NITL’s Ficker Seeks ‘Dialogue’ With Rail Group Over Service

AAR Declined Invitation to Meet With Shippers

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ORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — National Industrial Transportation League President John Ficker said he will continue his efforts to have “a dialogue” with the Association of American Railroads over rail service issues despite the fact that AAR officials declined an invitation to appear at its annual meeting here on Nov. 16.

Ficker said NITL, the nation’s largest shipper organization, wants to be a “facilitator” between the railroads and shippers that support a bill in Congress intended to make railroads offer alternatives to customers served by a single rail line.

“These are tough issues. We need to sit down and face them squarely,” Ficker said during a rail issues forum that featured presentations by Charles Platz, president of Basell USA, a plastics manufacturer, and Al Seuer, senior vice president of marketing for RailAmerica, a short-line railroad operator.

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