Surface Transportation Board October 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Surface Transportation Board is modifying the timeframes in its rules for certain class exemptions to provide greater public notice in advance of the possible consummation of an exempt transaction. The proposed changes will ensure that the public is given notice of a proposed transaction before the exemption becomes effective; and that the Board may process such notices of exemption, and related petitions for stay, if any, in an orderly and timely fashion.

On October 23, 2006, the Board served a decision announcing the 2005 revenue adequacy determinations for the Nation's Class I railroads. The decision found one carrier, Norfolk Southern Railway Company, to be revenue adequate for the year 2005.

Providence and Worcester Railroad Company (P&W) has filed an application for its participation in an existing railroad agreement for the pooling of services related to multilevel cars used to transport motor vehicles and boxcars used to transport automobile parts. P&W is a common carrier engaged in the transportation of property by railroad in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. Its participation in the pooling agreement will be with respect to the movement of multilevel railcars between an automobile staging facility located at Davisville, RI, and its connections with various railroads.

Under 49 U.S.C. 10502, the Board is granting a petition for exemption from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323-25 for petitioners to provide for the joint use and joint rail freight operations over 7.69 miles of abandoned rail line of the former Staten Island Railway Corporation \1\ in New York and New Jersey, lying generally between the Conrail Chemical Coast Line and points on Staten Island, NY, subject to appropriate employee protective conditions.\2\ The line consists of two segments as follows: (a) The North Shore Line between the end of track at milepost 4.6 at Union Avenue east of Arlington Yard, Richmond County, NY, and milepost 7.4, via the Chemical Coast Connector, at the proposed point of switch at the connection between the Chemical Coast Connector and Conrail's Chemical Coast Line in Union County, NJ, a distance of 2.8 miles; and (b) the Travis Branch between milepost 0.00 Arlington Yard Station and milepost 4.41 in Richmond County, a distance of 4.41 miles. Included within the North Shore Line segment are all tracks in Arlington Yard together with lead tracks on both the east and west ends of the yard, the so-called Wye Connector, that provides a direct connection to the Travis Branch from the North Shore Line and a track designated as the Travis Lead that provides a connection to and from the Travis Branch to the east end of Arlington Yard.\3\ Petitioners have asked for expedited consideration of the petition.