Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 1 / Friday, January 2, 2015 / Notices 107 

1A motion to dismiss the notice of exemption on 

grounds that the transaction does not require 

authorization from the Board was concurrently filed 

with this notice of exemption. The motion to 

dismiss is addressed in a separate Board decision. 

1Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing 

fee, which is currently set at $1,600. See 49 CFR 

1002.2(f)(25). 

2Because AGS is seeking to discontinue service, 

not to abandon the line, trail use/rail banking and 

public use conditions are not appropriate. Likewise, 

no environmental or historic documentation is 

required here under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and 49 CFR 

1105.8(b), respectively. 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[Docket No. FD 35892] 

Massachusetts Department of 

Transportation—Acquisition 

Exemption—Certain Assets of CSX 

Transportation, Inc. 

The Massachusetts Department of 

Transportation (MassDOT), a noncarrier, 

has filed a verified notice of exemption 

under 49 CFR 1150.31 to acquire from 

CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) certain 

railroad assets and associated right-ofway known generally as the 

Framingham Secondary, extending from 

milepost QBF 0.0 at Mansfield, Mass., to 

milepost QBF 21.2 at Framingham, 

Mass. (near CP–21), a distance of 

approximately 21.2 route miles (the 

Line). 

According to MassDOT, the 

acquisition of the Line is intended to 

facilitate commuter service by 

MassDOT’s designee, the Massachusetts 

Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). 

MassDOT states that, in the interest of 

facilitating the MBTA-provided 

commuter rail service, it will delegate 

maintenance and dispatching of all train 

activity on the Line to MBTA. 

MassDOT states that, pursuant to a 

‘‘Definitive Agreement,’’ MassDOT will 

obtain the right to purchase CSXT’s 

right, title and interest in the right-ofway, trackage, and other physical assets 

associated with the Line, subject to 

CSXT’s retained exclusive, irrevocable, 

perpetual, assignable, divisible, 

licensable, and transferable freight 

railroad operating easement. MassDOT 

also states that it will not acquire the 

right, nor will it have the ability, to 

provide freight common carrier service 

over the Line.1 According to MassDOT, 

the agreements governing the subject 

asset sale and post-transaction railroad 

operations preclude MassDOT from 

interfering materially with the provision 

of railroad common carrier service over 

the Line. MassDOT, however, will be 

entitled in the future to provide (itself, 

or through its designated contractor, 

MBTA) to provide commuter rail service 

over the Line. MassDOT states that the 

proposed transaction does not involve 

any provision or agreement that would 

limit future interchange with a thirdparty connecting carrier. 

MassDOT certifies that, because it 

will conduct no freight operations on 

the line segment being acquired, its 

revenues from freight operations will 

not result in the creation of a Class I or 

Class II carrier. 

MassDOT states that it anticipates 

consummating the transaction on or 

about March 20, 2015, subject to a Board 

decision on the concurrently filed 

motion to dismiss. The earliest this 

transaction may be consummated is 

January 18, 2015, the effective date of 

the exemption (30 days after the verified 

notice was filed). 

If the verified 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 to stay must be 

filed no later than January 9, 2015 (at 

least seven days before the exemption 

becomes effective). 

An original and ten copies of all 

pleadings, referring to Docket No. FD 

35892, 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 Robert A. Wimbish, 

Fletcher & Sippel LLC, 29 North Wacker 

Drive, Suite 920, Chicago, IL 60606– 

2832. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: December 22, 2014. 

By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Brendetta S. Jones, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30503 Filed 12–31–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 371X)] 

The Alabama Great Southern Railroad 

Company—Discontinuance of Service 

Exemption—in St. Tammany Parish, 

La. 

The Alabama Great Southern Railroad 

Company (AGS), a wholly owned 

subsidiary of Norfolk Southern Railway 

Company, filed a verified notice of 

exemption under 49 CFR pt. 1152 

subpart F—Exempt Abandonments and 

Discontinuances of Service to 

discontinue service over approximately 

3.60 miles of connecting rail lines 

extending from: (1) Milepost 36.00 NA 

(near Holly Street) to milepost 38.25 NA 

(near South Street and Route 190 [Gause 

Blvd., West]), and (2) milepost NN 35.31 

(near Route 11 [Front Street]) to 

milepost NN 36.66 (near Donya Drive), 

in St. Tammany Parish, La. The line 

traverses United States Postal Service 

Zip Code 70460. 

AGS has certified that: (1) No local 

traffic has moved over the line for at 

least two years; (2) no overhead traffic 

has moved over the line for at least two 

years, and if there were any overhead 

traffic, it could be rerouted over other 

lines; (3) no formal complaint filed by 

a user of rail service on the line (or by 

a state or local government entity acting 

on behalf of such user) regarding 

cessation of service over the line either 

is pending with the Surface 

Transportation Board or with any U.S. 

District Court or has been decided in 

favor of complainant within the twoyear period; and (4) the requirements at 

49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper 

publication) and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) 

(notice to governmental agencies) have 

been met. 

As a condition to this exemption, any 

employee adversely affected by the 

discontinuance of service shall be 

protected under Oregon Short Line 

Railroad—Abandonment Portion 

Goshen Branch Between Firth & 

Ammon, in Bingham & Bonneville 

Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979). To 

address whether this condition 

adequately protects affected employees, 

a petition for partial revocation under 

49 U.S.C. 10502(d) must be filed. 

Provided no formal expression of 

intent to file an offer of financial 

assistance (OFA) has been received, this 

exemption will be effective on February 

3, 2015, unless stayed pending 

reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do 

not involve environmental issues and 

formal expressions of intent to file an 

OFA for continued rail service under 49 

CFR 1152.27(c)(2) 1 must be filed by 

January 12, 2015.2 Petitions to reopen 

must be filed by January 22, 2015, with 

the Surface Transportation Board, 395 E 

Street SW., Washington, DC 20423– 

0001. 

A copy of any petition filed with the 

Board should be sent to AGS’s 

representatives: William A. Mullins and 

Crystal M. Zorbaugh, Baker & Miller 

PLLC, 2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Suite 300, Washington, DC 20037. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
108 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 1 / Friday, January 2, 2015 / Notices 

1Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing 

fee, which is currently set at $1,600. See 49 CFR 

1002.2(f)(25). 

2Because this is a discontinuance proceeding and 

not an abandonment, trail use/rail banking and 

public use conditions are not appropriate. Likewise, 

no environmental or historic documentation is 

required here under 49 CFR 1105.6(c) and 49 CFR 

1105.8(b), respectively. 

1ABS was granted authority to lease and operate 

the rail line in Alabama Southern Railroad—Lease 

& Operation Exemption—The Kansas City Southern 

Railway, FD 34754 (STB served Dec. 2, 2005). 

If the verified notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at 

‘‘WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.’’ 

Decided: December 23, 2014. 

By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Brendetta S. Jones, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30502 Filed 12–31–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 363X] 

Norfolk Southern Railway Company— 

Discontinuance of Service 

Exemption—in Henry County, Va. 

Norfolk Southern Railway Company 

(NSR) has filed a verified notice of 

exemption under 49 CFR part 1152 

subpart F—Exempt Abandonments and 

Discontinuances of Service to 

discontinue service over approximately 

1.40 miles of rail line from milepost DW 

45.8 (near Highway 220B) to milepost 

DW 47.2 (near Woodvale Ct.) in Henry 

County, Va. (the Line). The Line 

traverses United States Postal Service 

Zip Code 24112. 

NSR has certified that: (1) No local 

traffic has moved over the Line for at 

least two years; (2) no overhead traffic 

has moved over the Line for at least two 

years and overhead traffic, if there were 

any, could be rerouted over other Lines; 

(3) no formal complaint filed by a user 

of rail service on the Line (or by a state 

or local government entity acting on 

behalf of such user) regarding cessation 

of service over the Line either is 

pending with the Surface 

Transportation Board (Board) or with 

any U.S. District Court or has been 

decided in favor of complainant within 

the two-year period; and (4) the 

requirements at 49 CFR 1105.12 

(newspaper publication) and 49 CFR 

1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental 

agencies) have been met. 

As a condition to this exemption, any 

employee adversely affected by the 

discontinuance shall be protected under 

Oregon Short Line Railroad— 

Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch 

Between Firth & Ammon, in Bingham & 

Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 

91 (1979). To address whether this 

condition adequately protects affected 

employees, a petition for partial 

revocation under 49 10502(d) must be 

filed. 

Provided no formal expression of 

intent to file an offer of financial 

assistance (OFA) to subsidize continued 

rail service has been received, this 

exemption will become effective on 

February 3, 2015, unless stayed pending 

reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do 

not involve environmental issues and 

formal expressions of intent to file an 

OFA to subsidize continued rail service 

under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),1 must be 

filed by January 12, 2015.2 Petitions to 

reopen must be filed by January 22, 

2015, with the Surface Transportation 

Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, 

DC 20423–0001. 

A copy of any petition filed with the 

Board should be sent to NSR’s 

representative: William A. Mullins, 

Baker & Miller PLLC, 2401 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 

20037. 

If the verified notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at 

‘‘WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.’’ 

Decided: December 24, 2014. 

By the Board, Jonathon P. Binet, Acting 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Brendetta S. Jones, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. 2014–30731 Filed 12–31–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[Docket No. FD 35889] 

Alabama Southern Railroad, L.L.C.— 

Lease and Operation Exemption 

Including Interchange Commitment— 

The Kansas City Southern Railway 

Company 

Alabama Southern Railroad, L.L.C. 

(ABS), a Class III rail carrier, has filed 

a verified notice of exemption under 49 

CFR 1150.41 to continue to lease from 

The Kansas City Southern Railway 

Company (KCS) and operate 

approximately 85.6 miles of rail lines 

located between: (1) Milepost 17.0, near 

Columbus, Miss., and milepost 78.9, 

near Tuscaloosa, Ala., on the Tuscaloosa 

Subdivision; (2) milepost 0.0, at 

Tuscaloosa and milepost 9.3, near Fox, 

Ala., on the Warrior Branch; and (3) 

milepost 443.5, at Brookwood Jct., Ala., 

and milepost 429.1, at Brookwood, Ala., 

on the Brookwood Branch (the Lines).1

ABS states that it has entered into an 

amended and restated lease agreement, 

which will extend the term of the lease 

until November 30, 2024, and make 

other minor changes to the lease. ABS 

also states that it will continue to be the 

operator of the Lines. 

According to ABS, the new agreement 

between ABS and KCS contains an 

interchange commitment that affects 

interchange with carriers other than 

KCS. ABS notes that the affected 

interchange points are Northport, Ala., 

Tuscaloosa, Brookwood, and Columbus. 

As required under 49 CFR 1150.43(h)(1), 

ABS provided additional information 

regarding the interchange commitment. 

ABS has certified that its projected 

annual revenues as a result of this 

transaction will not result in ABS’s 

becoming a Class II or Class I rail 

carrier, but that its projected annual 

revenues will exceed $5 million. 

Accordingly, ABS is required, at least 60 

days before this exemption is to become 

effective, to send notice of the 

transaction to the national offices of the 

labor unions with employees on the 

affected lines, post a copy of the notice 

at the workplace of the employees on 

the affected lines, and certify to the 

Board that it has done so. 49 CFR 

1150.42(e). ABS asserts that providing 

the 60-day notice would serve no useful 

purpose because ABS already operates 

the Lines. 

ABS, concurrently with its verified 

notice of exemption, filed a petition for 

waiver of the 60-day advance labor 

notice requirement under § 1150.42(e), 

asserting that: (1) No KCS employee will 

be affected by the lease because no KCS 

employee has performed operations or 

maintenance on the Lines since 2005; 

(2) no ABS employee will be affected by 

the lease because ABS will continue to 

provide the same service and perform 

the same maintenance as it has since 

2005; and (3) providing advance labor 

notice would be a futile act because the 

transaction will simply extend the term 

of the lease agreement between ABS and 

KCS. ABS’s waiver request will be 

addressed in a separate decision. 

ABS states that that it expects to 

consummate the transaction on or 

shortly after the effective date of this 

exemption. The Board will establish in 

the decision on the waiver request the 

earliest date this transaction may be 

consummated. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES