Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 100 / Wednesday, May 27, 2009 / Notices 25301 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Ex Parte No. 690] 

Twenty-Five Years of Rail Banking: A 

Review and Look Ahead 

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation 

Board will hold a public hearing 

beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 

8, 2009, in the Hearing Room on the first 

floor of the Board’s headquarters in 

Washington, DC. The purpose of the 

public hearing will be to examine the 

impact, effectiveness, and future of rail 

banking under Section 8(d) of the 

National Trails System Act. Persons 

wishing to speak at the hearing should 

notify the Board in writing. 

DATES: The public hearing will take 

place on Wednesday, July 8, 2009. Any 

person wishing to speak at the hearing 

should file with the Board a combined 

notice of intent to participate 

(identifying the party, the proposed 

speaker, the time requested, and the 

topic(s) to be covered) and the person’s 

written testimony, as soon as possible, 

but no later than June 29, 2009. Written 

submissions by interested persons who 

do not wish to appear at the hearing are 

also due by June 29, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: All filings may be submitted 

either via the Board’s e-filing format or 

in the traditional paper format. Any 

person using e-filing should attach a 

document and otherwise comply with 

the Board’s http://www.stb.dot.gov Web 

site, at the ‘‘E-FILING’’ link. Any person 

submitting a filing in the traditional 

paper format should send an original 

and 10 copies of the filing to: Surface 

Transportation Board, Attn: STB Ex 

Parte No. 690, 395 E Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20423–0001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Victoria Rutson at (202) 245–0295. 

Assistance for the hearing impaired is 

available through the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at: 

(800) 877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1983, 

Congress added Section 8(d) to the 

National Trails System Act to create a 

program—codified at 16 U.S.C. 

1247(d)—to allow preservation of 

railroad corridors for possible future rail 

use, called ‘‘rail banking,’’ and to allow 

railroad corridors that would be 

abandoned to be used in the interim as 

recreational trails. 

In brief, the Trails Act and the Board’s 

implementing regulations give 

interested parties the opportunity to 

negotiate voluntary agreements to use 

for recreational trails railroad rights-ofway that otherwise would be 

abandoned. The trail sponsor must agree 

to assume responsibility for managing 

the trail, for paying property taxes on 

the right-of-way, and for any liability in 

connection with trail use. In turn, the 

rail carrier may salvage its track and 

discontinue service on the line. If the 

parties reach a Trails Act agreement, the 

right-of-way can be used as a trail until 

(if ever) a rail carrier decides to restore 

rail service on the line. 

The Board has issued numerous 

decisions authorizing trail use 

negotiation periods, many of which 

have resulted in agreements between the 

rail carrier and the party seeking interim 

trail use. To date, the Board has 

authorized nine rail banked lines for the 

restoration of rail service. Very recently 

(on May 11, 2009, in STB Docket No. 

AB–3 (Sub-No. 104X), Missouri Pacific 

Railroad Company—Abandonment 

Exemption—In Muskogee, McIntosh and 

Haskell Counties, OK), the Board 

vacated a Notice of Interim Trail Use in 

part to permit the restoration of active 

rail service on a portion of a rail banked 

line. 

In recent years, an increasing number 

of questions have been brought to the 

Board, both formally and informally, 

regarding aspects of the rail banking 

program. Formally, the Board has 

pending before it STB Finance Docket 

No. 35116, R.J. Corman Railroad 

Company/Pennsylvania Lines Inc.— 

Construction and Operation 

Exemption—in Clearfield County, PA, 

involving a proposal to construct and 

operate over 10 miles of a previously 

fully abandoned rail right-of-way and to 

reactivate a 9.3-mile portion of a 

connecting rail banked line. Informally, 

the Board has been asked who would be 

responsible for bearing the cost of 

rebuilding a railroad bridge removed 

during interim trail use if active rail 

service should ever be restored. 

To allow a more detailed discussion 

of these and other issues, the Board is 

holding a hearing to explore the issues 

surrounding the rail banking program. 

These issues include: 

• Has rail banking under Section 8(d) 

been a success for rail carriers and trail 

users? 

• Have most rail corridors proposed 

for rail banking under Section 8(d) 

actually been developed into trails? 

• Should the Board require notice or 

a copy of the Trails Act agreements to 

be submitted to the Board? 

• What can or should the Board do to 

further facilitate rail banking and 

encourage the restoration of active rail 

service on rail banked lines? 

• Who should bear the cost to restore 

a rail corridor for rail service, including 

replacing any bridges that may have 

been removed during interim trail use? 

• How have reversionary property 

owners been affected by rail banking? 

Parties are also invited to comment on 

the rail banking program in general and 

the future of rail banking in an era of 

constrained rail infrastructure. 

Date of Hearing: The hearing will 

begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 8, 

2009, in the 1st floor hearing room at 

the Board’s headquarters at 395 E Street, 

SW., in Washington, DC, and will 

continue, with short breaks if necessary, 

until every person scheduled to speak 

has been heard. 

Notice of Intent To Participate and 

Testimony: Any person wishing to 

speak at the hearing should file with the 

Board a combined notice of intent to 

participate (identifying the party, the 

proposed speaker, the time requested, 

and the topic(s) to be covered) and the 

person’s written testimony, as soon as 

possible, but no later than June 29, 

2009. Also, any interested person who 

wishes to submit a written statement 

without appearing at the July 8 hearing 

should file that statement by June 29, 

2009. 

Board Releases and Live Video 

Streaming Available via the Internet: 

Decisions and notices of the Board, 

including this notice, are available on 

the Board’s Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. This hearing will be 

available on the Board’s Web site by live 

video streaming. To access the hearing, 

click on the ‘‘Live Video’’ link under 

‘‘Information Center’’ at the left side of 

the home page beginning at 9 a.m. on 

July 8, 2009. 

This action will not significantly 

affect either the quality of the human 

environment or the conservation of 

energy resources. 

Dated: May 21, 2009. 

By the Board. 

Anne K. Quinlan, 

Acting Secretary. 

Jeffrey Herzig, 

Clearance Clerk. 

[FR Doc. E9–12237 Filed 5–26–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 


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