B.C.D. 00-35

EMPLOYER STATUS DETERMINATION SEP 1 4 2000

Cape Cod Central Railroad, Inc. (CCCR)

This is a determination of the Railroad Retirement Board concerning the status

ofthe Cape Cod Central Railroad, Inc. (CCCR) as an employer under the

Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. §231 el sea.) (RRA) and the Railroad

Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. §351 el sea-) (RUIA).

Mr. John Kennedy, President of CCCR, provided information regarding the

railroad. CCCR runs excursion trains on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The train

operates solely within Massachusetts and uses 23 miles oftrack which begins

in Hyannis and ends in Bourne. The operation began May 28, 1999 and is 

seasonal, with the number of employees ranging from five employees in the

winter months to as many as twelve part-time seasonal employees during the

height ofthe season. CCCR does not own, control, or lease any track. The

track used by CCCR is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Executive Office ofTransportation & Construction, which leases the tracks to

Bay Colony Railroad Corporation (BA 3112). CCCR does not interchange with

any other railroad. According to Mr. Kennedy, CCCR’s operation is smaller, but

similar in service to the former railroads that operated the same tourist service

over the past twenty years, identified as the former Cape Cod & Hyannis Scenic

Railroad and the former Cape Cod Railroad. Neither ofthese former railroads

paid into the railroad retirement system for the operation of excursion service.1

Section 1(a)(1) ofthe RRA (45 U.S.C. § 231(a)(1)), insofar as is relevant here,

defines a covered employer as:

‘According to Railroad Retirement Board records, the Cape Cod &

Hyannis Railroad (CC&H) operated from June 13, 1981 through November 7,

1988. In a legal opinion issued March 20, 1990 (L-90-40), the CC&H was found

to be an employer under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad

Unemployment Insurance Act for a brief period oftime during which CC&H

had a through ticket arrangement with Amtrak. Specifically, CC&H was found

to be an employer during the period June 21, 1988 through September 2, 1988.

On July 24, 1990, the Board ordered the relief of the CC&H from the liability for

RUIA contributions for the period June 21,1988 to September 2,1988. Board

records do not reflect an employer status determination for the Cape Cod

Railroad, the latter railroad identified by Mr. Kennedy.
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Cape Cod Central Railroad, Inc. (CCCR)

(i) any carrier by railroad subject to the jurisdiction of the

Surface Transportation Board under part A of subtitle IV of Title 49

[45 U.S.C. §231(a)(l)(i)].

Sections 1(a) and (b) ofthe RUIA (45 U.S.C. §§ 351(a) and (b)) contain

substantially the same definition, as does section 3231 of the Railroad

Retirement Tax Act (26 U.S.C. § 3231).

The information summarized above indicates that CCCR is a carrier by rail, 

since it operates a passenger railway. However, CCCR does not operate, and

has never operated, as a common rail carrier in interstate commerce. Rather, it

provides excursion service solely within the State of Massachusetts. Thus, it is

not within the jurisdiction ofthe Surface Transportation Board. See. 49 U.S.C.

10501(a)(2)(A) (the STB hasjurisdiction over transportation between a place in a

state and a place in the same or another state as part ofthe interstate rail

The Board finds that since Cape Cod Central Railroad, Inc., does not perform

service as a rail common carrier in interstate commerce, it is not an employer

under the RRA and the RUIA.

network).