FOR RELEASE
Contact: Janie Sheng (202) 245-0221
08/02/2013 (Friday)
Jamie Rennart
No. 13-8


FedRelay 1 (800) 877-8339
www.stb.gov
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD CALCULATES RAIL INDUSTRY'S COST OF CAPITAL FOR 2012


The Surface Transportation Board announced today that it has issued its decision calculating the railroad industry's cost of capital for 2012.


In Railroad Cost of Capital—2012, Docket No. EP 558 (Sub-No. 16), the Board found that the rail industry's after-tax cost of capital was 11.11 percent. Last year, the cost of capital was 11.57 percent.


The cost-of-capital figure represents the Board's estimate of the average rate of return needed to persuade investors to provide capital to the freight-rail industry.


Calculated annually, the cost-of-capital figure is an essential component of many of the agency's core regulatory responsibilities. The Board uses the cost-of-capital figure in evaluating the adequacy of individual railroads' revenues each year. It also uses the figure when determining the reasonableness of a challenged rail rate, considering a proposal to abandon a rail line, or valuing a particular railroad operation.


The Board's decision in Docket No. EP 558 (Sub-No. 16) is available at the Board's website at www.stb.dot.gov.


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