80 FR 73038 - Indiana Southern Railroad, LLC-Temporary Trackage Rights Exemption-Norfolk Southern Railway Company

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 225 (November 23, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 225 (Monday, November 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 73038]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29794]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. FD 35965 (Sub-No. 1)]


Indiana Southern Railroad, LLC--Temporary Trackage Rights 
Exemption--Norfolk Southern Railway Company

    By petition filed on October 5, 2015, Indiana Southern Railroad, 
LLC (ISRR), requests that the Board partially revoke the trackage 
rights class exemption, 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7), as it pertains to the 
trackage rights arrangement exempted in Docket No. FD 35965, to permit 
those trackage rights to expire on January 1, 2020.
    ISRR states that the temporary trackage rights agreement 
(Agreement) between ISSR and Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS) 
exempted in Docket No. FD 35965 is intended to grant ISRR limited 
overhead temporary trackage rights to operate over and provide rail 
service to one customer on a portion of NS's rail line between milepost 
0.8 EJ at Oakland City Junction, Ind., and milepost 4.8 EJ at 
Enosville, Ind. Notice of the exemption in FD 35965 was served and 
published in the Federal Register on October 21, 2015 (80 FR 63871). 
The transaction may be consummated on or after November 4, 2015, the 
effective date of ISSR's exemption.

Discussion and Conclusions

    Although ISRR and NS have expressly agreed on the duration of the 
proposed Agreement, trackage rights approved under the class exemption 
at 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7) typically remain effective indefinitely, 
regardless of any contract provisions. Occasionally, however, trackage 
rights exemptions have been granted for a limited time period rather 
than in perpetuity. See, e.g., Union Pac. R.R.--Trackage Rights 
Exemption--Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry., FD 34242 (Sub-No. 1) (STB 
served Oct. 7, 2002).
    Under 49 U.S.C. 10502, the Board may exempt a person, class of 
persons, or a transaction or service, in whole or in part, when it 
finds that: (1) Continued regulation is not necessary to carry out the 
rail transportation policy of 49 U.S.C. 10101; and (2) either the 
transaction or service is of limited scope, or regulation is not 
necessary to protect shippers from the abuse of market power.
    ISRR's temporary trackage rights were already authorized under the 
class exemption at 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7). Granting partial revocation in 
these circumstances will promote the rail transportation policy by 
eliminating the need to file a second pleading seeking discontinuance 
when the agreement expires, thereby promoting rail transportation 
policy goals at 49 U.S.C. 10101(2), (4), (5), (7), and (15). Moreover, 
limiting the term of the trackage rights is consistent with the limited 
scope of the transaction previously exempted. Therefore, we will grant 
the petition and permit the trackage rights exempted in Docket No. FD 
35965 to expire on January 1, 2020.
    To provide the statutorily mandated protection to any employee 
adversely affected by the discontinuance of trackage rights, we 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 (Oregon Short Line), 360 I.C.C. 
91 (1979).
    It is ordered:
    1. The petition for partial revocation is granted.
    2. Under 49 U.S.C. 10502, the trackage rights described in Docket 
No. FD 35965 are exempted, as discussed above, to permit the trackage 
rights to expire on January 1, 2020, subject to the employee protective 
conditions set forth in Oregon Short Line.
    3. Notice will be published in the Federal Register on November 23, 
2015.
    4. This decision is effective on December 23, 2015. Petitions to 
stay must be filed by December 3, 2015. Petitions for reconsideration 
must be filed by December 14, 2015.

    Decided: November 17, 2015.

    By the Board, Chairman Elliott, Vice Chairman Begeman, and 
Commissioner Miller.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-29794 Filed 11-20-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P