STB, Canadian Transportation Agency sign info sharing agreement

Canadian Transportation Agency

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) and Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Dec. 8 to facilitate sharing information between the two agencies.

The signing took place in Ottawa, between STB Chairman Dan Elliott and CTA Chair and CEO Scott Streiner. The CTA is the economic regulator of the freight railroads and other modes of transportation in Canada.

“The United States and Canada are linked in so many ways, not least of them by a vast rail network,” Chairman Elliott said during his visit to Ottawa. “It is an honor today to be signing this Memorandum of Understanding between the STB and the CTA, marking our commitment to be a resource to each other in the economic regulation of freight railroads. This friendship will enable us both to engage in productive dialogue on better regulatory practices to our stakeholders and the citizens of our countries.”

CTA said the MOU reflects the integrated nature of the North American freight rail system and serves as a foundation for ongoing CTA and STB engagement and information exchanges.

STB said the MOU memorializes the ongoing relationship that the two agencies have cultivated in recent years and recognizes the importance of their engagement to promote ongoing information exchanges on developments in rail transportation, best practices in their respective regulatory approaches and recent regulatory activities and current events. The agencies will exchange only information that is in the public domain in the United States and Canada to ensure that no confidentiality concerns are breached.