[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4578]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 1, 1994]


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INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION

[Finance Docket No. 32452]

 

City of Oshkosh, WI and Wisconsin Central Ltd.--Petition for 
Declaratory Order

AGENCY: Interstate Commerce Commission.

ACTION: Institution of declaratory order proceeding.

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SUMMARY: In response to a petition filed by the City of Oshkosh (City) 
and Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WCL) this proceeding is instituted to 
determine whether the City will become a common carrier under the 
Interstate Commerce Act and whether regulatory approvals are required 
for an acquisition and consolidation agreement. Interested persons are 
invited to file comments.

DATES: Written Comments (original and 10 copies) must be filed by March 
21, 1994, and concurrently served on the representative of petitioners.

ADDRESSES: Send comments referring to Finance Docket No. 32452 to (1) 
Office of the Secretary, Case Control Branch, Interstate Commerce 
Commission, Washington, DC 20423 and (2) Kevin M. Sheys, Oppenheimer 
Wolff & Donnelly, 1020 Nineteenth Street, NW., Suite 400, Washington, 
DC 20036.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beryl Gordon (202) 927-5610. [TDD for 
hearing impaired: (202) 927-5721.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission has authority to issue 
declaratory and interpretive orders and in its sound discretion may 
issue a declaratory order to terminate a controversy or remove 
uncertainty under 5 U.S.C. 554(e) and 49 U.S.C. 10321. This proceeding 
is instituted at the request of petitioners to clarify the status of 
the City as a noncarrier. According to petitioners, under an agreement 
for rail acquisition and consolidation by and among the City, WCL and 
Fox Valley & Western Ltd. (FVW),1 the City has acquired from WCL 
the right-of-way underlying the rail line between West 20th Avenue and 
Harrison Street, within the city limits of Oshkosh, between milepost 
172.1 and milepost 176.6, a distance of approximately 4.5 miles.2 
WCL has retained ownership of the rail, ties, and other track material, 
and has retained a permanent unconditional easement to provide freight 
operations. The sale of the property to the City is a part of a WCL/FVW 
plan to coordinate and consolidate railroad operations and to improve 
grade crossings in the Oshkosh area.
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    \1\ WCL and FVW are commonly controlled by Wisconsin Central 
Transportation Corporation.
    \2\ The agreement also covers the City's acquisition of FVW 
right-of-way between milepost 20.1 and milepost 23.0 subject to a 
pending petition for abandonment exemption in Fox Valley & Western 
Ltd.--Abandonment Exemption--In Fond du Lac and Winnebago Counties, 
WI, Docket No. AB-402 (Sub-No. 1X) (ICC filed Nov. 10, 1993). 
According to the City, the sale of this line will not take place 
until the Commission has authorized its abandonment. Thus, the 
City's acquisition of the FVW right-of-way is not a subject of this 
petition for declaratory order.
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    Petitioners assert that, although the City acquired the property 
underlying the rail line, it did not acquire the obligation to provide 
common carrier service. WCL, not the City, holds itself out to provide 
freight service to the public. There is no shared use of the rail 
corridor, petitioners assert; rather, the City will merely own the 
underlying property and WCL will continue to own the tracks and to 
provide exclusive freight service. Petitioners conclude that because 
WCL will retain the common carrier obligation to provide freight 
service, the limited acquisition by the City of the subject property 
does not constitute an acquisition of a railroad line subject to the 
Commission's jurisdiction.
    Petitioners request the Commission to issue an order declaring 
that: (1) the acquisition by the City is not subject to the 
Commission's jurisdiction; and (2) the acquisition by the City does not 
make the City a carrier. Copies of the petition are available for 
public inspection and copying at the Office of the Secretary, 
Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423.

    Decided: February 22, 1994.

    By the Commission, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Sidney L. Strickland, Jr.,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-4578 Filed 2-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7035-01-P