[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 241 (Tuesday, December 16, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 70076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-30894]



[[Page 70076]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 34439]


Union Pacific Railroad Company and Stillwater Central Railroad 
Company--Joint Relocation Project Exemption--Fort Sill, OK

    On November 25, 2003, Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) and 
Stillwater Central Railroad Company (SLWC) filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(5) to participate in a joint project 
involving the relocation of certain rail lines of UP near the Fort Sill 
Military Reservation (FSMR) at Fort Sill, OK. The transaction was 
scheduled to be consummated on or after December 2, 2003.
    The purpose of the joint relocation project is to permit the 
reconstruction of the wye tracks providing access to FSMR to 
accommodate larger rail cars. To allow the needed reconstruction, UP 
must remove certain existing main line track and relocate its 
operations over that track to a parallel line of SLWC. Thus, the joint 
relocation project notice covers the following actions:
    (1) SLWC will grant trackage rights to UP (including rights to 
serve FSMR) over SLWC's line extending from SLWC milepost 624.65 near 
Fort Sill, OK, to SLWC milepost 628.0 near Lawton, OK, a distance of 
approximately 3.35 miles; and
    (2) UP will abandon and remove approximately 1.04 miles of its line 
between UP milepost 48.56 and UP milepost 49.60 near Fort Sill, OK.
    UP and SLWC state that the proposed project will not disrupt 
service to shippers. They also state that the relocated line and 
trackage rights will not involve an expansion of service by either 
carrier into a new territory, but rather, will enable UP to continue to 
serve FSMR once its line is abandoned and removed.
    The Board will exercise jurisdiction over the abandonment or 
construction components of a relocation project, and require separate 
approval or exemption, only where the removal of track affects service 
to shippers or the construction of new track involves expansion into 
new territory. See City of Detroit v. Canadian National Ry. Co., et 
al., 9 I.C.C.2d 1208 (1993), aff'd sub nom. Detroit/Wayne County Port 
Authority v. ICC, 59 F.3d 1314 (D.C. Cir. 1995). Line relocation 
projects may embrace trackage rights transactions such as the one 
involved here. See D.T.&I.R.--Trackage Rights, 363 I.C.C. 878 (1981). 
Under these standards, the incidental abandonment, construction, and 
trackage rights components require no separate approval or exemption 
when the relocation project, as here, will not disrupt service to 
shippers and thus qualifies for the class exemption at 49 CFR 
1180.2(d)(5).
    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).
    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. 34439, must be filed with the Surface Transportation 
Board, 1925 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a 
copy of each pleading must be served on Robert T. Opal, Union Pacific 
Railroad Company, 1416 Dodge Street, Room 830, Omaha, NE 68179 and 
Craig R. Richey, Stillwater Central Railroad Company, 315 West 3rd 
Street, Pittsburg, KS 66767.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our website at http://www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: December 9, 2003.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-30894 Filed 12-15-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P