[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73578-73579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-26068]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36646]


R. J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC and R. J. Corman Railroad 
Company, LLC--Continuance in Control Exemption--Raleigh and 
Fayetteville Railroad, LLC

    R. J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC (RJCG), and R. J. Corman Railroad 
Company, LLC (RJCRC), noncarrier holding companies (collectively, 
Applicants), filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 
1180.2(d)(2) to continue in control of the Raleigh and Fayetteville 
Railroad, LLC (RFCC), upon RFCC's becoming a Class III rail carrier.
    This notice of exemption is related to a concurrently filed notice 
of exemption in Raleigh & Fayetteville Railroad--Acquisition, Lease & 
Operation Exemption with Interchange Commitment--Norfolk Southern 
Railway, Docket No. FD 36645, in which RFCC seeks to acquire 
approximately 42.38 miles of rail line from Norfolk Southern Railway 
Company (NSR), lease approximately 19.88 miles of rail line from NSR, 
assume NSR's trackage rights over 0.59 miles of rail line owned by CSX 
Transportation, Inc., totaling approximately 62.85 miles, and to 
operate those lines, which form a contiguous rail line between Raleigh 
and Fayetteville in Wake, Harnett, and Cumberland Counties, N.C. (the 
Line).
    The transaction may be consummated on or after December 14, 2022, 
the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the verified notice 
was filed).
    According to the verified notice, Applicants control two non-
operating Class III rail carriers, R. J. Corman Railroad Property, LLC, 
and R. J. Corman Railroad Company/Ashland, LLC, and 17 other operating 
Class III rail carriers, collectively operating in 13 states 
(collectively, RJC Railroads). For a complete list of these rail 
carriers and the states in which they operate, see the November 14, 
2022 verified notice of exemption at pages 2-3 for a list of carriers 
and pages 5-6 for a list of states. The verified notice is available on 
the Board's website at www.stb.gov.
    Applicants certify that: (1) RFCC and RJC Railroads would not 
connect with each other or any other railroad in the corporate family; 
(2) the continuance in control is not part of a series of anticipated 
transactions that would connect the carriers with each other or any 
railroad in the corporate family; and (3) the transaction does not 
involve a Class I rail carrier. Therefore, the proposed transaction is 
exempt from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323. See 49 
CFR 1180.2(d)(2).
    Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the Board may not use its exemption 
authority to relieve a rail carrier of its statutory obligation to 
protect the interests of its employees. However, 49 U.S.C. 11326(c) 
does not provide for labor protection for transactions under 49 U.S.C. 
11324 and 11325 that involve only Class III rail carriers. Because this 
transaction involves Class III rail carriers only, the Board, under the 
statute, may not impose labor protective conditions for this 
transaction.
    If the verified 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 to stay must be filed no later than December 7, 
2022 (at least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
    All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36646, must be filed with 
the Surface Transportation Board either via e-filing on the Board's 
website or in writing addressed to 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 
20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on 
Applicants' representative, Catherine S. Wright, Jackson Kelly PLLC, 
100 West Main Street, Suite 700, Lexington, KY 40588-2150.
    According to Applicants, 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).
    Board decisions and notices are available at www.stb.gov.

    Decided: November 23, 2022.


[[Page 73579]]


    By the Board, Mai T. Dinh, Director, Office of Proceedings.
Tammy Lowery,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2022-26068 Filed 11-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P