[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 216 (Tuesday, November 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 58073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27065]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 35047 (Sub-No. 1)]


Wisconsin Central Ltd.--Trackage Rights Exemption--Duluth, 
Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company

    Pursuant to a written trackage rights amendment agreement,\1\ 
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company (DMIR) has agreed to 
amend and extend the existing overhead trackage rights previously 
granted to Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WCL).\2\ According to WCL, its 
existing trackage rights on DMIR's line from South Itasca, WI, through 
Adolph, MN, to Shelton Junction, MN (South Itasca-Shelton Junction 
segment), did not provide access to DMIR's Proctor Yard in Proctor, MN, 
which is located several miles east of Adolph on a separate DMIR line. 
WCL now proposes to acquire additional overhead trackage rights over 
DMIR's line of railroad between milepost 12.8 at Carson/Adolph and 
milepost 6.7 at Proctor (2,000 feet beyond the south switch into DMIR's 
Proctor Yard), a distance of approximately 6.1 miles. WCL states that 
the proposed trackage rights will include the right to enter and exit 
the South Itasca-Shelton Junction segment at Carson/Adolph, and will 
provide access from that line into DMIR's Proctor Yard for interchange 
purposes.
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    \1\ Wisconsin Central Ltd. has submitted a draft agreement. As 
required by 49 CFR 1180.6(a)(7)(ii), WCL 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 Wisconsin 
Central Ltd.--Trackage Rights Exemption--Duluth, Missabe and Iron 
Range Railway Company, STB Finance Docket No. 35047 (STB served June 
29, 2007). WCL and DMIR are indirect subsidiaries of Canadian 
National Railway Company. See Canadian National, et al.--Control--
Wisconsin Central Transp. Corp., et al., 5 S.T.B. 890 (2001); 
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 allow WCL trains to 
operate in and out of the DMIR Proctor Yard, thus increasing 
interchange efficiency by optimizing traffic flows in the Twin Ports of 
Duluth, MN, and Superior, WI.
    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 
110-161, section 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. Stay petitions 
must be filed by 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. 35047 (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. E9-27065 Filed 11-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P