[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 156 (Monday, August 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42582-42583]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-20101]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-565 (Sub-No. 3X); STB Docket No. AB-55 (Sub-No. 
595X)]


New York Central Lines, LLC--Abandonment Exemption--in Berkshire 
County, MA; CSX Transportation, Inc.--Discontinuance of Service 
Exemption--in Berkshire County, MA

    New York Central Lines, LLC (NYC) and CSX Transportation, Inc. 
(CSXT), have filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 subpart F--
Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service for NYC to abandon 
and CSXT to discontinue service over approximately 1.91 miles of 
railroad between milepost QBY-0.59 and milepost QBY-2.50 in Pittsfield, 
in Berkshire County, MA.\1\ The line traverses United States Postal 
Service Zip Code 01201.
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    \1\ Pursuant to Board authorization in 1998, CSX Corporation, 
CSXT's parent company, and Norfolk Southern Corporation jointly 
acquired control of Conrail Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiary, 
Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail). As a result of that 
acquisition, certain assets of Conrail have been assigned to NYC, a 
wholly owned subsidiary of Conrail, to be exclusively operated by 
CSXT pursuant to an operating agreement. The line to be abandoned is 
included among the property being operated by CSXT pursuant to the 
NYC operating agreement.
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    NYC and CSXT have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved 
over the line for at least 2 years; (2) there has been no overhead 
traffic on the line; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail 
service on the line (or by a state or local government entity acting on 
behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the line 
either is pending with the Surface Transportation Board (Board) or with 
any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of complainant 
within the 2-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 
(environmental reports), 49 CFR 1105.8 (historic reports), 49 CFR 
1105.11 (transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), 
and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been 
met.
    As a condition to these exemptions, any employee adversely affected 
by the abandonment or discontinuance shall be protected under Oregon 
Short Line R. Co.--Abandonment--Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979). To 
address whether this condition adequately protects affected employees, 
a petition for partial revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) must be 
filed. Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of 
financial assistance (OFA) has been received, these exemptions will be 
effective on September 12, 2001, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\2\ formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),\3\ and 
trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by 
August 23, 2001. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use 
conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by September 4, 2001, 
with: Surface Transportation Board, Office of the Secretary, Case

[[Page 42583]]

Control Unit, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423.
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    \2\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on 
environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board's 
Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) in its independent 
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date. 
See Exemption of Out-of-Service Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). 
Any request for a stay should be filed as soon as possible so that 
the Board may take appropriate action before the exemption's 
effective date.
    \3\ Each offer of financial assistance must be accompanied by 
the filing fee, which currently is set at $1000. See 49 CFR 
1002.2(f)(25).
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to 
applicants' representative: Natalie S. Rosenberg, Counsel, CSX 
Transportation, Inc., 500 Water Street J150, Jacksonville, FL 32202.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    NYC and CSXT have filed an environmental report which addresses the 
effects, if any, of the abandonment and discontinuance on the 
environment and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental 
assessment (EA) by August 17, 2001. Interested persons may obtain a 
copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 500, Surface Transportation 
Board, Washington, DC 20423) or by calling SEA, at (202) 565-1545. 
Comments on environmental and historic preservation matters must be 
filed within 15 days after the EA becomes available to the public.
    Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/rail 
banking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent 
decision.
    Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), NYC shall file 
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has 
exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the line. If 
consummation has not been effected by NYC's filing of a notice of 
consummation by August 13, 2002, and there are no legal or regulatory 
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically 
expire.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our website at 
WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.

    Decided: August 3, 2001.

    By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-20101 Filed 8-10-01; 8:45 am]
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