[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 79 (Thursday, April 24, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 20061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-10645]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[STB Finance Docket No. 33385]
Railroad Ventures, Inc.--Acquisition and Operation Exemption--
Youngstown & Southern Railroad Company
Railroad Ventures, Inc. (RVI), a noncarrier, has filed a verified
notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.31(a)(1) to acquire and operate
approximately 35.7 miles of line purportedly owned by Youngstown &
Southern Railroad Company (Y&S),\1\ extending from milepost 0.00, near
Struthers, OH, to milepost 35.7, near Darlington, PA, and an additional
1-mile segment of the Smith Ferry Branch line near Negley, OH. Pursuant
to the exemption, RVI also will acquire incidental trackage rights over
a 2.65-mile of line between Struthers and Youngstown, OH, for the
purposes of interchange with Consolidated Rail Corporation and CSX
Transportation, Inc.\2\
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\1\ RVI states that Y&S is a non-operating railroad and a wholly
owned subsidiary of the Montour Railroad Company (Montour), a non-
operating railroad, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Properties, Inc., the successor in interest
to The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Company. Pittsburgh and
Lake Erie Properties, Inc., is a noncarrier and is presently in
bankruptcy proceedings before the United States Federal District
Court in Delaware. In re Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Properties, Inc. AKA
The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Company, 96-00406-HSB, filed
March 26, 1996. Neither Montour nor Y&S are Debtors in the
Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Properties, Inc., bankruptcy proceeding.
\2\ On April 8, 1997, the Ohio Rail Development Commission and
the Columbiana County Port Authority jointly filed a petition to
reject, revoke, or stay the notice of exemption. Petitioners did not
address the Board's stay criteria, and the exemption was not stayed
prior to its scheduled effectiveness on April 9, 1997. Because RVI
appears to have provided sufficient information to invoke the class
exemption for noncarriers to acquire and operate an active line of
railroad and also to have provided responses to questions asked in
the decision that rejected RVI's first attempt to invoke this class
exemption, the notice will not be rejected at this time. See
Railroad Ventures, Inc.--Acquisition and Operation Exemption--
Youngstown and Southern Railway Company, Finance Docket No. 33336
(STB served Jan. 9, 1997). The merits of the petition to revoke,
and, to the extent necessary or appropriate, the petition to reject,
will be decided by the entire Board in a subsequent decision.
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The transaction was consummated without appropriate authority on
November 8, 1996.\3\
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\3\ Upon becoming aware of the need for the Board's approval or
exemption of the transaction, RVI took steps to invoke the class
exemption procedures in Finance Docket No. 33336.
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If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio. Petitions to reopen the proceeding to
revoke the exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed at any
time.\4\ The filing of a petition to reopen will not automatically stay
the transaction.
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\4\ The Ohio Rail Development Commission and Columbiana County
Port Authority have filed a petition for declaratory order asking
that the acquisition by RVI be declared void ab initio in STB Docket
No. 41991, Ohio Rail Development Commission and Columbiana County
Port Authority--Petition for Declaratory Order--Certain Actions of
Railroad Ventures, Inc. This proceeding is currently pending.
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An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB
Finance Docket No. 33385, 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 John A. Vuono, Esq., Vuono & Gray, LLC, 2310 Grant Building,
Pittsburgh, PA 15219.
Decided: April 16, 1997.
By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of
Proceedings.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-10645 Filed 4-23-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-00-P
