STB tightens oversight of Belt Railway of Chicago

The Class Is all interchange in the Chicago region, making it a crucial gateway for freight-rail cargo in the United States. Congestion in and around the city can impair regional fluidity and impact major economic sectors such as manufacturing, energy and agriculture, STB officials said in the letter, which was also sent to the six Class Is' presidents and CEOs. BRC's 786-acre Clearing Yard is especially critical to the national freight-rail network. In recent weeks, the STB has observed "concerning trends" in the standard performance metrics submitted to the board on a weekly basis, STB officials said. Average rail-car inventory in Clearing Yard has increased by 57% in comparison to the same week last year, from 3,212 cars in Week 30 of 2025 to 5,048 cars in 2026. Concurrently, average dwell time in Clearing Yard has increased by 72% year over year, rising from 18 hours to 31 hours, according to the STB. Additionally, since the beginning of April this year, average weekly rail-car inventory in Clearing Yard has increased by 26% and average yard dwell increased by 63%. "The simultaneous increase in car inventory and dwell in the yard is concerning and could be indicative of growing congestion in the larger Chicago complex and the region," STB officials said. The board has asked BRC to provide the STB with detailed explanations for the trends, its plans to work with the Class Is to return service to normal and metrics for Clearing Yard, including average daily dwell, inventory, cars humped, cars rehumped, number of cars received, number of cars departed and on-time departure percentage. Additionally, the STB asked the BRC to submit metrics identified by interchanging railroad, including weekly on-time departure percentages; the number of extras and annulments run inbound to BRC, outbound from BRC and any requests denied by the BRC; average daily number of cars received compared to the daily quota established by the BRC; and weekly number of "haulbacks" wherein cars arrive and depart on the same railroad. The BRC is ordered to submit the expanded metrics on a weekly basis beginning on Aug. 10.