[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4578]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: March 1, 1994]
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INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION
[Finance Docket No. 32452]
City of Oshkosh, WI and Wisconsin Central Ltd.--Petition for
Declaratory Order
AGENCY: Interstate Commerce Commission.
ACTION: Institution of declaratory order proceeding.
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SUMMARY: In response to a petition filed by the City of Oshkosh (City)
and Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WCL) this proceeding is instituted to
determine whether the City will become a common carrier under the
Interstate Commerce Act and whether regulatory approvals are required
for an acquisition and consolidation agreement. Interested persons are
invited to file comments.
DATES: Written Comments (original and 10 copies) must be filed by March
21, 1994, and concurrently served on the representative of petitioners.
ADDRESSES: Send comments referring to Finance Docket No. 32452 to (1)
Office of the Secretary, Case Control Branch, Interstate Commerce
Commission, Washington, DC 20423 and (2) Kevin M. Sheys, Oppenheimer
Wolff & Donnelly, 1020 Nineteenth Street, NW., Suite 400, Washington,
DC 20036.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beryl Gordon (202) 927-5610. [TDD for
hearing impaired: (202) 927-5721.]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission has authority to issue
declaratory and interpretive orders and in its sound discretion may
issue a declaratory order to terminate a controversy or remove
uncertainty under 5 U.S.C. 554(e) and 49 U.S.C. 10321. This proceeding
is instituted at the request of petitioners to clarify the status of
the City as a noncarrier. According to petitioners, under an agreement
for rail acquisition and consolidation by and among the City, WCL and
Fox Valley & Western Ltd. (FVW),1 the City has acquired from WCL
the right-of-way underlying the rail line between West 20th Avenue and
Harrison Street, within the city limits of Oshkosh, between milepost
172.1 and milepost 176.6, a distance of approximately 4.5 miles.2
WCL has retained ownership of the rail, ties, and other track material,
and has retained a permanent unconditional easement to provide freight
operations. The sale of the property to the City is a part of a WCL/FVW
plan to coordinate and consolidate railroad operations and to improve
grade crossings in the Oshkosh area.
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\1\ WCL and FVW are commonly controlled by Wisconsin Central
Transportation Corporation.
\2\ The agreement also covers the City's acquisition of FVW
right-of-way between milepost 20.1 and milepost 23.0 subject to a
pending petition for abandonment exemption in Fox Valley & Western
Ltd.--Abandonment Exemption--In Fond du Lac and Winnebago Counties,
WI, Docket No. AB-402 (Sub-No. 1X) (ICC filed Nov. 10, 1993).
According to the City, the sale of this line will not take place
until the Commission has authorized its abandonment. Thus, the
City's acquisition of the FVW right-of-way is not a subject of this
petition for declaratory order.
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Petitioners assert that, although the City acquired the property
underlying the rail line, it did not acquire the obligation to provide
common carrier service. WCL, not the City, holds itself out to provide
freight service to the public. There is no shared use of the rail
corridor, petitioners assert; rather, the City will merely own the
underlying property and WCL will continue to own the tracks and to
provide exclusive freight service. Petitioners conclude that because
WCL will retain the common carrier obligation to provide freight
service, the limited acquisition by the City of the subject property
does not constitute an acquisition of a railroad line subject to the
Commission's jurisdiction.
Petitioners request the Commission to issue an order declaring
that: (1) the acquisition by the City is not subject to the
Commission's jurisdiction; and (2) the acquisition by the City does not
make the City a carrier. Copies of the petition are available for
public inspection and copying at the Office of the Secretary,
Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423.
Decided: February 22, 1994.
By the Commission, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Sidney L. Strickland, Jr.,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-4578 Filed 2-28-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7035-01-P
