[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 216 (Tuesday, November 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58071-58072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27060]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 35046 (Sub-No. 1)]


Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company--Trackage Rights 
Exemption--Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway Company

    Pursuant to a written trackage rights amendment agreement,\1\ 
Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway Company (DWP) has agreed to amend 
and extend the existing overhead trackage rights previously granted to 
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company (DMIR).\2\ DMIR proposes 
to acquire

[[Page 58072]]

additional overhead trackage rights over DWP's line of railroad between 
milepost 70.7 at Shelton Junction, MN, and milepost 165.3 at Ranier, 
MN, a distance of approximately 94.6 miles. DMIR states that the 
extension of its existing trackage rights will allow DMIR to operate 
trains from DMIR's Proctor Yard near Duluth, MN, over existing trackage 
rights to Shelton Junction, and on to the DWP terminal at Ranier.
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    \1\ Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company has submitted 
a draft agreement. As required by 49 CFR 1180.6(a)(7)(ii), DMIR 
states that it will submit a copy of the executed agreement within 
10 days of the date the agreement is executed.
    \2\ The original trackage rights were exempted in Duluth, 
Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company--Trackage Rights--Duluth, 
Winnipeg and Pacific Railway Company, STB Finance Docket No. 34424 
(Sub-No. 2) (STB served Apr. 9, 2004), and were exempted as amended 
in Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company--Amended Trackage 
Rights Exemption--Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway Company, STB 
Finance Docket No. 35046 (STB served June 29, 2007). DWP and DMIR 
are indirect subsidiaries of Canadian National Railway Company (CN). 
See Canadian National Railway Company and Grand Trunk Corporation--
Control--Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company, et al., STB 
Finance Docket No. 34424 (STB served Apr. 9, 2004).
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    The purpose of the proposed transaction is to expand the existing 
DMIR-DWP paired overhead trackage rights arrangement between Nopeming 
Junction, MN, and Shelton Junction to the next logical terminal at 
Ranier. According to DMIR, this will accommodate improvements in yard 
facilities and changes in terminal operations being undertaken in the 
Twin Ports of Duluth, MN, and Superior, WI, by DMIR, DWP, and Wisconsin 
Central Ltd., another CN affiliate. As a result, DMIR states that its 
expanded trackage rights will improve crew utilization, operational 
flexibility, and traffic fluidity in the area.
    The transaction is scheduled to be consummated on November 25, 
2009, the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the exemption 
was filed).
    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).
    Pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, Public Law 
No. 110-161, Sec.  193, 121 Stat. 1844 (2007), nothing in this decision 
authorizes the following activities at any solid waste rail transfer 
facility: Collecting, storing, or transferring solid waste outside of 
its original shipping container; or separating or processing solid 
waste (including baling, crushing, compacting, and shredding). The term 
``solid waste'' is defined in section 1004 of the Solid Waste Disposal 
Act, 42 U.S.C. 6903.
    This notice is filed under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7). 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 effectiveness of the exemption. Petitions for 
stay must be filed no later than November 18, 2009 (at least 7 days 
before the exemption becomes effective).
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB 
Finance Docket No. 35046 (Sub-No. 1), must be filed with the Surface 
Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In 
addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on Thomas J. Litwiler, 
Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North Wacker Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 
60606-2832.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at: 
``http://www.stb.dot.gov.''

    Decided: November 5, 2009.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Kulunie L. Cannon,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. E9-27060 Filed 11-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P