[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12366-12367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4843]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. FD 35596]


JP Rail, Inc. d/b/a Southern Railroad Company of New Jersey--
Operation Exemption--Rail Line in Salem County, N.J.

    JP Rail, Inc. d/b/a Southern Railroad Company of New Jersey (JP 
Rail), a Class III rail carrier, has filed a verified notice of 
exemption under 49 CFR 1150.41 to operate approximately 18.6 miles of 
rail line known as the Salem Branch Line (the Line), which is owned by 
Salem County, N.J. (Salem), as follows: (1) Between the connection with 
Consolidated Rail Corporation at approximately milepost 11.0 in 
Swedesboro, N.J., and approximately milepost 28.4 at Salem, and (2) the 
Glass House Spur, between mileposts 0.0 and 1.2 in Salem.\1\
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    \1\ JP Rail acquired authority to operate the Line in 1995. See 
JP Rail, Inc. d/b/a Southern R.R. Co. of N.J.--Notice of Exemption--
Operation of Salem Branch Rail Line in Salem County, N.J., FD 32700 
(ICC served Oct. 10, 1995). JP Rail states that in July 2003 it 
entered into a 10-year contract with Salem for the continued 
operation of the Line, and that it assigned its rights and 
obligations under that contract to Class III rail carrier U.S. Rail 
Corporation (U.S. Rail) with Salem's consent in October 2009. See 
U.S. Rail Corp. of N.J. --Lease Exemption--County of Salem, N.J., FD 
35310 (STB served Nov. 27, 2009) and U.S. Rail Corp.--Operation 
Exemption--U.S. Rail Corp. of N.J., FD 35317 (STB served Nov. 27, 
2009). According to JP Rail, Salem terminated its contractual 
relationship with U.S. Rail on January 10, 2012, and reassigned the 
contract to JP Rail on February 1, 2012.
    In the verified notice, JP Rail requests that rail service be 
permitted to resume as soon as possible because there are shippers 
on the Line that require rail service. On February 21, 2012, JP Rail 
filed a petition for waiver of the 30-day period before an exemption 
can become effective, 49 CFR 1150.42(b), and requested that the 
notice of exemption be permitted to become effective within 10 days 
of its February 13, 2012 filing date.
     While JP Rail may have assigned its rights and obligations 
under the 2003 contract to U.S. Rail, the record does not show that 
JP Rail has ever sought Board authority to discontinue operations 
over the Line. Similarly, U.S. Rail has not sought Board authority 
to discontinue operations over the Line. Thus, with two rail 
carriers currently authorized to provide rail service on the Line, 
there is no need to rule on JP Rail's waiver petition. This notice 
of exemption is being issued and published to clarify the status of 
the parties with respect to the Line and to remove any doubt about 
JP Rail's authority to operate the Line in the future.
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    JP Rail certifies that its projected annual revenues as a result of 
this transaction will not exceed those that would qualify it as a Class 
III rail carrier and further certifies that its projected annual 
revenues will not exceed $5 million.
    The earliest this transaction may be consummated is March 14, 2012, 
the effective date of the exemption (30 days after the exemption was 
filed).
    If the notice 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 effectiveness of the exemption. 
Stay petitions must be filed no later than March 7, 2012 (at least 7 
days before the exemption becomes effective).
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No. 
FD 35596, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street SW.,

[[Page 12367]]

Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, one copy of each pleading must 
be served on John K. Fiorilla, 8000 Midlantic Drive, Suite 300S, Mount 
Laurel, NJ 08054.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
www.stb.dot.gov.

    Decided: February 24, 2012.

    By the Board.
Rachel D. Campbell,
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2012-4843 Filed 2-28-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P