STB and Rail Banking
Author: Mueller
Date: 10-31-2018 - 07:05
Comments on a recent email:
In response to a petition from an anti-trails group called the National Association of Reversionary Property Owners (NARPO), the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) is proposing to limit the time in which rail banking agreements can be negotiated to three years, absent ‘extraordinary circumstances.’
For complex projects like the 300-mile long Great Redwood Trail, this arbitrary timeline imposition would create an unreasonably high hurdle. More broadly, it threatens to frustrate Congress’ intent in passing the rail banking provisions of the National Trails System Act by making it needlessly difficult to complete rail banking agreements.