New federal rule may help boost competition for railroad shipments at companies with few options

By JOSH FUNK
AP Business Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Companies with plants and factories that are only served by one railroad may soon be able to get a bid from another railroad if their current service is bad enough. That change would happen under a new rule that was proposed Thursday to help boost competition. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board announced the long-awaited rule to provide some relief to shippers that only have a connection to one of the six giant freight railroads that deliver the vast majority of goods across North America. Many companies have complained about poor service over the past couple years as the industry worked to recover from the depths of the pandemic. Shipper groups have long pushed for this rule that the railroads opposed.