[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 63 (Monday, April 1, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14372-14373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7867]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board 1
[STB Finance Docket No. 32866] 2


Rail Link, Incorporated; Continuance in Control Exemption; 
Talleyrand Terminal Railroad Company, Inc.

    Rail Link, Incorporated (Rail Link), has filed a verified notice 
under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to continue in control of the Talleyrand 
Terminal Railroad Company, Inc. (TTRC) upon TTRC becoming a Class III 
rail carrier. The transaction was to have been consummated on or after 
February 14, 1996.

    \1\ The ICC Termination Act of 1995, Pub. L. No. 104-88, 109 
Stat. 803, which was enacted on December 29, 1995, and took effect 
on January 1, 1996, abolished the Interstate Commerce Commission and 
transferred certain functions to the Surface Transportation Board 
(Board). This notice relates to functions that are subject to Board 
jurisdiction pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 11323.
    \2\ A notice in this proceeding was previously served by the 
Board and published in the Federal Register on March 8, 1996. A 
corrected notice is being issued because the earlier notice imposed 
labor protective conditions that the Board may no longer impose 
under the ICC Termination Act for transactions such as this one that 
are the subject of notices of exemption filed after the January 1, 
1996 effective date of that Act.
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    TTRC, a noncarrier, has concurrently filed a notice of exemption in 
STB Finance Docket No. 32865, Talleyrand Terminal Railroad Company, 
Inc.--Operation Exemption--Lines of Municipal Docks Railway, in which 
TTRC seeks to operate approximately 10 miles of rail line owned by 
Municipal Docks Railway in Duval County, FL.
    Rail Link also controls two nonconnecting Class III rail carriers: 
(1) The Commonwealth Railway, Incorporated and the Carolina Coastal 
Railway, Inc. (CCR).3

    \3\  See Rail Link Corporated--Continuance in Control 
Exemption--Commonwealth Railway Incorporated, Finance Docket No. 
31531 (ICC served Sept. 15, 1989).
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    The transaction is exempt from the prior approval requirements of 
49 U.S.C. 11323 because Rail Link states that: (1) The railroads will 
not connect with each other or with any railroad in their corporate 
family; (2) the continuance in control is not part of a series of 
anticipated transactions that would connect the railroads with each 
other or

[[Page 14373]]
with any railroad in their corporate family; and (3) the transaction 
does not involve a Class I carrier.
    Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the Board may not use its exemption 
authority to relieve a rail carrier of its statutory obligation to 
protect the interests of its employees. Section 11326(c), however, does 
not provide for labor protection for transactions under sections 11324 
and 11325 that involve only Class III rail carriers only, the Board, 
under the statute, may not impose labor protective conditions for this 
transaction.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio. Petitions to reopen the proceeding to 
revoke the exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed at any time. 
The filing of a petition to reopen will not stay the exemption's 
effectiveness. An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to 
STB Finance Docket No. 32866, must be filed with the Office of the 
Secretary, Case Control Branch, Surface Transportation Board, 1201 
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20423. In addition, a copy of 
each pleading must be served on Robert A. Wimbish, Rea, Cross & 
Auchincloss, Suite 420, 1920 N Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036.

    Decided: March 1, 1996.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-7867 Filed 3-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P