scheduled for February 2025.

He tells News Wire, “They did a nice job of bringing a lot of different perspectives into the room. Presumably there also might be some value to organizations like the Federal Railroad Administration in terms of issues we might take up.”

STB Chairman Primus concludes, “It’s a great forum to get issues out in the open without fear of retaliation.”

— Updated Oct. 24 at 5:45 p.m. to correct spelling of Oehrle and nature of ex parte rule.