[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 24 (Friday, February 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6644-6646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02416]


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

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36496]


Application of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation Under 
49 U.S.C. 24308(e)--CSX Transportation, Inc., and Norfolk Southern 
Railway Company

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing.

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

SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation Board (Board) will hold a public 
hearing in this docket, consisting of two phases. The first phase, 
which will involve comments from the public, will commence on February 
15, 2022, and

[[Page 6645]]

will continue on February 16, 2022, if necessary. The second phase will 
be an evidentiary hearing commencing on March 9, 2022, and will be 
limited to the four parties to this case--the National Railroad 
Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), 
Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR), and the Alabama State Port 
Authority and its rail carrier division, the Terminal Railway Alabama 
State Docks (collectively, the Port; and with Amtrak, CSXT, and NSR, 
the ``Parties''). Immediately following the first phase, the Board will 
hold a conference with the Parties on February 16, 2022, to discuss 
issues related to the second phase.

DATES: The public hearing will commence on February 15, 2022, at 9:30 
a.m., and will continue on February 16, 2022, if necessary. Notices of 
intent to participate shall be filed (and participants' email addresses 
separately provided to the Board via email) by February 7, 2022. The 
pre-evidentiary hearing conference with the Parties will be held on 
February 16, 2022, commencing at 9:30 a.m. or at the conclusion of the 
first phase of the hearing, whichever is later. At the conclusion of 
the pre-evidentiary hearing conference, the Board will recess the 
public hearing until March 9, 2022. Phase two, the evidentiary hearing 
on the record with the Parties, will be held beginning on March 9, 
2022, at 9:30 a.m., and continuing on March 10, 2022, if necessary.

ADDRESSES: All filings, referring to Docket No. FD 36496, should be 
filed with the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the Board's 
website. Persons who file notices of intent to participate in the first 
phase of the public hearing shall concurrently provide to the Board, 
via email at [email protected], their email address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathon Binet at (202) 245-0368. 
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal 
Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 16, 2021, Amtrak filed an 
application with the Board, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 24308(e), seeking an 
order requiring CSXT and NSR \1\ to allow Amtrak to operate additional 
intercity passenger trains, consisting of two round-trips per day, over 
the rail lines of CSXT and NSR between New Orleans, La., and Mobile, 
Ala. The Board received numerous comments in response to Amtrak's 
application. By decision served August 6, 2021, the Board, among other 
things, denied CSXT and NSR's motion to dismiss the application, 
adopted a procedural schedule, and appointed Administrative Law Judge 
Thomas McCarthy to handle all discovery matters and resolve initially 
all discovery disputes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Although Amtrak names Norfolk Southern Corporation in its 
application, it appears that NSR is the proper party. (See Mot. to 
Dismiss 1 n.1.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In accordance with the procedural schedule, on November 3, 2021, 
CSXT and NSR filed opening evidence. On December 3, 2021, Amtrak filed 
reply evidence. On December 23, 2021, CSXT and NSR filed rebuttal 
evidence. The Board also received opening evidence, reply evidence, and 
rebuttal evidence from the Port, which the Board has permitted to 
intervene in this proceeding. On December 30, 2021, the Board received 
proposals on the format for the hearing from CSXT and NSR jointly and 
from Amtrak.
    The initial phase of the hearing will commence on February 15, 
2022. The primary purpose of this phase of the hearing is for 
interested persons, other than the four Parties to the case, to provide 
comments.\2\ The hearing will continue on February 16, 2022, as 
necessary to accommodate participating persons. This initial phase of 
the hearing will be entirely virtual. It will be held online via Zoom 
and will be available for concurrent viewing on YouTube by the public. 
All interested persons are invited to appear at this phase of the 
public hearing. Any person wishing to participate in this phase of the 
public hearing shall file with the Board by February 7, 2022, a notice 
of intent to participate (identifying the entity, if any, the person 
represents; the proposed speaker; the amount of time requested; and 
briefly summarizing the key points that the speaker intends to 
address). The notices of intent to participate need not be served on 
any persons or entities; they will be posted to the Board's website 
when they are filed. Concurrently with filing a notice of intent to 
participate, persons wishing to participate in the public commentary 
phase of the hearing shall also provide to the Board, via email at 
[email protected], their email address.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The Board recognizes that this proceeding is an adjudication 
to be decided after a hearing on the record pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 
24308(e), but given the broad public interest in Amtrak matters, the 
Board is also providing this opportunity for public comments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Board will issue, prior to commencement of the February 15 
public hearing, a decision setting a schedule of appearances for 
speakers, with specific allotments of time for presentations. To ensure 
an opportunity for all interested persons to be heard, such allotments 
may be limited, and persons wishing to speak at the hearing should be 
prepared to keep their comments as succinct as possible, to ensure an 
opportunity for all interested persons to be heard. The Parties will be 
given an opportunity to respond after other interested persons have 
provided comments.
    As noted, on February 16, 2022, beginning at 9:30 a.m. or 
immediately following the conclusion of the public commentary phase of 
the hearing, whichever is later, the Board will also hold a conference, 
at which counsel for the Parties are directed to appear. The conference 
will be entirely virtual. It will be held online via Zoom and will be 
available for concurrent viewing on YouTube by the public. During the 
conference, the Board and the Parties will discuss issues and 
procedures to be followed at the evidentiary hearing on the record. The 
Board encourages the Parties to meet and confer in advance of the 
conference, in an effort to narrow the issues to be heard at the 
hearing on the record and to stipulate to any facts that are not 
contested. Before the conference, the Board will issue a decision with 
additional information for the Parties, including what they will need 
to prepare in advance of the conference and further details on the 
evidentiary phase of the hearing, including whether it will be held 
online, in-person, or in a hybrid format. At the conclusion of the 
conference, the Board will recess the public hearing until commencement 
of the evidentiary phase at 9:30 a.m. on March 9, 2022.
    On March 9, 2022, the Board will commence the evidentiary portion 
of the hearing, at which the Parties are directed to appear, and which 
will be open to the public. The evidentiary portion will involve 
participation by the Parties only and will be presided over by the 
entire Board. The Board will accept all of the previously filed 
evidence into the record. The evidentiary portion of the hearing is not 
intended as an opportunity for the Parties simply to restate the 
entirety of their written evidence or, on the other hand, to submit a 
substantially different case. Rather, the evidentiary portion of the 
hearing is intended to allow the Parties to illuminate their primary 
contentions, evidence, and points of disagreement through direct 
examination of witnesses, cross-examination, and re-direct examination, 
as appropriate, and through opening and closing presentations by 
counsel.
    Board Releases and Transcript Availability: Decisions and notices 
of the Board, including this notice, are available on the Board's 
website at

[[Page 6646]]

www.stb.gov. A recording of the public commentary phase of the hearing, 
the conference, and the evidentiary phase of the hearing, as well as a 
transcript of each, will be posted on the Board's website when they 
become available.
    It is ordered:
    1. A public hearing in this proceeding will commence on February 
15, 2022. All portions of the hearing taking place on February 15, 
2022, and February 16, 2022, will be held online using video 
conferencing.
    2. By February 7, 2022, any person who is not one of the Parties 
identified above and wishes to speak at the public portion of the 
hearing shall file with the Board a notice of intent to participate 
identifying the entity, if any, the person represents, the proposed 
speaker, and the amount of time requested, and also summarizing the key 
points that the speaker intends to address. Also by February 7, 2022, 
such persons shall submit, via email at [email protected], the email 
address of the speaker.
    3. Notices of intent to participate will be posted to the Board's 
website and need not be served on any other persons or entities.
    4. Counsel for Amtrak, CSXT, NSR, and the Port are directed to 
appear at a conference before the Board on February 16, 2022, at 9:30 
a.m., or immediately following the conclusion of the public commentary 
phase of the hearing, whichever is later.
    5. Amtrak, CSXT, NSR, and the Port are directed to appear at the 
evidentiary phase of the hearing before the Board beginning on March 9, 
2022, at 9:30 a.m.
    6. All evidence previously filed in this proceeding is accepted 
into the record.
    7. This decision is effective on its service date.
    8. This decision will be published in the Federal Register.

    Decided: February 1, 2022.

    By the Board, Board Members Fuchs, Hedlund, Oberman, Primus, and 
Schultz.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2022-02416 Filed 2-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P