The performance standards in this section apply only to petitions for prescription of a reciprocal switching agreement under this part.

(a) Service reliability (original estimated time of arrival). The service reliability standard applies to shipments that travel as manifest traffic. The service reliability standard measures a rail carrier's success in delivery of a shipment from its original or interchange location by the original estimated time of arrival, accounting for the applicable grace period. Determination of a rail carrier's compliance with the service reliability standard is based on all shipments from the same original or interchange location to the same delivery location over a period of 12 consecutive weeks. A rail carrier meets the service reliability standard when A/B ratio is greater than or equal to 70%, where A is the number of shipments that are delivered within 24 hours of the original estimated time of arrival, and B is the total number of shipments.

(1) A car that is delivered more than 24 hours before or after its OETA will not be considered as being delivered within 24 hours of OETA.

(2) Once a carrier has communicated an original estimated time of arrival to a customer, that time will not be changed by any subsequent changes to the original trip plan of the car, no matter what the cause of the changed trip plan may be.

(b) Service consistency (transit time). The service consistency standard applies to shipments in the form of a unit train and to shipments that travel as manifest traffic. The service consistency standard measures a rail carrier's success over time in maintaining the transit time for a shipment. A rail carrier fails the service consistency standard if it fails either the standard in paragraph (b)(1) of this section or the standard in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, with both paragraphs being subject to paragraph (b)(3) of this section.

(1) Year-to-year comparison. A is more than 20% longer than B, where A is the average transit time for all shipments from the same location to the same designated destination over a period of 12 consecutive weeks, and B is the average transit time for all shipments from the same location to the same designated destination over the same 12-week period during the previous year.

(2) Multi-year comparison. A is more than 25% longer than B, where A is the average transit time for all shipments from the same location to the same designated destination over a period of 12 consecutive weeks, and B is the average transit time for all shipments from the same location to the same designated destination over the same 12-week period during any of the previous three years.

(3) A carrier will not fail the service consistency standard if the increase in transit time between B and A is 36 hours or less, notwithstanding the percentages stated in paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of this section.

(c) Lanes. Compliance with the performance standards in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section is determined separately for each lane of traffic to or from the petitioner's facility. Shipments of the same commodity from the same point of origin to the same designated destination are deemed to travel over the same lane, without regard to the route between the point of origin and designated destination. In the case of an interline movement, the designated destination is the designated interchange.

(d) Empty railcars. (1) For private or shipper-leased railcars, a rail carrier fails to meet the service consistency standard in paragraph (b) of this section if the rail carrier's average transit time for delivering empty cars to a designated destination over a 12-week period increases by more than 20% compared to average transit time for delivering empty cars to the same designated destination during the same 12-week period during the previous year or by more than 25% compared to average transit time for delivering empty cars to the same designated destination during the same 12-week periods during any of the previous three years. However, notwithstanding the previous sentence, a carrier will not fail the service consistency standard if the increase in average transit time for delivering empty cars is 36 hours or less.

(2) A rail carrier's failure to meet a performance standard as provided in this paragraph (d) provides the basis for prescribing a reciprocal switching agreement that governs both the delivery of the empty cars and the delivery of the associated shipments of loaded cars.

(e) Industry spot and pull. The industry spot and pull standard measures a rail carrier's success in performing local placements (“spots”) and pick-ups (“pulls”) of loaded railcars and unloaded private or shipper-leased railcars at a shipper's or receiver's facility during the planned service window. The industry spot and pull standard does not apply to unit trains or intermodal traffic.

(1) A rail carrier meets the industry spot and pull standard if, over a period of 12 consecutive weeks, the carrier has a success rate of 85% or more in performing requested spots and pulls within the planned service window, as determined based on the total number of planned service windows during that 12-week period.

(2) Failure to spot constructively placed cars that have been ordered in by the cut-off time applicable to the customer for a planned service window is included as a failure in calculating compliance with the industry spot and pull standard.

(3) Failure to spot “spot on arrival” railcars for a planned service window results in a missed service window only if the railcars arrived at the local yard that services the customer and are ready for local service before the cut-off time applicable to the customer.

(4) If a rail carrier cancels a service window other than at the shipper's or receiver's request, that window is included as a failure in calculating compliance with the industry spot and pull standard.

(5) When a rail customer causes a carrier to miss a planned service window, that window will not be considered a miss in determining the success rate under this paragraph (e).

(6) If a rail carrier reduces the frequency of its local service to a shipper's or receiver's facility, and if rail carrier cannot demonstrate that reduction is necessary based on a commensurate reduction in customer demand, then the industry spot and pull standard increases to a success rate of 90% for two years.

(f) The performance standards in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section apply to movements within the United States and to the U.S. portion of movements between the United States and another country, in the latter case when the carrier's general practice with respect to such movements is to record receipt or delivery of the shipment at a point at or near the U.S. border (including where the carrier receives the shipment from or delivers the shipment to an affiliated carrier).