RAILS

Congress is poised to end the railroads' antitrust exemption this year. The move will make it easier for shippers, short line owners and others to appeal monopolistic practices of major rail companies.  The House Judiciary Com. passed such legislation last fall, and its counterpart in the Senate did so recently.

Lawmakers may also give isolated shippers a better shot at equitable rates and encourage competition by boosting the Surface Transportation Board's power to police rates and mandate access to major railroads' trackage by the short lines. Panels in both chambers are drafting measures. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, is pushing hard to craft a new law.

Also, look for rail regulators to get tougher. Obama's pick to head the STB, Acting Chairman Francis Mulvey, will assert authority where competition is lacking.