Source: https://www.stb.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/9855c1fb354da09b85257f1f000b5f79/0fb035d43ff6c1af85258347006760e4?OpenDocument
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 04:50:20+00:00

Document:
DECISION ACCEPTED FOR CONSIDERATION THE APPLICATION BY CSX TRANSPORTATION, INC. TO CONTINUE TO LEASE APPROXIMATELY 137.33 MILES OF RAIL LINE OF THE WESTERN AND ATLANTIC RAILROAD FROM THE STATE OF GEORGIA. THE BOARD DETERMINED THAT THIS IS A MINOR TRANSACTION AS DEFINED BY THE BOARD’S REGULATIONS AND ADOPTED A PROCEDURAL SCHEDULE.
Digest: This decision accepts for consideration the application by CSX Transportation, Inc. to continue to lease approximately 137.33 miles of rail line of the Western and Atlantic Railroad from the State of Georgia. The Board determines that this is a minor transaction as defined by the Board’s regulations and adopts a procedural schedule.
ACTION: Decision No. 1 in FD 36220; Notice of Acceptance of Application; Issuance of Procedural Schedule.
SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation Board (Board) is accepting for consideration the application submitted on October 22, 2018, by CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT). CSXT seeks Board approval under 49 U.S.C. § 11323 to continue to lease from the State of Georgia (Georgia) approximately 137.33 miles of rail line of the Western and Atlantic Railroad (W&A), a non-operating carrier owned by Georgia, acting by and through the State Properties Commission, between milepost 0 at Central Avenue in the City of Atlanta, Ga., and milepost 137.28 at the centerline of Interstate 24 in the City of Chattanooga, Tenn. (the Line). On November 2, 2018, Georgia, acting by and through the State Properties Commission, filed a letter in support of CSXT’s application.
The Board finds that the proposed transaction (the Lease) is a “minor transaction” under 49 C.F.R. § 1180.2(c) and that the application is complete. The Board adopts a procedural schedule for consideration of the application, under which the Board’s final decision would be expected to be issued by April 19, 2019, and would become effective by May 19, 2019.
DATES: The effective date of this decision is November 21, 2018. Any person who wishes to participate in this proceeding as a party of record (POR) must file a notice of intent to participate no later than December 5, 2018. All comments, protests, requests for conditions, and any other evidence and argument in opposition to the application, including filings by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), must be filed by January 4, 2019. Responses to comments, protests, requests for conditions, and other opposition on the transportation merits of the Lease, and rebuttal in support of the application must be filed by February 1, 2019.
The Board expects to issue its final decision by April 19, 2019, and to make the decision effective by May 19, 2019. For further information respecting dates, see the Appendix to this decision.
ADDRESSES: Any filing submitted on the transportation merits in this proceeding must 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 instructions found on the Board’s website at www.stb.gov at the “E-FILING” link. Any person submitting a filing in the traditional paper format should send an original and 10 paper copies of the filing (and also an electronic version) to: Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, one copy of each filing in this proceeding must be sent (and may be sent by e-mail only if service by e-mail is acceptable to the recipient) to each of the following: (1) U.S. Secretary of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC 20590; (2) Attorney General of the United States, c/o Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, Room 3109, Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530; (3) Louis E. Gitomer (representing CSXT), Law Offices of Louis E. Gitomer, LLC, 600 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 301, Towson, MD 21204; and (4) any other person designated as a POR on the service list notice (as explained below, the service list notice will be issued as soon after December 5, 2018, as practicable).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Novins, (202) 245-0389. Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
APPLICATION ACCEPTED. A transaction that does not involve the control or merger of two or more Class I railroads is not of regional or national transportation significance, and therefore is classified as “minor” if: (1) the transaction would clearly not have anticompetitive effects, or (2) any anticompetitive effects would clearly be outweighed by the transaction’s contribution to the public interest in meeting significant transportation needs. A transaction not involving the control or merger of two or more Class I railroads is “significant” if neither of these determinations can be clearly made. See 49 C.F.R. § 1180.2(b), (c).
Based on a review of the application, the Board finds that the proposed Lease would be a “minor transaction” under 49 C.F.R. § 1180.2(c). Nothing in the record thus far suggests that the Lease would have anticompetitive effects, because the Lease proposes to generally maintain the status quo by allowing CSXT to continue operating over the Line as it and its predecessors have done since 1890. The application indicates that, not only would CSXT continue to operate over the Line, but NSR and GNRR would “retain their existing rights.” (Appl. 6.) It does not appear, under the terms of the proposed Lease, that any shipper would have fewer competitive rail alternatives as a result of the transaction.
The Board’s finding regarding competitive impact is preliminary. The Board will give careful consideration to any claims that any potential anticompetitive effects of the Lease would not be outweighed by its potential benefits.
The Board accepts the application for consideration because it is in substantial compliance with the applicable regulations governing “minor transactions.” See 49 C.F.R. § 1180; 49 U.S.C. §§ 11321-26. The Board reserves the right to require the filing of supplemental information as necessary to complete the record.
PROCEDURAL SCHEDULE. Any person who wishes to participate in this proceeding as a POR must file a notice of intent to participate no later than December 5, 2018; requests for discovery from CSXT are due by December 5, 2018; CSXT’s discovery responses are due by December 19, 2018; all comments, protests, requests for conditions, and any other evidence and argument in opposition to the application, including filings by DOJ and DOT, must be filed by January 4, 2019; and responses to comments, protests, requests for conditions, and other opposition on the transportation merits of the Lease, as well as CSXT’s rebuttal in support of the application, must be filed by February 1, 2019. The Board reserves the right to adjust the schedule as circumstances may warrant. For further information regarding dates, see the Appendix to this decision.
NOTICE OF INTENT TO PARTICIPATE. Any person who wishes to participate in this proceeding as a POR must file with the Board, no later than December 5, 2018, a notice of intent to participate, accompanied by a certificate of service indicating that the notice has been properly served on the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, the Attorney General of the United States, and Mr. Gitomer (representing CSXT), as described above.
If a request is made in the notice of intent to participate to have more than one name added to the service list as a POR representing a particular entity, the extra name will be added to the service list as a “non-party.” The list will reflect the Board’s policy of allowing only one official representative per party to be placed on the service list, as specified in Press Release No. 97-68 dated August 18, 1997, announcing the implementation of the Board’s “One Party-One Representative” policy for service lists. Any person designated as a non-party will receive copies of Board decisions, orders, and notices but not copies of official filings. Persons seeking to change their status must accompany that request with a written certification that he or she has complied with the service requirements set forth at 49 C.F.R. § 1180.4, and any other requirements set forth in this decision.
SERVICE LIST NOTICE. The Board will serve, as soon after December 5, 2018, as practicable, a notice containing the official service list (the service list notice). Each POR will be required to serve upon all other PORs, within 10 days of the service date of the service list notices, copies of all filings previously submitted by that party (to the extent such filings have not previously been served upon such other parties). Each POR will also be required to file with the Board, within 10 days of the service date of the service list notice, a certificate of service indicating that the service required by the preceding sentence has been accomplished. Every filing made by a POR must have its own certificate of service indicating that all PORs on the service list have been served with a copy of the filing. Members of the United States Congress (MOCs) and Governors (GOVs) are not parties of record and need not be served with copies of filings, unless any MOC or GOV has requested to be, and is designated, as a POR.
ACCESS TO FILINGS. Under the Board’s rules, any document filed with the Board (including applications, pleadings, etc.) shall be promptly furnished to interested persons on request, unless subject to a protective order. 49 C.F.R. § 1180.4(a)(3). The application and other filings in this proceeding are available on the Board’s website at www.stb.gov under “E‑LIBRARY/Filings.” In addition, the application may be obtained from Mr. Gitomer at the address indicated above.
1. The application in FD 36220 is accepted for consideration.
2. The parties to this proceeding must comply with the procedural schedule adopted by the Board in this proceeding as shown in the Appendix and must comply with the procedural requirements described in this decision.
October 22, 2018 Application filed.
December 5, 2018 Notices of intent to participate in this proceeding due.
Discovery requests due to CSXT.
December 19, 2018 CSXT’s responses to discovery requests due.
January 4, 2019 Comments due from all parties, including the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and the Attorney General, on the transportation merits of the Lease.
February 1, 2019 Responses to comments on the transportation merits of the Lease due.
CSXT’s rebuttal in support of the application due.
March 6, 2019 Close of record on the transportation merits.
April 19, 2019 Date by which a final decision will be served.
May 19, 2019 Date by which a final decision will become effective.
 CSXT does not indicate whether it interchanges traffic with NSR at these locations.
 As of the decided date of this decision, CSXT has not filed for abandonment authority for this line.

References: § 11323
 § 1180
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 § 1180
 § 1180
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