In Washington, 2017 was clearly marked by deregulation and regulatory reform. In the first half of 2017 alone, regulators achieved $300 million in annualized cost savings, according to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).
The freight rail industry, which continues to invest large sums of private capital, welcomes the Trump administration’s pro-business shift, and knows our customers do as well. We are confident it will continue, without compromising safety in the years to come.
But we also view many challenges. For instance, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) will likely advance a series of potentially generational economic regulations. It is critical that the STB be properly equipped with new board members and staff who will never forget the positive impact of partial deregulation enacted through the Staggers Act of 1980. If it isn’t broken, it shouldn’t be “fixed.”
Similarly, the US, Mexico, and Canada will either reach terms on a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) pact, or walk away. For freight railroads, trade is directly associated with 42 percent of rail carloads and intermodal units and approximately 50,000 domestic rail jobs. The agreement must be modernized, but this must not mean abandoning it altogether.
And last, there is increased optimism for a large-scale surface transportation legislative package. Any such effort must reaffirm the user fee principle: users of infrastructure pay for that use. Anything short of that is a disservice to future generations left holding the bag.
Washington continues to have a chance to be a positive force, and freight rail is excited to be a part of the action.