U.S. Code » Title 49 » Subtitle SUBTITLE IV— INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION › Part PART A— RAIL › Chapter CHAPTER 111— OPERATIONS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

49 U.S.C. § 11101

Common carrier transportation, service, and rates

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(a) A rail carrier providing transportation or service subject to the jurisdiction of the Board under this part shall provide the transportation or service on reasonable request. A rail carrier shall not be found to have violated this section because it fulfills its reasonable commitments under contracts authorized under section 10709 of this title before responding to reasonable requests for service. Commitments which deprive a carrier of its ability to respond to reasonable requests for common carrier service are not reasonable.(b) A rail carrier shall also provide to any person, on request, the carrier’s rates and other service terms. The response by a rail carrier to a request for the carrier’s rates and other service terms shall be—(1) in writing and forwarded to the requesting person promptly after receipt of the request; or(2) promptly made available in electronic form.(c) A rail carrier may not increase any common carrier rates or change any common carrier service terms unless 20 days have expired after written or electronic notice is provided to any person who, within the previous 12 months—(1) has requested such rates or terms under subsection (b); or(2) has made arrangements with the carrier for a shipment that would be subject to such increased rates or changed terms.(d) With respect to transportation of agricultural products, in addition to the requirements of subsections (a), (b), and (c), a rail carrier shall publish, make available, and retain for public inspection its common carrier rates, schedules of rates, and other service terms, and any proposed and actual changes to such rates and service terms. For purposes of this subsection, agricultural products shall include grain as defined in section 3 of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 75) and all products thereof, and fertilizer.(e) A rail carrier shall provide transportation or service in accordance with the rates and service terms, and any changes thereto, as published or otherwise made available under subsection (b), (c), or (d).(f) The Board shall, by regulation, establish rules to implement this section. The regulations shall provide for immediate disclosure and dissemination of rates and service terms, including classifications, rules, and practices, and their effective dates. Final regulations shall be adopted by the Board not later than 180 days after January 1, 1996.(Added Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 102(a), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 830; amended Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(25), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3390.)Editorial NotesPrior Provisions

A prior section 11101, Pub. L. 95–473, Oct. 17, 1978, 92 Stat. 1419; Pub. L. 96–258, § 1(10), June 3, 1980, 94 Stat. 426; Pub. L. 96–448, title II, § 222, Oct. 14, 1980, 94 Stat. 1929; Pub. L. 99–521, § 9(a), Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2997; Pub. L. 103–180, § 8, Dec. 3, 1993, 107 Stat. 2052, related to duties of carriers to provide transportation and service, prior to the general amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, § 102(a). See sections 11101, 13710, 14101, and 15701 of this title.

Amendments

1996—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 104–287 substituted “January 1, 1996” for “the effective date of the ICC Termination Act of 1995”.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date

Section effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise provided in Pub. L. 104–88, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 1301 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 101 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case: Pejepscot Indus. Park, Inc. v. Maine Cent. R.R., 215 F.3d 195 (1st Cir. 2000).
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Pejepscot Indus. Park, Inc. v. Maine Cent. R.R., 215 F.3d 195 (1st Cir. 2000). · cites it 5× “See 49 U.S.C. § 11101 (a) (“A rail carrier providing transportation or service subject to the jurisdiction of the [STB] under this part shall provide the transportation or service on reasonable request.”
Dep't of Transp. v. Ass'n of Am. Railroads, 135 S. Ct. 1225 (2015). · cites it 2× “Specifically, the metrics and standards alter the rail- roads’ common-carrier obligations under 49 U. S. C. §11101 . Host railroads may enter into contracts with Amtrak under §§10908 and 24308 to fulfill their common- carrier obligations.”
Chicago & North W. Transp. Co. v. Kalo Brick & Tile Co., 450 U.S. 311 (1981). · cites it 2× “A The Interstate Commerce Commission has been endowed by Congress with broad power to regulate a carrier’s permanent or temporary cessation of service over lines used for interstate commerce.”
Riffin v. Surface Transp. Bd., 733 F.3d 340 (D.C. Cir. 2013). · cites it 7× “The Board noted that Strohmeyer’s assertion that carriers historically had the right at common law to decide what goods they would carry was not relevant to a railroad’s statutory obligations under 49 U.S.C. § 11101 . See id. at *2 n. 4. II.”
Granite State Concrete Co. v. Surface Transp. Bd., 417 F.3d 85 (1st Cir. 2005). · cites it 7× “§ 10702 , and 2) that Guilford failed to meet its own service obligation to MBRR, in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 11101 . The STB found that restrictions were indeed imposed by Guil-ford but were not unreasonable given safe *88 ty concerns and the information available to Guilford,…”
Chartis Seguros Mexico, S.A. de C.V. v. HLI Rail & Rigging, LLC, 3 F. Supp. 3d 171 (S.D.N.Y. 2014). · cites it 3× “For example, Babcock noted departure from the prescriptions of 49 U.S.C. § 11101 : whereas the statute required that a carrier provide sendee upon reasonable request and make rates available public upon request, the agreement was a “confidential railroad transportation contract”…”
Chlorine Inst., Inc. v. Fed. R.R. Admin., 718 F.3d 922 (D.C. Cir. 2013). · cites it 4× “820 ; and (3) the Surface Transportation Board (STB), which generally regulates rail carrier transportation, service and rates, see 49 U.S.C. § 11101 . FRA insists that the STB’s exercise of its own authority to enforce a railroad carrier’s statutory obligation to “provide []…”
The Chlorine Inst., Inc. v. Soo Line R.R., 792 F.3d 903 (8th Cir. 2015). · cites it 2× “§§ 5101-5128 , and under 49 U.S.C. § 11101 , which codifies the common-carrier obligations for rail carriers.”
Rushing v. Kansas City S. Ry. Co., 194 F. Supp. 2d 493 (S.D. Miss. 2001). · cites it 2× “In Pejepscot, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that the jurisdiction of the STB was not exclusive for claims brought pursuant to the ICCTA, specifically under 49 U.S.C. § 11101 (a), because of the provisions found at 49 U.”
Seven Cnty. Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle Cnty., 605 U.S. 168 (2025). · cites it 3× “49 U. S. C. §§11101 (a), 10102(9). Railroad lines approved by the Board cannot decline to provide “common carrier” transport based on the product or commodity to be carried.”
Chevy Chase Land Co. v. United States, 733 A.2d 1055 (Md. 1999). · cites it 2× “Furthermore, railroads subject to ICC jurisdiction may construct or acquire new railroad lines only if the ICC finds that public convenience and necessity require or permit their acquisition or construction. 49 U.S.C. § 10901 . Federal law also controls a railroad's abandonment…”
Am. ROCK SALT CO. v. Norfolk S. Corp., 180 F. Supp. 2d 420 (W.D.N.Y. 2001). · cites it 3× “The second cause of action alleges that defendants’ failure to provide timely transportation upon reasonable request constitutes a breach of their obligations as a common carrier under 49 U.S.C. §§ 11101 (a) and 11121(a)(1). The third cause of action alleges that defendants have…”
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