E7-4424. Union Pacific Railroad Company-Temporary Trackage Rights Exemption-BNSF Railway Company

AGENCY:

Surface Transportation Board, DOT.

ACTION:

Partial Revocation of Exemption.

SUMMARY:

The Board, under 49 U.S.C. 10502, revokes the class exemption as it pertains to the modified trackage rights described in STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 6) ^[1] to permit the trackage rights to expire on or about December 31, 2007, in accordance with the agreement of the parties,^[2] subject to the employee protective conditions set forth in Oregon Short Line R. Co.—Abandonment—Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979).

DATES:

This exemption is effective on April 12, 2007. Petitions to stay must be filed by March 23, 2007. Petitions to reopen must be filed by April 2, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

An original and 10 copies of all pleadings referring to STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 7) must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of all pleadings must be served on petitioner's representative: Gabriel S. Meyer, 1400 Douglas Street, STOP 1580, Omaha, NE 68179.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joseph H. Dettmar [phone]. [Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Additional information is contained in the Board's decision. To purchase a copy of the full decision, write to, e-mail or call: ASAP Document Solutions, 9332 Annapolis Rd., Suite 103, Lanham, MD 20706; e-mail [e-mail]; telephone [phone]. [Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through FIRS at 1-800-877-8339.]

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

Decided: March 5, 2007.

By the Board, Chairman Nottingham, Vice Chairman Buttrey, and Commissioner Mulvey.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  On December 29, 2006, Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) concurrently filed a verified notice of exemption under the Board's class exemption procedures at 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7). The notice covered the agreement by the BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) to extend the expiration date of the local trackage rights granted to UP over BNSF's line of railroad between BNSF milepost 579.3 near Mill Creek, OK, and BNSF milepost 631.1 near Joe Junction, TX, a distance of approximately 51 miles. UP submits that the trackage rights are only temporary rights, but, because they are “local” rather than “overhead” rights, they do not qualify for the Board's class exemption for temporary trackage rights at 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(8). See Union Pacific Railroad Company—Temporary Trackage Rights Exemption—BNSF Railway Company, STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 6) (STB served Jan. 12, 2007).

2.  The original trackage rights granted in Union Pacific Railroad Company—Temporary Trackage Rights Exemption—The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (STB served Oct. 7, 2004), also extended from BNSF milepost 579.3 near Mill Creek, OK, to BNSF milepost 631.1 near Joe Junction, TX. By decisions served on November 24, 2004, in STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 1), on March 25, 2005, in STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 3), and on March 23, 2006, in STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 5), the Board granted exemptions to permit the trackage rights authorized in STB Finance Docket No. 34554 and extended in STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 2), served on February 11, 2005, and in STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 4), served on March 3, 2006, to expire. At the time of the last extension, it was anticipated by the parties that the rights would expire on or about December 31, 2006. However, this authority had not yet been exercised at the time of filing of the notice of exemption in STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 6) for a further extension of the expiration date.