04-5380. 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) over a BNSF rail line between BNSF milepost 5.7 near Villard Junction, WA, and BNSF milepost 11.98 near Lakeside Junction, WA, a distance of approximately 139.3 miles.^[1]

The transaction was scheduled to be consummated on March 1, 2004, and the authorization is expected to expire on or about March 29, 2004. The purpose of the temporary rights is to facilitate maintenance work on UP lines.

As a condition to this exemption, any employees affected by the temporary 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), 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 it 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. 34478, 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 St., Room 830, Omaha, NE 68179.

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

Decided: March 4, 2004.

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

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

Footnotes

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