Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Welcome to the Surface Transportation Board’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) webpage.  This webpage is designed to provide you with information necessary for you to make a request for agency records under FOIA.

Please note that the Surface Transportation Board does not receive or maintain any information related to an individual person’s domestic or international travel. 

About FOIA

FOIA is a Federal law that gives you the right to access records of the Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board), except where the release of the information in those records would harm an interest protected by one or more of the nine FOIA exemptions (such as, commercially sensitive information, personal privacy information, investigative documents, ADR materials, etc.) or where release of information is prohibited by law.

Our responsibility is to provide you with copies of records, or portions of records, you are entitled to receive under the law, and we look forward to working with you to achieve that goal.  For more information about FOIA, you may wish to access the Frequently Asked Questions at FOIA.gov.

Finding the Information You Need Without a FOIA Request

You do not have to file a FOIA request to obtain records that the Board makes routinely available at www-stb-gov.go-vip.net, where you may search for filings, decisions, environmental comments, recordations and many other records.

You also may seek information about STB matters without submitting a FOIA request (or incurring FOIA fees) by contacting the Board’s Rail Customer and Public Assistance (RCPA) Program at (866) 254-1792 or via email at . You may find out more about RCPA on the Board’s website (here).

If you are uncertain whether the STB is the appropriate government agency to request the information you seek, please contact the Board’s FOIA officer for assistance at (202) 254-0271 or via email at before submitting a FOIA request.

Making a FOIA Request

• Make a FOIA Request
• STB Reference Guide for FOIA Requests (DOCX) (PDF)
• STB FOIA Regulations (49 C.F.R. § 1001.3)
• STB FOIA Fees

Contacts

Reading Room

Links to various publicly available records are available at the top of this page under the following menus:

• “Reports and Data” (economic data, rail service data, economic reports and studies)
• “Resources > Legal Resources (links to relevant statutes, regulations, and legislation)
• “News & Communications” (press releases, speeches, testimony, and hearing/meeting transcripts)
• “About STB” (organizational chart, annual reports, budget requests, and administrative issuances).

FOIA Reports

Other FOIA Resources

• FOIA Resources from the Department of Justice
• Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act
• Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy (OIP)
• Office of Government Information Services (OIG) – Mediation Program

Note:
If you do not have Acrobat Reader, or if you have problems reading any of the documents on this page with your current version of Acrobat Reader, the latest version of Acrobat Reader is available free at Adobe’s web site

This page was last updated on December 12, 2024