82 FR 9106 - West Branch Intermediate Holdings, LLC and Continental Rail LLC-Continuance in Control Exemption-New Mexico Central Railroad, LLC

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 21 (February 2, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 21 (Thursday, February 2, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9106-9107]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02227]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36087]


West Branch Intermediate Holdings, LLC and Continental Rail LLC--
Continuance in Control Exemption--New Mexico Central Railroad, LLC

    West Branch Intermediate Holdings, LLC (West Branch) and 
Continental Rail LLC (Continental) have filed a verified notice of 
exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) for West Branch to continue 
in control of, and Continental to manage, New Mexico Central Railroad, 
LLC (NMCR), upon NMCR's becoming a Class III rail carrier. West Branch 
is a noncarrier limited liability company that currently controls Delta 
Southern Railroad, Inc. (Delta), a Class III carrier. Continental is a 
noncarrier formed for the purpose of managing and operating short line 
railroads.
    This transaction is related to a concurrently filed verified notice 
of exemption in New Mexico Central Railroad--Acquisition & Operation 
Exemption--Southwestern Railroad, Whitewater Division, Docket No. FD 
36085, in which NMCR has filed for authority under 49 CFR 1150.31 to 
acquire and operate certain Southwestern assets. In particular, NMRC 
will acquire Southwestern's leasehold interest in a line between Deming 
(MP 1134) and Rincon (MP 1080) and Southwestern's ownership interest in 
lines: Between Deming (MP 0.0) and Peruhill (MP 5+3,763 feet); between 
Peruhill (MP 5+3,763 feet) and Whitewater (MP 30+2,972 feet); between 
Whitewater (near MP 30+2,972 feet) and the Tyrone Industrial Spur at 
Burro Mountain Jct. (near MP 33+5,256 feet); between Whitewater (MP 
0+0750 feet) and Santa Rita (MP 16+1,500 feet); and between Hannover, 
Jct. (MP 14+1,345.4 feet) and the connection line at the Fierro 
Industrial Spur at the Sharon Steel Plant (near MP 6+1,804 feet). The 
total Southwestern mileage NMCR will acquire (by purchase or lease) and 
operate is approximately 116 miles.\1\
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    \1\ In Docket No. FD 36084, West Branch and Continental have 
invoked the class exemption at 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) for West Branch 
to acquire control of, and for Continental to manage, the following 
Class III rail carriers: Cimarron Valley Railroad, L.C., Clarksdale 
Arizona Central Railroad, L.C., and Wyoming and Colorado Railroad 
Company, Inc.

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[[Page 9107]]

    The applicants certify that: (1) The carriers that are the subject 
of this notice do not connect with each other; (2) that this 
transaction is not part of a series of anticipated transactions that 
would connect these rail carriers with each other; and (3) the 
transaction does not involve a Class I carrier. The proposed 
transaction is therefore exempt from the prior approval requirements of 
49 U.S.C. 11323 pursuant to 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2).
    The earliest the transaction could be consummated is February 16, 
2017, the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the verified 
notice of exemption was filed). The parties expect to consummate the 
transaction on or about February 17, 2017.
    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. Section 11326(c), however, does 
not provide for labor protection for transactions under 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 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 by February 9, 2017 (at 
least seven days before the exemption becomes effective).
    An original and ten copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket 
No. FD 36087, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 
E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each 
pleading must be served on: John D. Heffner, Strasburger & Price, LLP, 
1025 Connecticut Ave. NW., Suite 717, Washington, DC 20036.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
WWW.STB.GOV.

    Decided: January 30, 2017.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Marline Simeon,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2017-02227 Filed 2-1-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P