Surface Board Renews Biannual Railroad Depreciation Study
Published Date: 6/12/2026
Notice
Summary
The Surface Transportation Board wants to keep collecting Rail Depreciation Studies from six big railroads every two years to understand how their equipment loses value over time. They’re asking for public comments by August 11, 2026, but no changes or extra costs are planned—just a smooth extension of the current process. This helps keep railroads running efficiently and fairly without adding extra paperwork hassle.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Extend Rail Depreciation Collection
The Surface Transportation Board plans to seek OMB approval to continue collecting Rail Depreciation Studies from six Class I railroads on a bi‑annual basis. The extension is an "extension without change," and comments are due by August 11, 2026. Each study is estimated at about 250 hours, producing a total annual hour burden of 750 hours and an estimated non‑hour cost of about $180,000 per year.
Studies Used to Set Depreciation Rates
The Board uses the information in these Depreciation Studies to prescribe depreciation rates and state how long those rates apply. Those prescribed depreciation rates are applied to the railroads' investment base to determine monthly and annual depreciation expense, which feed into operating expense reports and are used in rate reasonableness cases and revenue adequacy determinations.
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