DOT REPORT #34 - April, 1997 ================================================================= A compilation of rail notices published by the US Department of Transportation between April 16 - 30, 1997. Includes abandonment, operation and control notices, FRA orders and related petitions. Condensed from original. ================================================================= CONTENTS: DeQueen & Eastern Railroad Company and Texas, Oklahoma & Eastern Railroad Company--Trackage Rights Exemption--WFEC Railroad Company StatesRail, Inc.--Acquisition of Control Exemption--Kyle Railways Inc.; Kauri L.L.C.--Continuance in Control Exemption--StatesRail, Inc. Consolidated Rail Corporation--Abandonment Exemption--in Crawford County, PA Soo Line Railroad Company--Temporary Trackage Rights Exemption-- I&M Rail Link, LLC CSX Corporation and CSX Transportation, Inc., Norfolk Southern Corporation and Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Control and Operating Leases/Agreements-- Conrail Inc. and Consolidated Rail Corporation CSX Transportation, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in Alachua County, FL CSX Transportation, Inc.--Discontinuance of Trackage Rights Exemption--in Marion Country, IN Wisconsin Central Ltd.--Acquisition Exemption--Lines of Union Pacific Railroad Company Railroad Ventures, Inc.--Acquisition and Operation Exemption-- Youngstown & Southern Railroad Company The Indiana Rail Road Company--Trackage Rights Exemption-- Consolidated Rail Corporation The Land Conservancy of Seattle and King County--Acquisition and Operation Exemption--The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company South Carolina Central Railroad Inc., Carolina Piedmont Division--Acquisition Exemption--Greenville & Northern Railway Central Kansas Railway, Limited Liability Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Barton, Ellsworth and Rice Counties, KS Illinois Central Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Forrest and Lamar Counties, MS Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Kane County, IL ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Finance Docket No. 32607 (Sub-No. 2)] DeQueen & Eastern Railroad Company and Texas, Oklahoma & Eastern Railroad Company--Trackage Rights Exemption--WFEC Railroad Company WFEC Railroad Company (WFECR) has agreed to grant bridge trackage rights to DeQueen & Eastern Railroad Company and Texas, Oklahoma & Eastern Railroad Company (collectively TOE) over its entire line of railroad in Choctaw and McCurtain Counties, OK. TOE will conduct actual train operations over the WFECR line to serve Western Farmers Electric Cooperative's generating station (Western Farmers) and will have no authority to serve any other shippers that might locate on the line. WFECR will retain the authority and responsibility for serving any such shippers. The transaction is scheduled to be consummated on or after the April 14, 1997 effective date of the exemption. The purpose of the trackage rights is to increase the efficiency of the unit train rail operation serving Western Farmers. Decided: April 10, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Finance Docket No. 33340; STB Finance Docket No. 33341] StatesRail, Inc.--Acquisition of Control Exemption--Kyle Railways Inc.; Kauri L.L.C.--Continuance in Control Exemption--StatesRail, Inc. ACTION: Notice of Exemption. SUMMARY: Under 49 U.S.C. 10502, the Board exempts from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323-25: (1) The acquisition of control via stock purchase of Kyle Railways Inc. by StatesRail, Inc.; and (2) the continuance in control of StatesRail, Inc. by Kauri L.L.C. DATES: The exemption will be effective May 17, 1997. Decided: April 4, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Docket No. AB-167 (Sub-No. 1174X)] Consolidated Rail Corporation--Abandonment Exemption--in Crawford County, PA ACTION: Notice of exemption. SUMMARY: The Board, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10502, exempts Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 10903 to permit Conrail to abandon a 1.25-mile portion of its Meadville Branch, known as the Dad's Dog Food Company Lead, between milepost 0.00 and milepost 1.25, in Crawford County, PA, subject to standard employee protective conditions. DATES: Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be effective on May 18, 1997. Decided: April 14, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Finance Docket No. 33346] Soo Line Railroad Company--Temporary Trackage Rights Exemption-- I&M Rail Link, LLC I&M Rail Link, LLC (I&M) has agreed to grant temporary local and overhead trackage rights to Soo Line Railroad Company d/b/a/ Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) over I&M's trackage between milepost 123.8 near Comus and milepost 100.5 near Owatonna, in Rice and Steele Counties, MN. This notice is related to I&M Rail Link, LLC--Acquisition and Operation Exemption--Certain Lines of Soo Line Railroad Company D/B/A/ Canadian Pacific Railway, STB Finance Docket No. 33326 (STB served April 2, 1997). The purpose of the trackage rights is to permit CPR to provide continuous service on the line until I&M commences operations on the line. CPR has submitted a filing in support of the notice. The temporary trackage rights will be effective on April 12, 1997, and will terminate automatically on April 12, 1999. The Board has previously authorized temporary or limited term trackage rights. Limiting the term of the trackage rights is consistent with the limited scope of the transaction. Decided: April 15, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Finance Docket No. 33388] CSX Corporation and CSX Transportation, Inc., Norfolk Southern Corporation and Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Control and Operating Leases/Agreements-- Conrail Inc. and Consolidated Rail Corporation ACTION: Decision No. 2; Notice of prefiling notification and request for comments. SUMMARY: Pursuant to 49 CFR 1180.4(b), CSX Corporation (CSXC), CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC), Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR), Conrail Inc. (CRI), and Consolidated Rail Corporation (CRC) [CSXC and CSXT are referred to collectively as CSX. NSC and NSR are referred to collectively as NS. CRI and CRC are referred to collectively as Conrail. CSX, NS, and Conrail are referred to collectively as applicants.] have notified the Surface Transportation Board (Board) of their intent to file a joint application seeking authority under 49 U.S.C. 11323-25 for: (1) The acquisition of control, by CSX and NS, of CRI, which is to be jointly owned by CSXC and NSC, by and through a special purpose limited liability company (LLC) and LLC's wholly owned subsidiary, Green Acquisition Corporation (Acquisition); and (2) as soon as practicable after the authorization and exercise of such control, the division of Conrail's assets into (a) certain assets which will continue to be held by CRI and CRC or their subsidiaries and operated for Conrail's account and that of its stockholders; (b) certain assets which will be the subject of separate long-term operating agreements, operating leases or other operating arrangements with CSX and NS, respectively; and (c) certain assets which will be separately owned by CSX and NS. In addition, as part of the overall transaction, NSR will sell to CSXT a line of railroad formerly owned by Conrail and now owned by NSR. The Board finds this to be a major transaction as defined in 49 CFR part 1180. As requested by applicants, the Board also waives the minimum 3-month prefiling notification requirement of 49 CFR 1180.4(b)(1), and invites comments from interested persons on applicants' proposed procedural schedule. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the notice of intent (CSX/NS-1) filed April 10, 1997, applicants state that CSX and NS will participate jointly in the acquisition of CRI consistent with CSX's and CRI's October 14, 1996 Merger Agreement, as amended through and including a Fourth Amendment dated April 8, 1997, and under agreements made between CSX and NS. CSX and NS jointly, through LLC and Acquisition, will acquire all CRI shares not already held by voting trusts of which CSX and NS are beneficiaries, through a tender offer to be followed by the merger of CRI with a subsidiary of Acquisition. The shares of CRI as acquired will be placed in a voting trust subject to the Board's regulations at 49 CFR part 1013. Once the CRI stock has been acquired, and contingent on and following the Board's authorization and approval of control and the other contemplated transactions, CSX and NS will assume control of Conrail and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will cause Conrail to be restructured into (a) certain assets and functions that will continue to be operated and performed by Conrail for its own account but for the benefit of NS and CSX, (b) certain fixed assets, to be owned by Conrail or subsidiaries, which will be the subject of separate long-term operating agreements, operating leases, or other arrangements with CSX and NS, respectively, and (c) certain other assets of Conrail which will be divided between CSX and NS and acquired and operated by them. The surviving company will own and operate, directly or through subsidiaries, among other things, certain track and other fixed rail assets in the New York/New Jersey area, the Philadelphia, PA/South New Jersey area and the Detroit, MI, area. Both CSX and NS will serve shippers on the former Monongahela Railroad. The subjects of the operating agreement or operating lease with CSX will include, among other things, a north-south route between the New York area and Philadelphia and a route from the New York area through Albany, NY, Buffalo, NY, and Cleveland, OH, to St. Louis, MO. The subjects of the operating agreement or operating lease with NS will include, among other things, north-south routes from the New York area to Washington, DC, and to Hagerstown, MD, a route westward from Philadelphia, and a route westward from the New York area to Buffalo. As part of the contemplated transaction, NSR will transfer to CSXT its line of railroad (formerly a Conrail line) between Ft. Wayne, IN, and the Chicago, IL, metropolitan area. Applicants state that they will use the year 1995 as the base year for purposes of their impact analysis to be filed in the application, and that they anticipate filing their application on or before July 10, 1997. Petition for Waiver By petition filed April 10, 1997 (CSX/NS-2), applicants request that the Board waive the requirements of 49 CFR 1180.4(b)(1) so that they need not wait 3 months before filing their proposed primary application. Applicants propose to submit their primary application approximately 2 months from the date of filing of their Notice of Intent. Applicants contend that the public has been afforded sufficient notice of the proposed control proceeding. According to applicants, the Notice of Intent that CSX filed on October 18, 1996, regarding a proposed merger with Conrail, the Notice of Intent that NS filed on November 6, 1996, regarding a competing proposed merger with Conrail, and the substantial and continuous media coverage of the proposed acquisition of Conrail and the negotiations leading to the current agreement assure that the Board and all interested parties and members of the public have had notice that an application will be filed, as well as of the nature of the proposed transaction. On April 16, 1997, Canadian National Railway Company (CN) filed (CN-4) a response in opposition to applicants' CSX/NS-2 petition for waiver. First, CN argues that ``any waiver of the 3-month notice requirement would cut into time needed by the Board and all parties to deal with a transaction of the size and scope proposed in this proceeding.'' Second, CN argues that, ``if there is to be any expedition, it is better that it come during the period when the application is being prepared rather than during the period when the application is being analyzed, responded to and acted upon by the agency with responsibility to decide this matter.'' Accordingly, CN argues that any waiver of the prefiling notification should not set a precedent for truncating the 365-day procedural schedule adopted earlier by the Board for considering a proposed Conrail merger, and that the final procedural schedule should take into account any shortening of the 3-month notice requirement that may have been granted. Finally, CN argues that a complete and open-ended waiver is inappropriate and prejudicial to all other parties because it would create uncertainty for the Board and for other parties, who could be faced with a ``surprise'' filing in 5 or 6 weeks. We believe that the public has been afforded sufficient notice of the proposed control proceeding, and we disagree that a waiver of the prefiling notice requirement would create uncertainty or be prejudicial to any party. Parties will be given an opportunity to comment on applicants' proposed expedited procedural schedule, and these comments will be considered by the Board in determining a fair and reasonable final procedural schedule. We find that waiver of the prefiling requirement set forth at 49 CFR 1180.4(b)(1) is appropriate, and therefore grant applicants' CSX/NS-2 petition. Petition for Protective Order By petition also filed April 10, 1997 (CSX/NS-3), applicants requested a protective order to protect confidential, highly confidential, and proprietary information, including contract terms, shipper-specific traffic data, and other traffic data to be submitted in connection with the control application. In Decision No. 1, served April 16, 1997, applicants' petition for a protective order was granted and Administrative Law Judge Jacob Leventhal was assigned to handle all discovery matters and the initial resolution of all discovery disputes in this proceeding. Petition to Establish a Procedural Schedule Also on April 10, 1997, applicants filed a petition to establish a proposed procedural schedule (CSX/NS-4). Applicants' proposed procedural schedule is as follows: Proposed Procedural Schedule F-30 Preliminary Environmental Report provided to Section of Environmental Analysis. F Primary application (including the Environmental Report) and related applications filed. F+30 Board notice of acceptance of primary application and related applications, [petitions, and notices] published in the Federal Register, including notice of any transaction-related abandonment proposals. F+45 Notification of intent to participate in proceeding due, including notice of intent to participate in abandonment proceedings. F+60 Description of anticipated inconsistent and responsive applications due; petitions for waiver or clarification due with respect to such applications. F+120 Inconsistent and responsive applications due. All comments, protests, requests for conditions, and any other opposition evidence and arguments due. Comments by U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) due. Opposition submissions, requests for public use conditions, and Trails Act requests due for all transaction-related abandonment proposals. F+135 Notice of acceptance (if required) of inconsistent and responsive applications published in the Federal Register. F+150 Response to inconsistent and responsive applications due. Response to comments, protests, requested conditions, and other opposition due. Rebuttal in support of primary application and related applications due. Rebuttal [and] responses to requests for public use and Trails Act conditions for transaction-related abandonments due. F+165 Rebuttal in support of inconsistent and responsive applications due. F+185 Briefs due, all parties (not to exceed 50 pages), except that CSX and NS may file separate briefs, each not to exceed 50 pages. F+200 Oral argument (at Board's discretion). F+205 Voting conference. F+255 Date of service of final decision. Applicants' proposed schedule is substantially similar to that adopted in Union Pacific Corporation, Union Pacific Railroad Company and Missouri Pacific Railroad Company--Control and Merger--Southern Pacific Rail Corporation, Southern Pacific Transportation Company, St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, SPCSL Corp. and The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railway Company (UP/SP) . Applicants are proposing that any applications, petitions, or notices for authority for, or for exemption of, merger-related abandonments, and any supporting verified statements, be filed with the primary application, and be treated as related applications, with any opposition evidence, comments, rebuttal and briefing on those applications to be submitted in accordance with the same schedule as the primary application. We agree that we should process any merger- related abandonment proceedings in accordance with the overall merger procedural schedule, rather than applying the procedures found at 49 U.S.C. 10903-04, which is similar to the process we used in the UP/SP proceeding. Therefore, we will grant applicants' request for waiver under 49 CFR 1152.24(e)(5) to permit modifications of the procedures and timetables for handling abandonment applications prescribed in 49 CFR 1152.26 to be consistent with the procedural schedule subsequently adopted in this proposed merger proceeding. Decided: April 16, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Docket No. AB-55 (Sub-No. 537X)] CSX Transportation, Inc.--Abandonment Exemption--in Alachua County, FL ACTION: Notice of exemption. SUMMARY: The Board, under 49 U.S.C. 10502, exempts from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 10903 the abandonment by CSX Transportation, Inc., of a 2.87-mile portion of its Jacksonville Service Lane, Deerhaven Subdivision, extending between milepost 738.65 at 23rd Avenue, NW., in Gainesville and milepost 741.52 at the end of the track, in Alachua County, FL, subject to labor protective conditions, a trail use condition, and a public use condition. DATES: Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be effective on May 22, 1997. Decided: April 15, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Docket No. AB-55 (Sub-No. 546X)] CSX Transportation, Inc.--Discontinuance of Trackage Rights Exemption--in Marion Country, IN CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) has filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of Trackage Rights to discontinue trackage rights over approximately 13.50 miles of Consolidated Rail Corporation's (Conrail) Indianapolis Belt Running Track, between milepost 0.0 at North Indianapolis and milepost 13.5 at Conrail's Indianapolis Belt Running Track's connection with the former Norfolk and Western Railway Company, in Marion County, IN. CSXT has certified that: (1) no local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead traffic on the line; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the line (or by a state or local government entity acting on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the line either is pending with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or with any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of complainant within the 2-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been met. Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be effective on May 22, 1997, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), CSXT shall file a notice of consumption with the Board to signify that it has exercise the authority granted and discontinued service over the line. If consummation has not been effected by CSXT's filing of a notice of consummation by April 22, 1998, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to consummation, the authority to discontinue will automatically expire. Decided: April 15, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Finance Docket No. 33116] Wisconsin Central Ltd.--Acquisition Exemption--Lines of Union Pacific Railroad Company ACTION: Notice of exemption. SUMMARY: The Board, under 49 U.S.C. 10502, exempts from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 10902 the acquisition by Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WCL), a Class II railroad, of two rail lines: (1) The ``Hayward Line'' between Hayward and Hayward Junction, WI, and (2) the ``Wausau Pocket'' between Kelly and Wausau-Schofield, WI, totaling 17.8 miles in central Wisconsin, from Union Pacific Railroad Company. The Board also finds that the employee protective arrangement proposed by WCL, as modified by the Board, meets the requirements of 49 USC 10902(d). DATES: The exemption will be effective May 23, 1997. Decided: April 16, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Finance Docket No. 33385] Railroad Ventures, Inc.--Acquisition and Operation Exemption-- Youngstown & Southern Railroad Company Railroad Ventures, Inc. (RVI), a noncarrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31(a)(1) to acquire and operate approximately 35.7 miles of line purportedly owned by Youngstown & Southern Railroad Company (Y&S), extending from milepost 0.00, near Struthers, OH, to milepost 35.7, near Darlington, PA, and an additional 1-mile segment of the Smith Ferry Branch line near Negley, OH. Pursuant to the exemption, RVI also will acquire incidental trackage rights over a 2.65-mile of line between Struthers and Youngstown, OH, for the purposes of interchange with Consolidated Rail Corporation and CSX Transportation, Inc. RVI states that Y&S is a non-operating railroad and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Montour Railroad Company (Montour), a non- operating railroad, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Properties, Inc., the successor in interest to The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Company. Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Properties, Inc., is a noncarrier and is presently in bankruptcy proceedings before the United States Federal District Court in Delaware. Neither Montour nor Y&S are Debtors in the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Properties, Inc., bankruptcy proceeding. On April 8, 1997, the Ohio Rail Development Commission and the Columbiana County Port Authority jointly filed a petition to reject, revoke, or stay the notice of exemption. Petitioners did not address the Board's stay criteria, and the exemption was not stayed prior to its scheduled effectiveness on April 9, 1997. Because RVI appears to have provided sufficient information to invoke the class exemption for noncarriers to acquire and operate an active line of railroad and also to have provided responses to questions asked in the decision that rejected RVI's first attempt to invoke this class exemption, the notice will not be rejected at this time. The merits of the petition to revoke, and, to the extent necessary or appropriate, the petition to reject, will be decided by the entire Board in a subsequent decision. The transaction was consummated without appropriate authority on November 8, 1996. Upon becoming aware of the need for the Board's approval or exemption of the transaction, RVI took steps to invoke the class exemption procedures in Finance Docket No. 33336. The Ohio Rail Development Commission and Columbiana County Port Authority have filed a petition for declaratory order asking that the acquisition by RVI be declared void ab initio. This proceeding is currently pending. Decided: April 16, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Finance Docket No. 33380] The Indiana Rail Road Company--Trackage Rights Exemption-- Consolidated Rail Corporation Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) has agreed to grant trackage rights to The Indiana Rail Road Company (INRD) between INRD's connection with Conrail's Indianapolis Belt Running Track (Belt Track) near Raymond Street, Indianapolis, IN, at approximately milepost 5.3 and the end of Conrail's Belt Track at the connection with the former Norfolk and Western Railway Company at approximately milepost 13.5, a distance of approximately 8.2 miles. INRD, Conrail, and CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), are surviving parties to an agreement dated September 20, 1883, whereby all three maintained the right to operate over property owned by the former Indianapolis Union Railway Company (IU). IU's properties were conveyed to Conrail in 1976 by the United States Railway Administration. The track over which INRD operates consists of Conrail's 13.5-mile Belt Track and approximately 1.1 miles in downtown Indianapolis through the Indianapolis Union Station area. The surviving parties have agreed to terminate the 1883 agreement because many of its provisions have become obsolete. INRD has filed a notice of exemption to discontinue its trackage rights over the remainder of the Belt Track between mileposts 0.0 and milepost 5.3, as well as over the 1.1 miles of trackage in the Indianapolis Union Station area. In its notice, INRD stated its intention that the trackage rights would become effective on April 20, 1997. On April 18, 1997, Joseph C. Szabo, for and on behalf of United Transportation Union-Illinois Legislative Board (UTU-IL), filed a petition to reject INRD's notice of exemption because the notice, filed on April 14, 1997, purported to give only 6 days' notice of the transaction when the Board's rules require that the notice be filed with the Board at least 7 days prior to consummation of an exempt transaction. INRD replied on April 22, 1997, in opposition to the petition to reject. INRD argues that the trackage rights should be allowed to become effective on April 20, 1997, because it mailed its notice of exemption on April 10, 1997, and that it ``could reasonably assume that the Notice of Exemption would get from Jacksonville, Florida to Washington, D.C. in three days via first-class U.S. mail service.'' The notice of exemption was not received by the Board until Monday, April 14, 1997, and hence was not filed until April 14, 1997. The earliest the exemption could take effect, therefore, was Monday, April 21, 1997, and INRD's intended consummation date of April 20, 1997, was premature. While this is not a basis for rejection, UTU-IL is correct that INRD could not lawfully consummate the trackage rights transaction that is the subject of its notice until April 21, 1997. The April 14, 1997 date of receipt at the Board is controlling. Moreover, there is no merit to INRD's argument that it could reasonably have expected a document mailed via first class in Jacksonville on Thursday, April 10, 1997, to have been received for filing at the Board in Washington, D.C., on or before April 13, 1997. If a document filed by mail had been received by the Board on April 13 (a Sunday) or even on April 12 (a Saturday), it would not have been processed in any event until the next business day (Monday, April 14, 1997). If INRD consummated the trackage rights transaction (for which it invoked the class exemption) prior to April 21, 1997, it will need to pursue after-the-fact relief by means of a petition for exemption that would permit effectiveness of the exemption sooner than 7 days after the filing of its notice of exemption. The petition should be filed with an appropriate filing fee. The purpose of the trackage rights is to allow INRD to continue to interchange with Norfolk Southern Railway Company, at milepost 13.5, and with CSXT near State Street, at approximately milepost 8.9. Decided: April 23, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Finance Docket No. 33389] The Land Conservancy of Seattle and King County--Acquisition and Operation Exemption--The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company The Land Conservancy of Seattle and King County, a noncarrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to acquire and operate approximately 12.45 miles of rail line from The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company between milepost 7.30, near Redmond, and milepost 19.75, at Issaquah, in King County, WA. The transaction was scheduled to be consummated on or after the April 22, 1997 effective date of the exemption. Decided: April 23, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Finance Docket No. 33391] South Carolina Central Railroad Inc., Carolina Piedmont Division--Acquisition Exemption--Greenville & Northern Railway South Carolina Central Railroad Inc., Carolina Piedmont Division (CPD), a Class III rail common carrier, has filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.41 to acquire and operate 11.8 miles of rail line from the Greenville & Northern Railway (G&NR) between milepost 0.0, at Greenville, SC, and milepost 11.8, at Traveler's Rest, SC. In addition, CPD will acquire, by assignment, G&NR's overhead trackage rights over 1.65 miles of a rail line owned by CSX Transportation, Inc. between milepost AKJ-591.53 and milepost AKL-57.35, in Greenville, SC. The transaction is expected to be consummated on or shortly after April 24, 1997. Decided: April 23, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Docket No. AB-406 (Sub-No. 7X)] Central Kansas Railway, Limited Liability Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Barton, Ellsworth and Rice Counties, KS ACTION: Notice of exemption. SUMMARY: Under 49 U.S.C. 10502, the Board exempts from the requirements of 49 USC 10903 the abandonment by Central Kansas Railway, Limited Liability Company (CKR) of a 53.2-mile portion of its Little River Subdivision from milepost 577.1 near Lyons to milepost 594.1 near Lorraine, thence from milepost 20.7 near Lorraine to milepost 56.9 near Galatia, in Barton, Ellsworth and Rice Counties, KS, subject to standard labor protective conditions and an historic preservation condition. DATES: The exemption will be effective May 29, 1997 unless stayed or a statement of intent to file an offer of financial assistance (OFA) is filed. Decided: April 15, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Docket No. AB-43 (Sub-No. 170X)] Illinois Central Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Forrest and Lamar Counties, MS Illinois Central Railroad Company (IC) has filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon 1.94 miles of its line of railroad, known as the Hattiesburg-Varnado Switch, between milepost MH-3.06 near Hattiesburg, and milepost MH-5.00 near Varnado Switch, in Forrest and Lamar Counties, MS. IC has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years; (2) overhead traffic has been rerouted over other lines; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the line (or by a state or local government entity acting on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the line either is pending with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or with any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of complainant within the 2-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 (Environmental reports), 49 CFR 1105.8 (historic reports), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been met. Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be effective on May 30, 1997, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), IC shall file a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the line. If consummation has not been effected by IC's filing of a notice of consummation by April 30, 1998, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically expire. Decided: April 22, 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Surface Transportation Board [STB Docket No. AB-33 (Sub-No. 105X)] Union Pacific Railroad Company--Abandonment Exemption--in Kane County, IL ACTION: Notice of exemption. SUMMARY: Under 49 U.S.C. 10502, the Board exempts, from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 10903 and from the offer of financial assistance requirements of 49 U.S.C. 10904, the abandonment by Union Pacific Railroad Company of a 2.8-mile segment of its East Elgin Industrial Lead between milepost 41.0 near Elgin Junction and milepost 43.8 near East Elgin, in Kane County, IL, subject to interim trail use/rail banking, public use, environmental, and standard employee protective conditions. DATES: This exemption will be effective on May 29, 1997. Decided: April 17, 1997. ================================================================== Comments or questions about this compilation should be directed to Paul Moore at 71367.1057@Compuserve.com. ==================================================================