Overview
Patrick Fuchs organized his update around three values guiding the Surface Transportation Board: accountability, transparency and collaboration. He described internal reforms intended to make the agency faster and more predictable, policy initiatives aimed at competition and permitting, new ways for the public to access service and case information, and programs that help railroads and shippers resolve disputes without formal litigation.
Accountability and faster decisions
Fuchs said the STB typically has 100 to 150 active cases and issues roughly 400 to 500 decisions per year. Because individual cases are a primary way the agency implements rail policy, long delays can discourage shippers and other parties from using the process. Reforms launched in 2025 included an agency reorganization, stronger performance standards, new technology and the return of an administrative law judge to help with discovery and procedural matters. Full-board decisions year to date were approximately 51% higher than in the comparable period of 2024.
The STB also held more than 50 hours of external meetings and gathered over 100 policy ideas from stakeholders. One result was a proposal to replace the restrictive framework in Part 1144 for reciprocal switching and through routes with a case-by-case application of the underlying statute. Fuchs noted that shippers had not won a competitive-access case under the existing framework in more than 40 years. He did not present competitive access as a solution for every shipper, but as one mechanism for strengthening market accountability.
Permitting reform and rail development
Fuchs said licensing cases—including line construction, acquisitions and new short-line partnerships—make up much of the STB's docket. Federal approval can trigger environmental review, adding substantial time and cost to projects that could otherwise create rail volume and competition.
The agency was therefore pursuing a comprehensive reform of its environmental-review rules. Its approach included categorical exclusions for activities unlikely to have significant environmental effects and earlier engagement to identify, mitigate and resolve actual project impacts without unnecessary procedural steps. Fuchs gave the example of a short-line spur within existing railroad right-of-way that had faced approximately $500,000 in permitting expense and a potential one- to one-and-a-half-year review. Applying an exclusion allowed the project to proceed in weeks rather than years. He also cited other construction and acquisition projects moving faster under the revised approach.
More useful service and case data
The STB restored customer-centered service measures that complement traditional network statistics such as velocity and dwell. These include original estimated time of arrival (OETA), a trip-plan-compliance measure, and industry spot-and-pull reporting—measures that more directly answer whether a shipment arrived or a customer was switched as expected.
The agency also launched an open-data portal that allows users to export service data rather than download individual weekly spreadsheets. Fuchs said exportable data is especially valuable because companies can analyze it in their own systems and AI tools. A new case-status dashboard provides a comprehensive view of pending matters and, after a record closes, aims to give parties greater visibility into when a decision can be expected. Together, these tools are intended to improve planning and make the agency itself more accountable.
Collaboration before litigation
The Rail Customer and Public Assistance program receives more than 1,000 inquiries per year and helps resolve dozens of rate and service disputes each quarter without formal litigation. Fuchs thanked carriers for responding to the program and said the agency would continue supporting it. He also highlighted STB advisory committees as forums for discussing commodity flows, demurrage, liability and other cross-industry issues.
The broader objective is to combine regulatory oversight with practical problem-solving. Fuchs praised railroads and short lines for partnerships that improve communication and generate volume, as well as private-sector technology providers that give customers greater shipment visibility.
Audience Q&A
Monitoring service changes. The STB receives weekly service measures covering velocity, dwell, terminal performance, on-time performance and industry spot-and-pull activity, with additional reporting for Chicago. When a carrier changes or closes a yard, the agency can examine effects on inventory and dwell at nearby facilities. It pairs this quantitative information with reports submitted through the Rail Customer and Public Assistance program, allowing staff to identify patterns and compare customer experience with the measured data.
Responding to deterioration. Improved service does not end oversight. If a time series begins to weaken, the STB can raise the issue during periodic carrier calls, request additional information and escalate its response as warranted, including service plans or formal proceedings. The agency also maintains its complaint process for alleged violations of the common-carrier obligation.
Making competitive-access remedies usable. Asked about shipper concerns when pursuing competitive access, Fuchs emphasized the importance of timely decisions, clear precedent and follow-through after an order is issued. A shipper needs enough clarity to evaluate whether a case is viable, and the agency needs to verify that any resulting remedy is implemented and works as intended.
Key takeaway
Fuchs presented the STB as an agency trying to pair active oversight with faster decisions, better public data and more informal dispute resolution. The goal is a regulatory framework that holds both the agency and the marketplace accountable while reducing avoidable barriers to rail investment, competition and customer service.