[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 240 (Friday, December 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87045-87046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27637]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36743]


Patriot Rail Company LLC, SteelRiver Transport Ventures LLC, 
Global Diversified Infrastructure Fund (North America) LP, First State 
Infrastructure Managers (International) Limited, and Mitsubishi UFJ 
Financial Group, Inc.--Continuance in Control Exemption--Lakeshore 
Terminal Railroad LLC

    Patriot Rail Company LLC, SteelRiver Transport Ventures LLC, Global 
Diversified Infrastructure Fund (North America) LP, First State 
Infrastructure Managers (International) Limited, and Mitsubishi UFJ 
Financial Group, Inc. (collectively, Applicants), all noncarriers, have 
filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to 
continue in control of Lakeshore Terminal Railroad LLC (Lakeshore 
Terminal) upon Lakeshore Terminal's becoming a Class III rail carrier.
    This transaction is related to a verified notice of exemption filed 
concurrently in Lakeshore Terminal Railroad--Acquisition & Operation 
Exemption--Track in Lake County, Ind., Docket No. FD 36742, in which 
Lakeshore Terminal seeks to acquire and commence common carrier 
operations over approximately 0.5 miles of track located in East 
Chicago, Lake County, Ind.
    According to the verified notice, Applicants currently control 
Lakeshore Terminal in addition to 31 existing Class III rail carriers 
in 21 states.\1\

[[Page 87046]]

Applicants state that they neither contemplate nor require an agreement 
to continue in control of Lakeshore Terminal once it becomes a rail 
carrier.
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    \1\ The verified notice lists the railroads and the location of 
their operations as follows: (1) Alabama & Florida Railway Co., Inc. 
d/b/a Ripley & New Albany Railroad Co.--Alabama and Mississippi; (2) 
Columbia & Cowlitz Railway, LLC--Washington; (3) Decatur Junction 
Railway Co. LLC--Illinois; (4) Delta Southern Railroad, Inc.--
Louisiana; (5) DeQueen and Eastern Railroad, LLC--Arkansas; (6) 
Elkhart & Western Railroad Co. LLC--Indiana; (7) Fort Smith Railroad 
Co. LLC--Arkansas; (8) The Garden City Western Railway LLC--Kansas; 
(9) Georgia Northeastern Railroad Company LLC--Georgia; (10) Georgia 
Southern Railway Co. LLC--Georgia; (11) Gettysburg & Northern 
Railroad Co. LLC--Pennsylvania; (12) Golden Triangle Railroad, LLC--
Mississippi; (13) Indiana Southwestern Railway Co. LLC--Indiana; 
(14) Kendallville Terminal Railway Co. LLC--Indiana; (15) Keokuk 
Junction Railway Co. LLC--Iowa and Illinois; (16) Keokuk Union Depot 
Company LLC (KUD)--Iowa; (17) Kingman Terminal Railroad, LLC--
Arizona; (18) Louisiana and North West Railroad Company, LLC--
Arkansas and Louisiana; (19) Merced County Central Valley Railroad 
LLC--California; (20) Michigan Southern Railroad Company (in Indiana 
and Ohio, d/b/a Napoleon Defiance and Western Railway)--Indiana, 
Michigan, and Ohio; (21) Mississippi Central Railroad Co. LLC--
Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama; (22) Pioneer Industrial Railway 
Co. LLC--Illinois; (23) Rarus Railway, LLC d/b/a Butte, Anaconda & 
Pacific Railway Co.--Montana; (24) Sacramento Valley Railroad, LLC--
California; (25) Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Railway Company--
Utah; (26) Temple & Central Texas Railway, LLC--Texas; (27) 
Tennessee Southern Railroad Company, LLC--Tennessee and Alabama; 
(28) Texas Oklahoma & Eastern Railroad, LLC--Oklahoma; (29) Utah 
Central Railway Company, LLC--Utah; (30) Vandalia Railroad Company--
Illinois; (31) West Belt Railway LLC--Missouri (collectively, 
Patriot Short Lines). Applicants state that they have included KUD 
in this list out of an abundance of caution, as it is unclear 
whether KUD is a rail common carrier subject to the Board's 
jurisdiction.
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    The verified notice indicates that: (1) the Line does not connect 
with any of the Patriot Short Lines; (2) the acquisition of control is 
not part of a series of anticipated transactions that would connect the 
Line or any of the Patriot Short Lines with each other; and (3) the 
proposed transaction does not involve a Class I rail carrier. 
Therefore, the transaction is exempt from the prior approval 
requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323. See 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2).
    The transaction may be consummated on or after December 31, 2023, 
the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the verified notice 
was filed).
    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. Accordingly, 
the Board may not impose labor protective conditions here because all 
of the carriers involved are Class III rail carriers.
    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 22, 
2023.
    All pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 36743, 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, Robert A. Wimbish, Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 
29 North Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606-3208.
    According to the verified notice, 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: December 12, 2023.

    By the Board, Mai T. Dinh, Director, Office of Proceedings.

Tammy Lowery,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2023-27637 Filed 12-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P