FOR RELEASE	Contact: Dennis Watson
09/15/2005 (Thursday)	(202) 565-1596
No. 05-26	FIRS 1 (800) 877-8339
	www.stb.gov

Surface Transportation Board To Hold October 19 Public Hearing on "The 25TH Anniversary of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980: A Review & Look Ahead"

Surface Transportation Board Chairman Roger Nober has announced that the STB will hold a public hearing marking the 25th anniversary of the Staggers Act beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 19, 2005, in Room 760, the agency's hearing room, on the 7th Floor of the agency's headquarters in the Mercury Building, 1925 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

The agency will hold the hearing to provide a forum for the expression of views on the impact, effectiveness, and the future of the Staggers Act. Interested persons and parties, including large and small railroad customers, large and small railroad companies, representatives of local communities, and state and federal governmental officials, are invited to participate. The hearing is not intended to offer a forum for discussion of pending cases, but rather an opportunity for participants to address broader issues regarding the Staggers Act generally.

The STB announced the October 19 hearing, in the proceeding entitled The 25th Anniversary of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980: A Review and Look Ahead, STB Ex Parte No. 658, in a decision issued on September 14, 2005. That decision is available for viewing and downloading via the agency's Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov. A printed copy of the Board's decision also is available for a fee by contacting ASAP Document Solutions, 9332 Annapolis Rd., Suite 103, Lanham, MD 20706, telephone (202) 306-4004, or via asapdc@verizon.net.

###