[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 26, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3767-3768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1400]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 33388 (Sub-No. 95)] \1\


CSX Corporation and CSX Transportation, Inc., Norfolk Southern 
Corporation and Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Control and Operating 
Leases/Agreements--Conrail Inc. and Consolidated Rail Corporation 
[Petition to Approve Settlement Agreement and Exempt Embraced 
Transactions]

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ This notice embraces: STB Finance Docket No. 33388 (Sub-No. 
96), Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co.--Trackage Rights Exemption--
Norfolk Southern Railway Co. Between Bellevue and Toledo, OH; STB 
Finance Docket No. 33388 (Sub-No. 97), Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway 
Co.--Trackage Rights Exemption--Norfolk Southern Railway Co. in 
Cleveland, OH; STB Finance Docket No. 33388 (Sub-No. 98), Norfolk 
Southern Railway Co.--Trackage Rights Exemption--Wheeling & Lake 
Erie Railway Co. Between Clairton, PA and Bellevue, OH; STB Finance 
Docket No. 33388 (Sub-No. 99), Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co.--
Petition for Exemption--Purchase of the Toledo Pivot Bridge--Norfolk 
Southern Railway Co.; STB Finance Docket No. 32516 (Sub-No. 1), 
Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co.--Lease and Operation Exemption--
Norfolk and Western Railway Co.'s Dock at Huron, OH; and STB Finance 
Docket No. 32525 (Sub-No. 1), Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co.--
Trackage Rights Exemption--Norfolk and Western Railway.

ACTION: Notice of Board action with regard to settlement agreement and 
6 related exemptions.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Under 49 U.S.C. 11327, the Board finds that a settlement 
agreement that was entered into by Norfolk Southern Corporation and 
Norfolk Southern Railway Company (collectively, NS) and Wheeling & Lake 
Erie Railway Company (W&LE), when implemented, will satisfy certain 
conditions imposed in CSX Corp. et al.--Control--Conrail Inc. et al., 3 
S.T.B. 196 (1998). Under 49 U.S.C. 10502 the Board grants the exemption 
authority sought by NS and W&LE pursuant to the settlement agreement.
    The Settlement Agreement includes 7 elements.
    Element 1 provides that W&LE will be granted overhead 
trackage rights,

[[Page 3768]]

limited to one train per day per direction, between Bellevue (Yeomans), 
OH, at Milepost (MP) T-54.7 and Toledo (Manhattan Jct.), OH, at MP CS-
1.30. Element 1 also provides that W&LE will be granted back-
up haulage rights for overflow traffic. In STB Finance Docket No. 33388 
(Sub-No. 96), the Board has granted an exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502 
for the Bellevue-Toledo trackage rights, which were originally sought 
in a responsive application in a rail consolidation proceeding, subject 
to the labor protective conditions set forth in Norfolk and Western Ry. 
Co.--Trackage Rights--BN, 354 I.C.C. 605, 610-15 (1978), as modified in 
Mendocino Coast Ry., Inc.--Lease and Operate, 360 I.C.C. 653, 664 
(1980).
    Element 2 provides that W&LE will purchase the Toledo 
Pivot Bridge, which is also known as the Maumee River Bridge (this is a 
railroad swing bridge that spans the Maumee River in Toledo, OH). In 
STB Finance Docket No. 33388 (Sub-No. 99), the Board has granted a 49 
U.S.C. 10502 petition for exemption of the Toledo Pivot Bridge purchase 
transaction. Any employee affected by the Toledo Pivot Bridge purchase 
exempted in STB Finance Docket No. 33388 (Sub-No. 99) will be protected 
as required by section 10902(d), subject to the standards and 
procedures established in Wisconsin Central Ltd.--Acquisition Exem.--
Union Pac. RR, 2 S.T.B. 218 (1997), aff'd in relevant part sub nom. 
Association of American Railroads v. STB, 162 F.3d 101 (D.C. Cir. 
1998).
    Element 3 provides for a 10-year extension of W&LE's lease 
of NS's Huron Dock on Lake Erie. In STB Finance Docket No. 32516 (Sub-
No. 1), the Board has accepted a 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(4) notice of 
exemption respecting the Huron Dock lease extension. Any employee 
affected by the Huron Dock lease extension exempted in STB Finance 
Docket No. 32516 (Sub-No. 1) will be protected by the labor protective 
conditions set forth in Mendocino Coast Ry., Inc.--Lease and Operate, 
354 I.C.C. 732 (1978), as modified in Mendocino Coast Ry., Inc.--Lease 
and Operate, 360 I.C.C. 653 (1980).
    Element 4 provides for a 10-year extension of W&LE's 
Bellevue-Huron Dock overhead trackage rights, by which W&LE accesses 
Huron Dock. These trackage rights run over the NS line between 
approximately MP B242 at Bellevue, OH, and approximately MP B229 at 
Berlin Heights, OH, and between approximately MP B232 at Shinrock, OH 
(on the Bellevue-Berlin Heights segment), and approximately MP HU12.2 
at the Huron Dock connection in Huron, OH. In STB Finance Docket No. 
32525 (Sub-No. 1), the Board has accepted a 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(4) notice 
of exemption respecting the Bellevue-Huron Dock trackage rights 
extension. Any employee affected by the trackage rights exempted in STB 
Finance Docket No. 32525 (Sub-No. 1) will be protected by the labor 
protective conditions set forth in Norfolk and Western Ry. Co.--
Trackage Rights--BN, 354 I.C.C. 605, 610-15 (1978), as modified in 
Mendocino Coast Ry., Inc.--Lease and Operate, 360 I.C.C. 653, 664 
(1980).
    Element 5 provides that W&LE will be granted overhead 
trackage rights in the Cleveland, OH area between Berea, OH (at MP CD-
194.2), and the Knob, OH (at MP GZ-488.13). In STB Finance Docket No. 
33388 (Sub-No. 97), the Board has accepted a 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7) notice 
of exemption for the Berea-Knob trackage rights. Any employee affected 
by the trackage rights exempted in STB Finance Docket No. 33388 (Sub-
No. 97) will be protected by the labor protective conditions set forth 
in Norfolk and Western Ry. Co.--Trackage Rights--BN, 354 I.C.C. 605, 
610-15 (1978), as modified in Mendocino Coast Ry., Inc.--Lease and 
Operate, 360 I.C.C. 653, 664 (1980).
    Element 6 provides that NS will be granted overhead 
trackage rights between Clairton, PA (at MP 5.2), and Bellevue, OH (at 
MP H53.7), with certain rights of ingress and egress at Mingo Jct., OH, 
Jewett, OH, Bowerston, OH, and Orrville, OH. In STB Finance Docket No. 
33388 (Sub-No. 98), the Board has accepted a 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7) notice 
of exemption for the Clairton-Bellevue trackage rights. Any employee 
affected by the trackage rights exempted in STB Finance Docket No. 
33388 (Sub-No. 98) will be protected by the labor protective conditions 
set forth in Norfolk and Western Ry. Co.--Trackage Rights--BN, 354 
I.C.C. 605, 610-15 (1978), as modified in Mendocino Coast Ry., Inc.--
Lease and Operate, 360 I.C.C. 653, 664 (1980).
    Element 7 provides that, to allow NS to access a new 
trailer parking facility in the Maple Heights area (Maple Heights is 
located a few miles southeast of Cleveland), NS will be granted the 
right to create and use a second road at-grade crossing over W&LE's 
Cleveland Subdivision line at MP 8.67 under the same terms and 
conditions that govern NS's use of the existing road at-grade crossing 
over the W&LE line at MP 9.03. Element 7 further provides for 
NS and W&LE to negotiate a broader agreement regarding operations in 
the Maple Heights area. NS and W&LE are currently evaluating two 
options, both of which involve the lease, by NS, of freight rights on 
the Randall Secondary.

DATES: The approval of the Settlement Agreement, and also the 6 related 
exemptions, will be effective on February 25, 2005. Petitions for stay 
must be filed by February 7, 2005. Petitions for reconsideration must 
be filed by February 15, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Send an original and 10 copies of any pleading referring to 
STB Finance Docket No. 33388 (Sub-No. 95) and also, if appropriate, 
referring to any one or more of the six embraced dockets, to: Surface 
Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In 
addition, send one copy of any pleading to NS's representative (Richard 
A. Allen, Esq., Zuckert, Scoutt & Rasenberger, LLP, 888 Seventeenth 
Street, NW., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20006) and also send one copy of 
any pleading to W&LE's representative (William C. Sippel, Esq., 
Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North Wacker Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 
60606-2832).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia M. Farr, 202-565-1655. 
[Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Additional information is contained in the 
Board's decision. To purchase a copy of the full decision, write to, e-
mail, or call: ASAP Document Solutions, 9332 Annapolis Rd., Suite 103, 
Lanham, MD 20706; e-mail: [email protected]; telephone: 202-306-4004). 
[Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.]
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: January 19, 2005.

    By the Board, Chairman Nober, Vice Chairman Buttrey, and 
Commissioner Mulvey.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-1400 Filed 1-25-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P