Indexing the Annual Operating Revenues of Railroads

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Surface Transportation Board [Docket No. EP 748] The Surface Transportation Board (Board) is publishing the annual deflator factor and inflation-adjusted railroad revenue thresholds for 2020. The deflator factor is used by the railroads ( printed page 36591) to adjust their gross annual operating revenues for classification purposes. This indexing methodology ensures that railroads are classified based on real business expansion and not on the effects of inflation. Classification is important because it determines the extent to which individual railroads must comply with the Board's reporting requirements. The Board's annual deflator factor is based on the annual average Railroad Freight Price Index developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is used to deflate revenues for comparison with established revenue thresholds. DATES: The deflator factor is applicable January 1, 2020. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pedro Ramirez at (202) 245-0333. Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov . Decided: July 6, 2021. By the Board, William Brennan, Ph.D., Chief Economist & Director, Office of Economics. Eden Besera, Clearance Clerk. Footnotes 1.  In Montana Rail Link, Inc., & Wisconsin Central Ltd., Joint Petition for Rulemaking with Respect to 49 CFR part 1201 , 8 I.C.C.2d 625 (1992), the Board's predecessor, the Interstate Commerce Commission, raised…