[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 85 (Monday, May 5, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19066-19067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-07750]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. FD 36776 (Sub-No. 1)]
CSX Transportation, Inc.--Trackage Rights Exemption--Norfolk
Southern Railway Company
By petition filed on September 26, 2024, CSX Transportation, Inc.
(CSXT), requests that the Board permit the trackage rights granted to
it under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7) in Docket No. FD 36776 to expire under the
terms agreed to by CSXT and the grantor of the rights, Norfolk Southern
Railway Company (NSR).
As explained in CSXT's verified notice of exemption in Docket No.
FD 36776, NSR has agreed to grant CSXT overhead trackage rights over a
portion of NSR's Bay Route and portions of its Harrisburg Route.\1\ The
purpose of the new trackage rights is to provide temporary alternate
routes for CSXT trains while CSXT's Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore,
Md. (HST), is closed for a project that includes clearing the HST for
double-stack rail passage. CSXT Verified Notice of Exemption 4, 6, CSX
Transp., Inc.--Trackage Rts. Exemption--Norfolk S. Ry., FD 36776. CSXT
states that, at certain times during the project, it will close the
HST, and, during such closures, CSXT intends to reroute its current
traffic over other CSXT lines and lines of NSR to continue to provide
service to its customers whose traffic normally moves through the HST.
Id. at 4. CSXT further states that it will reroute the traffic using a
combination of existing trackage rights and the new trackage rights
that are the subject of CSXT's verified notice. Id.\2\ According to the
verified notice, CSXT and NSR have agreed that the new overhead
trackage rights will terminate when the project is complete, the HST is
reopened, and CSXT has begun to move rail traffic through the HST. CSXT
Verified Notice of Exemption 4, CSX Transp., Inc.--Trackage Rts.
Exemption--Norfolk S. Ry., FD 36776.
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\1\ Specifically, the overhead trackage rights consist of (1)
the Bay Route, between CP Bay, at or near milepost 91.9, and the
connection between NSR and CSXT, at or near milepost IP 0.41, a
distance of approximately 2.8 miles, in Baltimore City, Md.; and (2)
the Harrisburg Route, (a) between Lurgan, Pa. (at or near milepost
LG 40.1/HW 40.1), and Norristown, Pa., at CP Norris, Pa. (at or near
milepost HP 18.0), a distance of approximately 148.3 miles; and (b)
between CP Falls (at or near milepost HP 5.4) and a connection with
CSXT's Philadelphia Subdivision at CP Laurel Hill (at or near
milepost QA 2.9), a distance of approximately 0.5 mile. CSXT
Verified Notice of Exemption 3, CSX Transp., Inc.--Trackage Rts.
Exemption--Norfolk S. Ry., FD 36776.
\2\ Similarly, to accommodate NSR's detoured traffic, CSXT is
granting NSR overhead trackage rights over certain CSXT routes. See
Norfolk S. Ry.--Trackage Rts. Exemption--CSX Transp., Inc., FD 36790
(STB served Oct. 16, 2024).
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In its petition, CSXT asks the Board to partially revoke the
exemption as necessary to permit the trackage rights to expire as
agreed to by the parties. (CSXT Pet. 2, 4-5.) CSXT argues that granting
this petition would promote the rail transportation policy at 49 U.S.C.
10101, would be consistent with the limited scope of the transaction,
and would not have an adverse effect on shippers. (CSXT Pet. 4.) In
addition, CSXT asserts that the Board has granted similar petitions for
partial revocation to permit temporary trackage rights to expire. (Id.)
Discussion and Conclusions
Although CSXT and NSR have expressly agreed on the duration of the
proposed trackage rights, trackage rights approved under the class
exemption at 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7) typically remain effective
indefinitely, regardless of any contract provisions. At times, however,
the Board has taken action to allow such
[[Page 19067]]
rights to expire after a limited time rather than lasting in
perpetuity, based on the parties' agreement. See, e.g., BNSF Ry.--
Trackage Rts. Exemption--Union Pac. R.R., FD 36377 (Sub-No. 9) (STB
served Oct. 8, 2024) (allowing trackage rights under 49 CFR
1180.2(d)(7) to expire).
Permitting the trackage rights to expire as agreed to by the
parties would eliminate the need for CSXT to separately seek
discontinuance authority at a later date, thereby minimizing the need
for federal regulatory control (49 U.S.C. 10101(2)), reducing
regulatory barriers to entry into and exit from the rail industry (49
U.S.C. 10101(7)), and allowing for the expeditious handling and
resolution of this transaction (49 U.S.C. 10101(15)). Moreover, doing
so would not result in an abuse of market power, as the termination
will be permitted to occur only upon resumption of CSXT's service
through the HST.\3\ Therefore, the Board will grant the petition and
permit the trackage rights exempted in Docket No. FD 36776 to expire
upon completion of the HST project, reopening of the HST, and
resumption of CSXT's movement of rail traffic through the HST. CSXT
will be directed to notify the Board within five days of the resumption
of its service through the HST following completion of the project.
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\3\ Because the proposed transaction would not result in an
abuse of market power, the Board need not determine whether it is
limited in scope. See 49 U.S.C. 10502(a).
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To provide the statutorily mandated protection to any employee
adversely affected by the discontinuance of trackage rights, the Board
will impose the employee protective conditions set forth in Oregon
Short Line Railroad--Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth &
Ammon, in Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979).
This action is categorically excluded from environmental review
under 49 CFR 1105.6(c).
It is ordered:
1. CSXT's petition to permit expiration of the trackage rights in
Docket No. FD 36776 per the agreement of the parties is granted.
2. As discussed above, the trackage rights in Docket No. FD 36776
are permitted to expire, subject to the employee protective conditions
set forth in Oregon Short Line, upon completion of the HST project,
reopening of the HST, and resumption of CSXT's movement of rail traffic
through the HST.
3. Within five days of CSXT's resumption of service through the HST
following completion of the project, CSXT shall file with the Board a
notice to that effect.
4. Notice of this decision will be published in the Federal
Register.
5. This decision is effective on May 30, 2025. Petitions for stay
must be filed by May 12, 2025. Petitions for reconsideration must be
filed by May 20, 2025.
Decided: April 29, 2025.
By the Board, Board Members Fuchs, Hedlund, Primus, and Schultz.
Regena Smith-Bernard,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2025-07750 Filed 5-2-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P