10646 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 46 / Wednesday, March 11, 2009 / Notices 

1On December 23, 2008, 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 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 under 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. 

10) (STB served Jan. 8, 2009). 

2The trackage rights were originally 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). Subsequently, the parties filed notices of 

exemption several times based on their agreements 

to extend expiration dates of the same trackage 

rights. See STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 

2) (decision served February 11, 2005); STB Finance 

Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 4) (decision served 

March 3, 2006); STB Finance Docket No. 34554 

(Sub-No. 6) (decision served January 12, 2007); and 

STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 8) 

(decision served January 4, 2008). Because the 

original and subsequent trackage rights notices were 

filed under the class exemption at 49 CFR 

1180.2(d)(7), under which trackage rights normally 

remain effective indefinitely, in each instance the 

Board granted partial revocation of the class 

exemption to permit the authorized trackage rights 

to expire. See STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (SubNo. 1) (decision served November 24, 2004); STB 

Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 3) (decision 

served March 25, 2005); STB Finance Docket No. 

34554 (Sub-No. 5) (decision served March 23, 

2006); STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 7) 

(decision served March 13, 2007); and STB Finance 

Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 9) (decision served 

March 20, 2008). At the time of the extension 

authorized in STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (SubNo. 8), the parties anticipated that the authority to 

allow the rights to expire would be exercised by 

December 31, 2008. However, the parties filed on 

December 23, 2008 in STB Finance Docket No. 

34554 (Sub-No. 10) their most recent notice of 

exemption so that the trackage rights could be 

extended to December 31, 2009, and in STB 

Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 11) their latest 

petition to partially revoke the class exemption to 

permit expiration, which we are addressing here. 

consummation has not been effected by 

NSR’s filing of a notice of 

consummation by March 11, 2010, and 

there are no legal or regulatory barriers 

to consummation, the authority to 

abandon will automatically expire. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: February 27, 2009. 

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Jeffrey Herzig, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. E9–4878 Filed 3–10–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Ex Parte No. 558 (Sub-No. 12)] 

Railroad Cost of Capital—2008 

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of decision instituting a 

proceeding to determine the railroads’ 

2008 cost of capital. 

SUMMARY: The Board is instituting a 

proceeding to determine the railroad 

industry’s cost of capital for 2008. The 

decision solicits comments on: (1) The 

railroads’ 2008 current cost of debt 

capital; (2) the railroads’ 2008 current 

cost of preferred stock equity capital (if 

any); (3) the railroads’ 2008 cost of 

common stock equity capital; and (4) 

the 2008 capital structure mix of the 

railroad industry on a market value 

basis. Comments should focus on the 

various cost of capital components 

listed above using the same 

methodology followed in the Cost 07 

decision, with the exception of applying 

the Ex Parte No. 664 (Sub No. 1) 

decision in calculating the cost-ofequity. 

DATES: Notices of intent to participate 

are due no later than March 20, 2009. 

Statements of the railroads are due by 

April 20, 2009. Statements of other 

interested persons are due by May 20, 

2009. Rebuttal statements by the 

railroads are due by June 19, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted either via the Board’s e-filing 

format or in the traditional paper 

format. Any person using e-filing should 

submit a document and otherwise 

comply with the instructions at the EFILING link on the Board’s Web site, at 

http://www.stb.dot.gov. Any person 

submitting a filing in the traditional 

paper format should send an original 

and 10 copies to: Surface Transportation 

Board, Attn: STB Ex Parte No. 558 (Sub 

No. 12), 395 E Street, SW., Washington, 

DC 20423–0001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Pedro Ramirez (202) 245–0333. 

[Assistance for the hearing impaired is 

available through the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1– 

800–877–8339.] 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Board’s decision is posted on the 

Board’s Web site, http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. In addition, copies of 

the decision may be purchased by 

contacting the office of Public 

Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and 

Compliance at (202)–245–0235. 

Assistance for the hearing impaired is 

available through FIRS at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

We preliminarily conclude that the 

proposed action will not significantly 

affect either the quality of the human 

environment or the conservation of 

energy resources. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 10704(a). 

Decided: March 5, 2009. 

By the Board, Chairman Nottingham, Vice 

Chairman Mulvey, and Commissioner 

Buttrey. 

Kulunie L. Cannon, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. E9–5138 Filed 3–10–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Finance Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 

11)] 

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. 10) 1 to permit the 

trackage rights to expire on or about 

December 31, 2009, 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 10, 2009. Petitions to stay must be 

filed by March 23, 2009. Petitions to 

reopen must be filed by March 31, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: An original and 10 copies of 

all pleadings referring to STB Finance 

Docket No. 34554 (Sub-No. 11) 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, Union Pacific Railroad 

Company, 1400 Douglas Street, STOP 

1580, Omaha, NE 68179. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia 

Farr (202) 245–0359. [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. 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES