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rail & intermodal

Practices

Rail & Intermodal

  • Assisted a major plastics company to develop a rail transportation contract for the shipment of plastics resins from a newly competitive rail origin, resulting in substantial reductions in its transportation charges.
  • Represented a major rail shipper in an arbitration proceeding involving the pricing provision of a rail transportation contract, resulting in millions of dollars in savings annually.
  • Represented a major steel company in a rail merger proceeding, in which the shipper successfully challenged an anticompetitive arrangement between the merging carriers and a competitor.
  • Prepared an offer of financial assistance for a shipper to preserve rail service by acquiring a rail line slated for abandonment.
  • Obtained authority for a rail shipper to construct a line of rail that would cross the track of the incumbent and create rail-to-rail competition, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in rate reductions from the incumbent over just a few years.
  • Prepared and litigated claims for cargo loss and damage and service delays.
  • Preserved rail build-out options in rail merger proceedings for two major chemical manufacturers and an electric utility.
  • Prepared comments to the STB in major rulemakings on policies and procedures to govern future rail mergers and future rail rate reasonableness disputes.
  • Represented a rail shipper in the “bottleneck” cases, in which the STB set national policy regarding shippers’ rights to challenge unreasonable rates over monopoly rail line segments.
  • Advised a rail shipper on the purchase of a rail line and the establishment of operations over the line.
  • Advised a hazardous materials shipper on safety regulations and liability issues after a major train derailment, resulting in the release of the shipper’s hazardous materials.
  • Advised a rail shipper on its rail car repair obligation at the end of a long-term rail car lease.
  • Prepared FRA drug & alcohol testing policy for a short-line railroad.