[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 47 (Thursday, March 9, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12623-12624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5809]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 33556 (Sub-No. 4.)] \1\


Canadian National Railway Company, Grand Trunk Corporation, and 
Grand Trunk Western Railroad Incorporated--Control--Illinois Central 
Corporation, Illinois Central Railroad Company, Chicago, Central and 
Pacific Railroad Company, and Cedar River Railroad Company (General 
Oversight)

ACTION:  Decision No. 1; Notice of general oversight proceeding, and 
request for comments from interested persons on the progress of 
implementation of the CN/IC transaction and the workings of the various 
conditions imposed.

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SUMMARY: In 1999, in Canadian National Railway Company, Grand Trunk 
Corporation, and Grand Trunk Western Railroad Incorporated--Control--
Illinois Central Corporation, Illinois Central Railroad Company, 
Chicago, Central and Pacific Railroad Company, and Cedar River Railroad 
Company, STB Finance Docket No. 33556, Decision No. 37 (STB served May 
25, 1999) (CN/IC Dec. No. 37), we approved, subject to various 
conditions (including a 5-year general oversight condition): (1) the 
acquisition, by Canadian National Railway Company, Grand Trunk 
Corporation, and Grand Trunk Western Railroad Incorporated 
(collectively, CN), of control of Illinois Central Corporation, 
Illinois Central Railroad Company, Chicago, Central & Pacific Railroad 
Company, and Cedar River Railroad Company (collectively, IC), and (2) 
the integration of the rail operations of CN and IC. We are now 
instituting a proceeding to implement the general oversight condition 
imposed in CN/IC Dec. No. 37. We are requiring Canadian National 
Railway Company (CNR) to file a progress report respecting the CN/IC 
transaction and to make certain data available to interested persons. 
We are inviting interested persons to submit comments on the progress 
of implementation of the CN/IC transaction and the conditions we 
imposed.

DATES: CNR must file a progress report by July 3, 2000, and must make 
CN/IC's 100% traffic waybill tapes available to interested persons by 
July 17, 2000. Comments of interested persons will be due on August 18, 
2000. Replies will be due on September 5, 2000.

ADDRESSES: An original and 25 copies of all documents must refer to STB 
Finance Docket No. 33556 (Sub-No. 4) and must be sent to: Surface 
Transportation Board, Office of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, Attn: 
STB Finance Docket No. 33556 (Sub-No. 4), 1925 K Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, one copy of each document filed 
in this proceeding must be sent to CNR's representative: Paul A. 
Cunningham, HARKINS CUNNINGHAM, 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Suite 
600, Washington, DC 20004-2664.
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    \1\ A copy of this decision is being served on all persons 
designated as POR, MOC, or GOV on the service list in STB Finance 
Docket No. 33556.
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    In addition to submitting an original and 25 copies of all paper 
documents filed with the Board, parties must also submit, on 3.5-inch 
IBM-compatible floppy diskettes (disks) or compact discs (CDs), one 
electronic copy of each such document (e.g., textual materials, 
electronic workpapers, data bases and spreadsheets used to develop 
quantitative evidence) and must clearly label pleadings and attachments 
and the corresponding disks/CDs with an identification acronym and 
pleading number.\2\ Textual materials must be in, or convertible by and 
into, WordPerfect 7.0. Electronic spreadsheets must be in some version 
of Lotus, Excel, or Quattro Pro. Parties may individually seek a waiver 
from the disk/CD requirement.
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    \2\ A copy of each such disk or CD should be provided to any 
other party upon request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Julia M. Farr, (202) 565-1613. [TDD 
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for the hearing impaired: 1-800-877-8339.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In CN/IC Dec. No. 37, we established general 
oversight for a period of up to 5 years so that we might assess the 
competitiveness of service provided by CN/IC and KCS under the Alliance 
Agreement \3\ and the effectiveness of the various conditions we 
imposed. We reserved jurisdiction to implement the oversight condition 
and, if necessary, to impose additional conditions and/or to take other 
action if, and to the extent, we determined that it was necessary to 
impose additional conditions and/or to take other action to address 
matters respecting the CN/IC control transaction, including without 
limitation: (a) Concerns regarding the operation of the Alliance 
Agreement, particularly with respect to ongoing competition within the 
Baton Rouge-New Orleans corridor; (b) concerns of North Dakota grain 
shippers with respect to the Chicago gateway; (c) concerns with respect 
to investment in and operation of the Detroit River Tunnel; (d) 
concerns with respect to any merger-related link to any unfair pricing 
practices in the lumber industry; (e) concerns with respect to lack of 
appropriate labor protective conditions if unauthorized control of CN/
IC and KCS should occur; and (f) any necessary monitoring of our 
environmental mitigating conditions. See CN/IC Dec. No. 37, slip op. at 
8 (item 8), 39-40, 56 (ordering paragraph 1).
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    \3\ In CN/IC Dec. No. 37: The Kansas City Southern Railway 
Company and Gateway Western Railway Company, and all other wholly 
owned (directly or indirectly) subsidiaries of Kansas City Southern 
Industries, Inc., were referred to collectively as KCS; and a 
settlement agreement entered into on April 15, 1998, by CN, IC, and 
KCS was variously referred to as the Alliance Agreement or, on 
occasion, the CN/IC/KCS Alliance Agreement.
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    We are now instituting this proceeding to implement the general 
oversight condition imposed in CN/IC

[[Page 12624]]

Dec. No. 37.\4\ We invite information from interested persons as to 
both the status of implementation of the CN/IC transaction and the 
effects of the various conditions we imposed.
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    \4\ We are establishing a procedural schedule similar to that 
imposed in Union Pacific Corporation, Union Pacific Railroad 
Company, and Missouri Pacific Railroad Company--Control and Merger--
Southern Pacific Rail Corporation, Southern Pacific Transportation 
Company, St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, SPCSL Corp., and 
The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company (General 
Oversight), STB Finance Docket No. 32760 (Sub-No. 21).
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    We are requiring CNR to file, by July 3, 2000, a progress report 
respecting implementation of the CN/IC transaction. This progress 
report should contain an in-depth analysis of implementation of the 
transaction and of the workings of the various conditions. We are 
further requiring CNR to make CN/IC's 100% traffic waybill tapes 
available by July 17, 2000, to those interested persons who have 
entered the appropriate confidentiality agreement pursuant to the 
protective order discussed below. These tapes should include the most 
up-to-date data then accessible by CNR.
    We are directing that interested persons submit, by August 18, 
2000, any comments respecting the progress of implementation of the CN/
IC transaction and the workings of the various conditions we imposed. 
Replies to comments must be submitted by September 5, 2000.
    Protective Order. Parties may submit filings (including electronic 
submissions contained on disks and CDs), as appropriate, under seal 
marked Confidential or Highly Confidential pursuant to the protective 
order entered in STB Finance Docket No. 33556 in Decision No. 1 (served 
Feb. 26, 1998), as modified in certain respects in Decision No. 36 
(served Apr. 6, 1999).\5\ Waybill files made available to interested 
persons will be subject to this protective order.
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    \5\ Parties submitting filings under seal will be expected to 
file redacted versions that will be placed in the public docket.
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    Service List. A copy of this decision is being served on all 
persons designated as POR, MOC, or GOV on the service list in STB 
Finance Docket No. 33556. This decision will serve as notice that 
persons who were parties of record in STB Finance Docket No. 33556 will 
not automatically be placed on the service list as parties of record in 
the STB Finance Docket No. 33556 (Sub-No. 4) general oversight 
proceeding. Any persons interested in being on the STB Finance Docket 
No. 33556 (Sub-No. 4) service list and receiving copies of CNR's 
filings relating to the general oversight proceeding must send us 
written notification with copies to CNR's representative.
    This action will not significantly affect either the quality of the 
human environment or the conservation of energy resources.


    Decided: March 3, 2000.
    By the Board, Chairman Morgan, Vice Chairman Burkes, and 
Commissioner Clyburn.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-5809 Filed 3-8-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P