Staggers Rail Act of 1980

[AI summary unavailable — showing source text] Railroad Transportation Policy Act of 1979 - Directs the Interstate Commerce Commission, in regulating rail transportation, to consider the following as being in the public interest: (1) the development of an efficient freight transportation system, in the private sector, in which various modes of transportation are subject to impartial regulation; (2) the maximum reliance on competitive market forces on all transportation modes to provide transportation services; (3) the avoidance of undue concentrations of market power; (4) the reduction of regulatory barriers to entry into and exit from the industry; (5) the elimination of noncompensatory rates for rail transportation; and (6) the encouragement and promotion of energy conservation. Title I: Ratemaking - Directs the Commission, at least once a year, to establish an average ratio of revenue-to-variable cost that the rail carrier would be required to realize from all transportation provided by the industry in order to cover total operating expenses including depreciation and obsolescence, plus a reasonable and economic return on capital employed in the business. Authorizes rail carriers to establish any transportation rate which is…