03-27236. Union Pacific Railroad Company-Temporary Trackage Rights Exemption-The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) has agreed to grant temporary overhead trackage rights to Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) between BNSF milepost 6.1 near Fort Worth, TX, and BNSF milepost 218.1 near Temple TX, a distance of approximately 129.2 miles.^[1]

The transaction is scheduled to become effective on November 1, 2003, and the authorization is scheduled to expire on or about December 23, 2003. The purpose of the temporary trackage rights is to facilitate maintenance work on UP lines.

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 by Mendocino Coast Ry., Inc.—Lease and Operate, 360 I.C.C. 653 (1980), aff'd sub nom. Railway Labor Executives' Ass'n v. United States, 675 F.2d 1248 (D.C. Cir. 1982).

This notice is filed under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(8). 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 stay the transaction.

An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB Finance Docket No. 34414, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on Robert T. Opal, 1416 Dodge Street, Room 830, Omaha, NE 68179.

Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov.

Decided: October 22, 2003.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  UP states that, because the trackage rights involve BNSF subdivisions with non-contiguous mileposts, total mileage does not correspond to the milepost designations of the endpoints.