[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 125 (Monday, June 30, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 38752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16308]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-439 (Sub-No. 1X)]


Dallas Area Rapid Transit--Abandonment Exemption--in Dallas 
County, TX; [STB Docket No. AB-103 (Sub-No. 16X)] The Kansas City 
Southern Railway Company--Discontinuance of Trackage Rights Exemption--
in Dallas County, TX; [STB Docket No. AB-585X]; Dallas, Garland and 
Northeastern Railroad Company--Discontinuance of Trackage Rights 
Exemption--in Dallas County, TX

    Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), The Kansas City Southern Railway 
Company (KCS), and Dallas, Garland and Northeastern Railroad Company 
(DGNO), have jointly filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 
Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service and 
Trackage Rights for DART to abandon and KCS and DGNO to discontinue 
trackage rights over approximately 11.45 miles of railroad between 
approximately milepost 45.5 at Westmoreland Road and approximately 
milepost 56.95 at Tenison, in Dallas, Dallas County, TX.\1\ The line 
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 75211, 75212, 75233, 
75237, and 75223.
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    \1\ In 1995, DART acquired the subject line from The Atchison, 
Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company. See Dallas Area Rapid Transit--
Acquisition and Operation Exemption--Certain Lines of The Atchison, 
Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company, Finance Docket No. 32611 (ICC 
served Mar. 17, 1995). According to DART, prior to the acquisition, 
the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company (MP) and KCS acquired trackage 
rights over the subject line. MP's trackage rights were assigned to 
DGNO in 1992. See Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad, Inc.--
Trackage Rights Exemption--The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 
Company and Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, Finance Docket No. 
32198 (ICC served Dec. 15, 1992).
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    Applicants have certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over 
the line for at least 2 years; (2) there is 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 this exemption, any employee adversely affected 
by the abandonment 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 July 30, 
2003, 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 July 10, 2003. Petitions 
to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 
must be filed by July 21, 2003, with: Surface Transportation Board, 
1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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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 OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which 
currently is set at $1,100. 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' representatives: Edward J. Fishman, 1800 Massachusetts 
Avenue, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20036; Thomas J. Healey, 427 West 
12th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105; and Gary Laakso, 5300 Broken Sound 
Blvd., NW., 2nd Floor, Boca Raton, FL 33487.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    Applicants 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 July 3, 2003. Interested persons may obtain a copy 
of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 500, Surface Transportation Board, 
Washington, DC 20423-0001) or by calling SEA, at (202) 565-1552. 
[Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.] 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), DART 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 DART's filing of a notice of 
consummation by June 30, 2004, 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 Web site at 
www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: June 23, 2003.
    By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-16308 Filed 6-27-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P