[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 82 (Friday, April 28, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21007-21008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10491]



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INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION

[Finance Docket No. 32669]


Wisconsin Central Ltd. and Fox Valley & Western Ltd.--Joint 
Relocation Project Exemption--in Green Bay, WI

    On March 28, 1995, Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WCL) and Fox Valley & 
Western Ltd. (FVW) filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 
1180.2(d)(5) to relocate lines of railroad in Green Bay, WI. WCL and 
FVW stated that the transaction would be consummated no sooner than 
April 4, 1995.
    WCL is a class II rail carrier operating approximately 2,000 miles 
of rail line in four upper midwestern states, and FVW is a class II 
rail carrier operating approximately 500 miles of rail line entirely in 
WI. Both WCL and FVW are commonly controlled by Wisconsin Central 
Transportation Corporation. Within the City of Green Bay, WCL and FVW 
own and operate several adjacent and parallel lines of railroad. The 
proposed joint relocation will reroute operations from, and allow 
removal of, several of these duplicative rail lines.
    Under the joint relocation project, WCL and FVW propose the 
following transactions: (1) WCL will abandon its line of railroad 
between milepost 198.34 at Oneida and Hudson Streets and milepost 
196.90 at State Street, a distance of approximately 1.44 miles, in 
Green Bay, WI;1 (2) WCL will construct a connecting track of 
approximately 525 feet in length between the WCL and FVW lines of 
railroad in the vicinity of Oneida and Hudson Streets; (3) FVW will 
grant WCL trackage rights over FVW's East-West Line between milepost 
1.37 at Hudson and Oneida Streets and milepost 0.26 at Maple Street, a 
distance of approximately 1.11 miles, and from milepost 0.26 at Maple 
Street to milepost -0.322 on FVW's State Street Spur at the 
crossing of WCL's Green Bay Line (WCL milepost 196.90), a distance of 
approximately 0.58 mile; (4) FVW will construct a connecting track of 
approximately 1,260 feet in length between milepost 0.26 at Maple 
Street on FVW's East-West Line and milepost 242.46 at Bridge Street on 
FVW's North-South Line, and will grant WCL trackage rights over the 
connecting track; (5) WCL will construct a connecting track of 
approximately 550 feet in length between approximately milepost -0.32 
at 5th Street on FVW's State Street Spur and a connection with WCL's 
Greenleaf Line at milepost 196.90 at State Street;3 and (6) FVW 
will abandon its Norwood Line between milepost 0.32 at Ashland Avenue 
and milepost 2.26 at McDonald Street, a distance of approximately 1.94 
miles.4

    \1\As a result of track reconfiguration work in the Oakland 
Avenue Yard, WCL has already removed approximately 475 feet of track 
which is part of the Green Bay Line, between a point on the east 
side of Broadway Avenue (milepost 196.93) and the diamond crossover 
of the FVW North-South Line (milepost 197.02).
    \2\Milepost -0.32 is so designated to indicate its measurement 
backwards from milepost 0.00 on the FVW East-West Line.
    \3\In Wisconsin Central, Ltd.--Abandonment Exemption--in Brown 
County, WI, Docket No. AB-303 (Sub-No. 13X) (ICC served Oct. 31, 
1994), WCL was granted an exemption to abandon approximately 13.9 
miles of rail line between milepost 183.0 at Greenleaf, and milepost 
196.90 at Green Bay, WI. However, WCL has an agreement with a third-
party carrier which gives the carrier a right of first refusal to 
acquire the 13.9-mile segment, and thus the line may remain in 
active rail service. If the line is not acquired by the carrier and 
is abandoned, WCL will not construct the connecting track between 
the FVW State Street Spur and the WCL Greenleaf Line.
    \4\Milepost 0.47 on FVW's North-South Line is coincident with 
milepost 2.26 on FVW's Norwood Line. A change in the milepost 
numbering system on FVW's North-South Line occurs at approximately 
Elmore Street, where milepost 243.0 and milepost 0.0 designate the 
same point. [[Page 21008]] 
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    The joint relocation project will simplify and improve rail 
operations in the Green Bay terminal area, permit the removal of 
unnecessary trackage, and relieve traffic congestion in the surrounding 
area.
    WCL and FVW state that no shippers are located on either of the 
rail lines to be abandoned and that no shippers will be adversely 
affected by this joint relocation project or lose access to any rail 
service currently provided by WCL or FVW. The joint project involves 
the relocation of existing overhead operations onto nearby, parallel 
rail lines. It will not change service to shippers, expand the 
operations of WCL or FVW into new territory, or alter the existing 
competitive balance.
    The Commission will exercise jurisdiction over the abandonment or 
construction components of a relocation project, and require separate 
approval or exemption, only where the removal of track affects service 
to shippers or the construction of new track involves expansion into 
new territory. See City of Detroit v. Canadian National Ry. Co., et 
al., 9 I.C.C.2d 1208 (1993). The Commission has determined that line 
relocation projects may embrace trackage rights transactions such as 
the one involved here. See D.T.&I.R.--Trackage Rights, 363 I.C.C. 878 
(1981). Under these standards, the embraced incidental abandonment, 
construction, and trackage rights components require no separate 
approval or exemption when the relocation project, as here, will not 
disrupt service to shippers and thus qualifies for the class exemption 
at 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(5).
    As a condition to the use of this exemption, any employees affected 
by the trackage rights agreement will be protected by the conditions in 
Norfolk and Western Ry. Co.--Trackage Rights--BN, 354 I.C.C. 605 
(1978), as modified in Mendocino Coast Ry., Inc.--Lease and Operate, 
360 I.C.C. 653 (1980).
    Petitions to revoke the exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10505(d) may be 
filed at any time. The filing of a petition to revoke will not stay the 
transaction. Pleadings must be filed with the Commission and served on: 
Janet H. Gilbert, Wisconsin Central Ltd. and Fox Valley & Western Ltd., 
6250 North River Road, Suite 9000, Rosemont, IL 60018; and Kevin M. 
Sheys, 1020 Nineteenth Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036.

    Decided: April 24, 1995.

    By the Commission, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-10491 Filed 4-27-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7035-01-P