The Reliable Rail Service Act (S.2071), a bill introduced by Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., would better define Class I rail carriers’ common carrier obligation and provide regulators with clear oversight rules to help address our nation’s freight railroad supply chain challenges and improve rail service for agricultural shippers.

The Staggers Act of 1980 required rail carriers to serve the wider shipping public “on reasonable request,” a principle known as the common carrier obligation. However, more than 40 years later, the common carrier obligation remains poorly defined with no established criteria. The Reliable Rail Service Act statutorily clarifies the common carrier obligation and establishes specific criteria for the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to consider when determining whether a railroad is meeting this obligation to provide rail service.

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