[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 15, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20289-20290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08670]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[Docket No. FD 35907]


Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corporation--Trackage Rights 
Exemption--Soo Line Railroad Company

    Soo Line Railroad Company (Soo), pursuant to a written trackage 
rights agreement dated March 27, 2015,\1\ has agreed to grant overhead 
and local trackage rights to Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad 
Corporation (DM&E) over approximately 132.6 miles of rail line (the 
Line) extending (1) between Goodview, Minn., and Merriam Park in St. 
Paul, Minn., and (2) between Goodview and Bridge Switch in Bluff, 
Minn.\2\
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    \1\ The agreement replaces and supersedes the incidental 
trackage rights previously authorized by the Board. See I&M Rail 
Link--Acquis. & Operation Exemption--Certain Lines of Soo Line R.R., 
FD 33326 (STB served Apr. 9, 1997).
    \2\ Specifically, the new trackage rights extend from Soo's 
connection with DM&E at milepost 313.2 +/- of Soo's River 
Subdivision at or in the vicinity of Goodview, over Soo's River 
Subdivision to Winona, Minn., north to the connection with Soo's 
Merriam Park Subdivision, and continue to Merriam Park at milepost 
416.2 +/- in St. Paul. The trackage rights also include the line 
from Soo's River Subdivision at Goodview to Soo's Tomah Subdivision 
at River Junction West, Minn., and continue to Bridge Switch at 
milepost 283.6 +/- at or in the vicinity of Bluff.
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    This transaction is related to a concurrently filed verified notice 
of exemption in Soo Line Railroad--Trackage Rights Exemption--Dakota, 
Minnesota & Eastern Railroad, Docket No. FD 35906, wherein DM&E has 
agreed to grant Soo overhead and local trackage rights over 
approximately 223.1 miles of rail line extending between Goodview and 
Tracy, Minn.
    DM&E may consummate its acquisition on or after April 29, 2015, the 
effective date of the exemption (30 days after the verified notice of 
exemption was filed).
    According to DM&E, the proposed transaction, along with the 
transaction in Docket No. FD 35906, is part of an exchange of 
nonexclusive trackage rights between two affiliated rail

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carriers \3\ that is intended to allow more fluid and efficient 
operations over both carriers. DM&E's trackage rights will include the 
right to conduct both overhead and local service, including the right 
to perform pickups and setoffs at customer facilities over the Line.
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    \3\ Soo and DM&E are affiliated carriers under common control 
pursuant to Board authority. See Canadian Pac. Ry.--Control--Dakota, 
Minn. & E. R.R., FD 35081 (STB served Sept. 30, 2008).
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    As a condition to this exemption, any employees affected by the 
trackage rights will be protected by the conditions imposed in Norfolk 
& Western Railway--Trackage Rights--Burlington Northern, Inc., 354 
I.C.C. 605 (1978), as modified in Mendocino Coast Railway--Lease & 
Operate--California Western Railroad, 360 I.C.C. 653 (1980).
    This notice is filed under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7). 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. Petitions for 
stay must be filed by April 22, 2015 (at least seven days before the 
exemption becomes effective).
    An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket No. 
FD 35907, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each 
pleading must be served on W. Karl Hansen, Stinson Leonard Street LLP, 
150 South Fifth Street, Suite 2300, Minneapolis, MN 55402.
    Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at 
``WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.''

    Decided: April 10, 2015.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Brendetta S. Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2015-08670 Filed 4-14-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P