Federal Register, Volume 62 Issue 233 (Thursday, December 4, 1997)

[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 233 (Thursday, December 4, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64247-64248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-31796]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board
[STB Finance Docket No. 33514]


Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, Inc.--Trackage Rights Exemption--
Consolidated Rail Corporation

    Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) has agreed to grant bridge 
trackage rights to Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, Inc. (B&P), described 
as follows: (1) Conrail's Olean Secondary between the B&P/Conrail 
connection at milepost 408.8 at Carrollton, NY, and 
milepost 395.0 at Olean, NY, the connection with Conrail's 
Buffalo Line, including that portion of Conrail's track known as the 
North West Connection Track (connection between Conrail's Olean 
Secondary and its Buffalo Line), a distance of approximately 13.8 
miles; (2) Conrail's Buffalo Line between milepost 69.4 at 
CP North Olean, and milepost 5.7 CP-GJ, a distance of 
approximately 63.7 miles; (3) Conrail's Ebenezer Secondary between 
milepost 5.7 (connection with Conrail's Buffalo Line) and 
milepost 0.4 (connection with Conrail's Chicago Line, 
within CP-Draw), a distance of approximately 5.3 miles; (4) Conrail's 
Chicago Line between milepost 1.7 (connection with 
Conrail's Ebenezer Secondary) and milepost 1.77 (connection 
with B&P), a distance of approximately 0.07 of a mile; and (5) 
Conrail's Transco Wye in Buffalo, NY, between milepost 1.9 
(Erie) on Conrail's Ebenezer Secondary and the end of Conrail's Transco 
Wye (connection with Conrail's Bison Runner), a distance of 
approximately 0.6 of a mile.¹ The total combined distance of 
the trackage rights is approximately 83.47 miles.²
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    \1\ B&P states that at this point it has existing rights over 
Conrail's line of railroad to conduct interchange between its 
Buffalo Creek Yard and ``SK'' Yard of the Delaware and Hudson 
Railway (CP Rail system) Buffalo, NY, subject to a separate 
agreement it has with Conrail, dated February 1, 1980.
    \2\ The trackage rights are granted for the sole purpose of 
B&P's use for bridge traffic only between B&P/Conrail connections. 
B&P shall not perform any local freight service at any point located 
on the subject trackage. The trackage rights also provide that B&P 
shall not have the right to permit or admit any third party to the 
use of all or any portion of the subject trackage, nor under the 
guise of doing its own business, contract or make any agreement to 
handle as its own trains, locomotives, cabooses or cars of any third 
party which in the normal course of business would not be considered 
the trains, locomotives, cabooses or cars of B&P; provided however, 
that the foregoing shall not prevent B&P, pursuant to a run-through 
agreement with any railroad, from using the locomotives and cabooses 
of another railroad as its own under the trackage rights agreement.
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    B&P was expected to commence operations on or after the November 
24, 1997 effective date.³
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    \3\ On November 20, 1997, Samuel J. Nasca, on behalf of United 
Transportation Union-New York State Legislative Board, filed a 
petition to reject the notice of exemption, or to revoke the 
exemption, and/or for stay of the effective date of the exemption 
pending disposition of the request for rejection or revocation. The 
petition will be addressed in a separate decision.
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    The purpose of the proposed trackage rights is to allow B&P to 
shift overhead traffic from a roughly parallel line that is in need of 
rehabilitation.
    As a condition to this exemption, any employees affected by the 
trackage rights will be protected by the conditions imposed 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). This notice is filed under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7). If the 
notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void 
ab initio. Petitions to revoke the exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) 
may be filed at any time. The filing of a petition to revoke will not 
automatically stay the transaction.
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB 
Finance Docket No. 33514, must be filed with the Surface Transportation 
Board, Office of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K Street, N.W., 
Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be 
served on: Eric M. Hocky, Esquire, Gollatz, Griffin &

[[Page 64248]]

Ewing, P.C., 213 West Miner Street, P.O. Box 796, West Chester, PA 
19381-0796.

    Decided: November 26, 1997.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-31796 Filed 12-3-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P