[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 201 (Tuesday, October 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 64427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26903]



[[Page 64427]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. AB 43 (Sub--No. 185X)]


Illinois Central Railroad Company--Discontinuance of Trackage 
Rights Exemption--in Madison, Yazoo, Holmes, Carroll, Montgomery, 
Grenada, Yalobusha, Tallahatchie, Panola, Tate, and Desoto Counties, MS

    Illinois Central Railroad Company (IC) \1\ has filed a verified 
notice of exemption under 49 CFR pt.1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments 
and Discontinuances of Service to discontinue its limited overhead 
trackage rights over approximately 175.4 miles of rail line known as 
the Grenada Line, owned by Grenada Railway LLC (GRYR),\2\ extending 
between milepost 403.0 at Southaven and milepost 703.8 near Canton, in 
Madison, Yazoo, Holmes, Carroll, Montgomery, Grenada, Yalobusha, 
Tallahatchie, Panola, Tate, and Desoto Counties, Miss.\3\ The line 
traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 39046, 39179, 39146, 
39079, 39063, 39192, 39176, 38967, 38925, 38926, 38960, 38901, 38953, 
38961, 38948, 38927, 38658, 38620, 38606, 38666, 38619, 38668, 38618, 
38632, 38651, 38637, and 38671.
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    \1\ IC is a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Canadian 
National Railway Company and is a Class I rail carrier.
    \2\ On September 20, 2011, GRYR filed a petition for exemption 
in Docket No. AB 1087X, Grenada Railway, LLC--Abandonment 
Exemption--in Grenada, Montgomery, Carroll, Holmes, Yazoo, & Madison 
Counties, Miss., to abandon an 81.3-mile portion of the Grenada Line 
from milepost 622.5 near Grenada, Miss., to milepost 703.8 near 
Canton, Miss. Notice instituting that proceeding was served and 
published in the Federal Register on October 7, 2011 (76 FR 62497-
98), and a final decision will be issued by January 6, 2012.
    \3\ IC notes that it acquired these trackage rights from GRYR by 
virtue of IC's retention of the trackage rights upon its sale of the 
Grenada Line to GRYR. See Gren. Ry.--Acq. & Op. Exemp.--Ill. Cent. 
R.R. & Waterloo Ry., FD 35247 (STB served May 29, 2009).
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    IC has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved via its 
trackage rights over the line for at least 2 years; (2) any overhead 
traffic that could be handled via those trackage rights over the line 
can be rerouted over other lines; (3) no formal complaint filed by a 
user of IC's trackage rights over the line (or by a state or local 
government entity acting on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of 
IC service over the line either is pending with the Surface 
Transportation 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 1105.12 (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 discontinuance of service shall be protected under Oregon Short 
Line Railroad--Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth & Ammon, 
in Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 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, this exemption will be 
effective on November 17, 2011, unless stayed pending reconsideration. 
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues and formal 
expressions of intent to file an OFA for continued rail service under 
49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2) \4\ must be filed by October 28, 2011.\5\ 
Petitions to reopen must be filed by November 7, 2011, with the Surface 
Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001.
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    \4\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which 
currently is set at $1,500. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
    \5\ Because this is a discontinuance proceeding and not an 
abandonment, trail use/rail banking and public use conditions are 
not appropriate. Likewise, no environmental or historic 
documentation is required here under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and 49 CFR 
1105.8(b), respectively.
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to IC's 
representative: Jeremy M. Berman, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North 
Wacker Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL, 60606-2832.
    If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, 
the exemption is void ab initio.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
``http://WWW.STB.DOT.gov.''

    Decided: October 13, 2011.

    By the Board,
Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2011-26903 Filed 10-17-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P