S. 2104 — Reliable Rail Service Act of 2025

This section revises rail carriers' common carrier obligations by requiring, upon reasonable request, transportation or service that meets shippers' needs for timely, efficient, and reliable rail service and fulfills shippers' reasonable service requirements (adding these standards to existing requirements). It directs the Surface Transportation Board (STB), in determining violations, to consider specified factors, including (1) impacts of reductions in service frequency, local schedules, or delivery windows; (2) impacts of employment reductions or crew changes; (3) impacts of equipment or infrastructure reductions or shifts; (4) whether service meets local operational needs; (5) shippers' prior service experience and facility limitations; (6) shippers' resource commitments; (7) carrier-imposed conditions for cost recovery; (8) handling of others' equipment; and (9) reciprocity of demurrage and other conditions. The section further (1) expands required disclosures of rates and service terms to include reasonable transit or cycle times and other service standards consistent with shippers' needs for efficient property handling; and (2) establishes expedited STB proceedings, with completion in 180 days for violation claims and 45 days for service-term requests under subsection (b), while applying remedies under 49 USC 11701 and authorizing the STB to prescribe transit times or service standards for violations involving failure to provide adequate service. (As background, 49 USC 11101 generally requires rail carriers under STB jurisdiction to provide service and disclose rates/terms on request, with heightened rules for agricultural products; these changes strengthen enforcement of service quality for shippers.)