33580 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 125 / Thursday, June 27, 1996 / Notices

1 The ICC Termination Act of 1995, Pub. L. No.

104–88, 109 Stat. 803, which was enacted on

December 29, 1995, and took effect on January 1,

1996, abolished the Interstate Commerce

Commission and transferred certain functions to the

Surface Transportation Board (Board). This decision

relates to functions that are subject to Board

jurisdiction pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 11323–25.

2 The 12 railroads are: Atlantic & Western

Railway, L.P.; The Bay Line Railroad, L.L.C.;

Copper Basin Railway; East Tennessee Railway,

L.P.; Galveston Railroad, L.P.; Georgia Central

Railway, L.P.; KWT Railway, Inc.; Little Rock &

Western Railway, L.P.; Tomahawk Railway, L.P.;

Valdosta Railway, L.P.; Western Kentucky Railway,

L.L.C.; and Wilmington Terminal Railroad, L.P.,

which are located in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas,

Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina,

Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.

1The ICC Termination Act of 1995, Pub. L. No.

104–88, 109 Stat. 803 (the ICCTA), which was

enacted on December 29, 1995, and took effect on

January 1, 1996, abolished the Interstate Commerce

Commission and transferred certain functions to the

Surface Transportation Board (Board). This notice

relates to functions that are subject to Board

jurisdiction pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10901 and 10903.

Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the Board

may not use its exemption authority to

relieve a rail carrier of its statutory

obligation to protect the interests of its

employees. Section 11326(c), however,

does not provide for labor protection for

transactions under sections 11324–25

that involve only Class III rail carriers.

Because this transaction involves Class

III rail carriers only, the Board, under

the statute, may not impose labor

protective conditions for this

transaction.

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. The filing of a petition to

reopen will not automatically stay the

transaction. An original and 10 copies of

all pleadings, referring to STB Finance

Docket No. 32947 (Sub-No. 2), must be

filed with the Office of the Secretary,

Case Control Branch, Surface

Transportation Board, 1201 Constitution

Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20423. In

addition, a copy of each pleading must

be served on Edward J. McAndrew,

Slover & Loftus, 1224 Seventeenth

Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

Decided: June 21, 1996.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–16409 Filed 6–26–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

Surface Transportation Board 1

[STB Finance Docket No. 32947 (Sub-No.

2)]

K. Earl Durden—Acquisition of Control

Exemption— Rail Partners, L.P., Et Al.

K. Earl Durden (Durden), a noncarrier

individual, has filed a notice of

exemption to acquire control of Rail

Partners, L.P. (Partners), Rail

Management and Consulting

Corporation (RMCC) and 12 commonlycontrolled shortline railroads

(hereinater the RMCC Railroad Group) 2

through his purchase of Green Bay

Packaging, Inc.’s (GBP) ownership

interests in the aforementioned entities

and railroads. Currently, Durden and

GBP each hold a 49.5% interest and

RMC holds a 1% interest in Partners, a

Delaware limited partnership; Durden

and GBP each own a 50% interest in

RMCC, a non-carrier holding company;

and Durden and GBP each own a 50%

interest in each of the railroads in the

RMCC Railroad Group. By this

transaction, Durden will acquire 100%

ownership and control in Partners,

RMCC, and the RMCC Railroad Group.

The exemption will be effective on June

24, 1996, and the parties intend to

consummate this transaction on June 30,

1996.

This transaction is related to a notice

of exemption concurrently filed in STB

Finance Docket No. 32947 (Sub-No. 1),

The A&G Railroad, L.L.C.—Merger—The

Bay Line Railroad, L.L.C.—Corporate

Family Transaction Exemption, for a

transaction which would merge the

properties of two intracorporate family

rail carriers, whose operations

connected via trackage rights over a

third (unaffiliated) carrier. Once the

merger is consummated, the proposed

acquisition of control by Durden

qualifies for the class exemption for

acquisition of control in this

proceeding.

Durden states that: (1) The transaction

will not result in any of the subject

railroads connecting with one another

or any railroads in their corporate

family; (2) the proposed transaction is

not part of a series of anticipated

transactions that would connect the

subject railroads with each other or any

railroad in their corporate family; and

the transaction involves only Class III

carriers. The transaction therefore is

exempt from the prior approval

requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323. See 49

CFR 1180.2(d)(2).

Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the Board

may not use its exemption authority to

relieve a rail carrier of its statutory

obligation to protect the interests of its

employees. Section 11326(c), however,

does not provide for labor protection for

transactions under sections 11324–25

that involve only Class III rail carriers.

Because this transaction involves Class

III rail carriers only, the Board, under

the statute, may not impose labor

protective conditions for this

transaction.

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. The filing of a petition to

reopen will not automatically stay the

transaction. An original and 10 copies of

all pleadings, referring to STB Finance

Docket No. 32947 (Sub-No. 2), must be

filed with the Office of the Secretary,

Case Control Branch, Surface

Transportation Board, 1201 Constitution

Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20423. In

addition, a copy of each pleading must

be served on Edward J. McAndrew,

Slover & Loftus, 1224 Seventeenth

Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

Decided: June 21, 1996.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–16408 Filed 6–26–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

Surface Transportation Board1

[STB Finance Docket No. 32753]

R.J. Corman Railroad Company/

Western Ohio Line—Modified Rail

Certificate—Between Lima and

Glenmore, OH

On May 13, 1996, R.J. Corman

Railroad Company/Western Ohio Line

(RJCW) filed a notice for a modified

certificate of public convenience and

necessity under 49 CFR 1150.23 to

operate as a sub-operator a line of

railroad, the SPEG Line, between

milepost 54.4 at Lima, OH, and milepost

84.2 at Glenmore, OH.

The line was formerly part of the

main line of the bankrupt Erie

Lackawanna Railway Company (EL)

between New York and Chicago. The

line was not designated for transfer to

Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail),

but was available for subsidy under

section 304 of the Regional Rail

Reorganization Act of 1973 (3R Act).

USRA-Final System Plan-July 1975—

Vol. II, page 122. Under section 304, EL

gave notice of intent to abandon the line

effective March 31, 1976. In 1977, the

line was acquired by the Ohio Rail

Transportation Authority, and the

Spencerville & Elgin Railroad Company

(SPEG) was designated as operator.

Certificate of Designated Operator—

Spencerville & Elgin Railroad Company,

D–OP 23 (ICC served Feb. 13, 1979).