Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company, Consolidated Rail Corporation, and CSX Transportation, Inc.Joint Relocation Project Exemptionin New London and Greenwich, OH

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 205 (Friday, October 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56965-56966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28604]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board
[STB Finance Docket No. 33660]


Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company, Consolidated Rail 
Corporation, and CSX Transportation, Inc.--Joint Relocation Project 
Exemption--in New London and Greenwich, OH

    Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company (W&LE), Consolidated Rail 
Corporation (Conrail), and CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), have 
jointly filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(5) to enter 
into a project involving the relocation of W&LE's line of railroad 
between New London and Greenwich, OH. The relocation will facilitate 
more efficient train operations and allow for the removal of 
unnecessary and duplicative trackage. The proposed transaction was 
scheduled to take place no sooner than October 2, 1998.
    W&LE is a Class II rail carrier operating approximately 850 miles 
of rail line in 4 states. Conrail is a Class I rail carrier operating 
approximately

[[Page 56966]]

10,500 miles of rail line in 13 states and the District of Columbia. 
CSXT is a Class I rail carrier operating approximately 18,504 miles of 
rail line in 20 states, the District of Columbia, and Ontario, Canada. 
1
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    \1\ See CSX Corporation and CSX Transportation, Inc., Norfolk 
Southern Corporation and Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Control 
and Operating Lease/Agreements--Conrail Inc. and Consolidated Rail 
Corporation, STB Finance Docket No. 33388 [Decision No. 88] (served 
June 19, 1998).
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    W&LE proposes to: (1) Acquire overhead trackage rights over a 
Conrail line between New London and Greenwich; (2) acquire overhead 
trackage rights over a short segment of CSXT's line which connects with 
Conrail's line and W&LE's line at Greenwich; (3) construct a short 
connecting track between its line and Conrail's line at New London to 
permit operation of the trackage rights; and (4) abandon its own line 
between New London and Greenwich.2 There are no active 
shippers located on the line to be abandoned.
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    \2\ The trackage rights to be acquired by W&LE include use of 
the connection to be constructed in the northwest quadrant of the 
intersection of Conrail's line and CSXT's line at Greenwich. The 
construction of that connection was authorized by the Board in STB 
Finance Docket No. 33388 (Sub-No. 3), decision served November 25, 
1997.
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    Under the joint agreement, W&LE will have the right to operate its 
trains over Conrail's line between Conrail milepost 47.0 at New London 
and CSXT's milepost BG 193.23 at Greenwich, a distance of approximately 
7.85 miles.3 W&LE and Conrail will install turnouts and 
connecting track totaling approximately 1,100 feet in the southeast 
quadrant of the intersection of Conrail's line and W&LE's line at New 
London. W&LE will maintain its existing interchange with CSXT at 
Greenwich.
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    \3\ Under the plan for allocating certain assets of Conrail 
between CSXT and Norfolk Southern as approved by the Board, 
Conrail's line between New London and Greenwich will be allocated to 
New York Central LLC and will be operated by CSXT.
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    The proposed relocation project will permit the consolidation of 
parallel rail operations onto Conrail's and CSXT's existing lines, 
which have adequate capacity to handle the traffic of both parties. 
W&LE will benefit by saving the cost of maintaining and rehabilitating 
its line, including the cost of maintaining and rehabilitating the 
existing diamond at New London that will be eliminated as a result of 
this project. W&LE will also benefit by reusing the rail and obtaining 
the net proceeds from salvage of its own line. The relocation of W&LE's 
operations will facilitate construction of the connection between 
CSXT's line and Conrail's line at Greenwich.
    The Board will exercise jurisdiction over the abandonment or 
construction components of a relocation project, and require separate 
approval or exemption, only where the removal of track affects service 
to shippers or the construction of new track involves expansion into a 
new territory. See City of Detroit v. Canadian National Ry. Co., et 
al., 9 I.C.C.2d 1208 (1993), aff'd sub nom., Detroit/Wayne County Port 
Authority v. ICC, 59 F.3d 1314 (D.C. Cir. 1995). Line relocation 
projects may embrace trackage rights transactions such as the one 
involved here. See D.T.&I.R.--Trackage Rights, 363 I.CC. 878 (1981). 
Under these standards, the incidental abandonment, construction, and 
trackage rights components require no separate approval or exemption 
when the relocation project, as here, will not disrupt service to 
shippers and thus qualifies for the class exemption at 49 CFR 
1180.2(d)(5).
    As a condition to this exemption, any employees affected by the 
trackage rights will be protected by the conditions imposed in Norfolk 
and Western Ry. Co.--Trackage Rights--BN, 354 I.C.C. 605 (1978), as 
modified in Mendocino Coast Ry., Inc.--Lease and Operate, 360 I.C.C. 
653 (1980).
    If the 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 transaction.
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB 
Finance Docket No. 33660, must be filed with the Surface Transportation 
Board, Office of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925 K Street, N.W., 
Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be 
served on: William C. Sippel, Two Prudential Plaza, 45th Floor, 180 
North Stetson Avenue, Chicago, IL 60601-6710; Charles M. Rosenberger, 
500 Water Street, J150, Jacksonville, FL 32202; and John J. Paylor, 
2001 Market Street, P.O. Box 41416, Philadelphia, PA 19101-1416.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our website at 
``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''

    Decided: October 16, 1998.

    By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-28604 Filed 10-22-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P