82 FR 9108 - New Mexico Central Railroad, LLC-Acquisition and Operation Exemption-Southwestern Railroad, Inc., Whitewater Division

SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

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

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 21 (Thursday, February 2, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9108-9109]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02284]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. FD 36085]


New Mexico Central Railroad, LLC--Acquisition and Operation 
Exemption--Southwestern Railroad, Inc., Whitewater Division

    New Mexico Central Railroad, LLC (NMCR),\1\ a noncarrier, has filed 
a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31 to acquire and 
operate certain lines of railroad in New Mexico (the Lines) 
collectively referred to as the Whitewater Division, currently operated 
and owned or leased by Southwestern Railroad, Inc. (Southwestern). In 
particular, NMRC will acquire Southwestern's leasehold interest in a 
line between Deming (MP 1134) and Rincon (MP 1080) and 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.\2\
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    \1\ NMCR is a newly established entity owned by West Branch 
Intermediate Holdings, LLC (West Branch), and managed by Continental 
Rail LLC (Continental). West Branch currently controls an existing 
Class III carrier, Delta Southern Railroad, Inc. (Delta).
    \2\ Southwestern also leases and operates a BNSF Railway Company 
(BNSF) line known as the Carlsbad Division, which consists of 
approximately 227.6 miles of railroad linking Clovis, Carlsbad, and 
Loving, N.M. Southwestern recently petitioned for an exemption to 
discontinue service over the Carlsbad Division. See Sw. R.R.--
Discontinuance of Serv. Exemption--in Curry, Roosevelt, Chaves & 
Eddy Ctys., N.M., AB 1251X (filed Jan. 17, 2017).
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    On the same day NMCR filed its verified notice of exemption, West 
Branch and Continental also filed a verified notice of exemption in 
West Branch Intermediate Holdings & Continental Rail--Continuance in 
Control Exemption--New Mexico Central Railroad, Docket No. FD 36087, 
for West Branch to acquire and for Continental to manage NMCR upon 
NMCR's becoming a Class III carrier.\3\
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    \3\ 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 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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    NMCR has executed a letter of intent for it to purchase the Lines. 
NMCR and Southwestern are currently negotiating a purchase and sale 
agreement governing the purchase of the Lines as well as certain other 
assets. The parties expect to reach an agreement shortly, which NMCR 
states will not contain an interchange agreement.
    NMCR certifies that its projected annual revenues resulting from 
the transaction will not result in its becoming a Class I or Class II 
rail carrier. NMCR notes, however, that its annual operating revenues 
will exceed $5 million. Accordingly, in compliance with 49 CFR 
1150.32(e), NMCR submitted a letter on December 16, 2016, certifying 
that it posted the required 60-day labor notice of this transaction at 
the Southwestern employees' workplace at Deming. NMCR states that the 
notice was not served on the national offices of labor unions with 
employees who work on

[[Page 9109]]

the affected lines because there are no unionized employees employed by 
Southwestern.
    The earliest the transaction could be consummated is February 16, 
2017, and the parties expect to consummate the transaction at that 
time.
    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 36084, 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.
    According to NMCR, this action is categorically excluded from 
environmental review under 49 CFR 1105.6(c).
    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.
Kenyatta Clay,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2017-02284 Filed 2-1-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P