[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 178 (Friday, September 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 51953]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20145]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 34495 (Sub-No. 1)]


Buckingham Branch Railroad Company--Acquisition and Operation 
Exemption with Interchange Commitment--CSX Transportation, Inc.

    Buckingham Branch Railroad Company (BBRC), a Class III rail 
carrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.41 
to acquire from CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), and continue to 
operate approximately 164.22 miles of railroad line, referred to as 
Segment 3, between approximately milepost 276.0 in Clifton Forge in 
Allegheny County, Va., and milepost 111.78 at Doswell in Hanover 
County, Va. (the Line).\1\
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    \1\ BBRC states that it began operating over the Line in 2004. 
See Buckingham Branch R.R.--Lease--CSX Transp., FD 34495 (STB served 
Nov. 5, 2004).
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    The verified notice indicates that BBRC has leased and operated the 
Line (as part of a longer line between AM Junction, near Richmond, and 
Clifton Forge) since 2005. According to the verified notice, BBRC and 
CSXT have agreed to convert BBRC's current leasehold interest in the 
Line into a permanent, exclusive rail freight operating easement. The 
verified notice states that BBRC and CSXT will enter into, among other 
things, a Permanent Easement Agreement and an amended Freight Operating 
Agreement and will also terminate their existing lease agreement with 
respect to Segment 3. The verified notice further states that the 
amended Freight Operating Agreement between BBRC and CSXT contains an 
interchange commitment that affects interchange with carriers other 
than CSXT. The affected interchanges are with Norfolk Southern Railway 
Company at Charlottesville, Va., and at Waynesboro, Va. BBRC has 
provided additional information regarding the interchange commitment as 
required by 49 CFR 1150.43(h).
    BBRC certifies that its projected annual revenues as a result of 
this transaction will not result in BBRC's becoming a Class II or Class 
I rail carrier, but its projected annual revenues will exceed $5 
million. Pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.42(e), if a carrier's projected annual 
revenues will exceed $5 million, it must, at least 60 days before the 
exemption becomes effective, post a notice of its intent to undertake 
the proposed transaction at the workplace of the employees on the 
affected lines, serve a copy of the notice on the national offices of 
the labor unions with employees on the affected lines, and certify to 
the Board that it has done so. Concurrently with its verified notice, 
however, BBRC filed a petition for waiver of the labor notice 
requirements. BBRC's waiver request will be addressed in a separate 
decision.
    BBRC states that it expects to consummate the transaction on or 
sometime after the effective date of the exemption. The Board will 
establish the effective date in its separate decision on the waiver 
request.
    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 September 24, 2021.
    All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 34495 (Sub-No. 1), should 
be filed with the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the 
Board's website. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on 
BBRC's representative, Robert A. Wimbish, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 
North Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606.
    According to BBRC, this action is categorically excluded from 
environmental review under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and from historic 
preservation reporting requirements under 49 CFR 1105.8(b)(1).
    Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.

    Decided: September 13, 2021.

    By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Raina S. White,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2021-20145 Filed 9-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P