January 27, 2023 - TRA Newswire -

The Vice-Chair of the Surface Transportation Board, Karen Hedlund, will be a featured presenter at the 19th Annual Southwestern Rail Conference, April 3-4 at the Hurst Conference Center in the D/FW Metroplex. The STB has emerged as a more proactive federal agency dealing with railroad issues than in past years.

The STB is dealing with what could be the last big merger of Class 1 railroads in the U.S., with Canadian Pacific set to assume control of Kansas City Southern. Service delivery issues to shippers has been in the crosshairs of the board in 2022 and into this year. Other large cases before the STB include use of embargoes, train crew sizes, private rail car demurrage, and a possible ruling on reciprocal switching so raill customers could seek access from a nearby competing freight railroad.

Hedlund has been in her role at the STB since January 2022 and previously served as chief counsel and deputy administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration from 2010 to 2014, after serving as chief counsel of the Federal Highway Administration in 2009 and 2010. Since 2014, she has been a consultant advising governmental agencies and private investors on passenger rail and other transportation-oriented projects, including the Northeast Corridor’s Gateway Project.

Other presentations at the Southwestern Rail Conference, which draws a wide audience from the public and private sector, include the Texas Department of Transportation Rail Division, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Union Pacific Railroad, Southern Rail Commission, DC-based Rail Passengers Association. The conference is hosted annually by Texas Rail Advocates.

Early bird registration is open through this link: https://texasrailadvocates.org/events/2023-southwestern-rail-conference/