Quarterly Rail Cost Adjustment Factor – Q2 2026
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has officially adopted the Rail Cost Adjustment Factor (RCAF) and accompanying cost index for the second quarter of 2026, as submitted by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). The RCAF is a quarterly index used to measure changes in railroad operating costs and is a critical component in rail rate regulation. The RCAF is primarily used to determine whether freight rail rates are reasonable, particularly in cases where shippers challenge rates before the STB. It reflects changes in input costs such as labor, fuel, materials, and equipment that railroads face over time. This quarterly update ensures that rate reasonableness proceedings and any inflation-linked adjustments to rail contracts or regulatory benchmarks reflect current cost conditions in the freight rail industry for the period covering Q2 2026.
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Key Changes
- STB adopts the Q2 2026 Rail Cost Adjustment Factor (RCAF) as filed by the Association of American Railroads (AAR)
- Updated cost index reflects current railroad input costs including labor, fuel, materials, and equipment for April–June 2026
- RCAF serves as the benchmark for rate reasonableness determinations in freight rail disputes before the STB
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