(NAFB.com) – The Fertilizer Institute praised the Surface Transportation Board’s recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on providing rail customers access to reciprocal switching as a remedy for poor rail service. STB Chairman Martin Oberman stated in the announcement, “In the past several years, and particularly since 2021, it has become clear that many rail customers nationwide have suffered from inadequate and deteriorating rail service.” The proposal from the STB would provide a streamlined path for rail customers to obtain a reciprocal switching order by including specific, objective, and measurable criteria for determining eligibility. That criterion includes measures of service reliability, service consistency, and adequacy of local service. The proposal would also standardize these three service metrics across all Class 1 carriers for the first time. President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch says, “More than 60 percent of fertilizer moves by rail and is therefore critical to the on-time delivery of fertilizer to farmers exactly where and when they need it.”