Railroad services abandonment: Norfolk Southern Railway Co.,

[Federal Register: August 30, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 167)]

[Notices]

[Page 51411]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr30au05-92]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Docket No. AB-290 (Sub-No. 264X)]

Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Discontinuance of Service Exemption--in Sumter County, SC

Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) has filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and Discontinuances of Service to discontinue service over a 9.8-mile rail line between milepost SB-12.20 at Foxville and milepost SB-22.00 at Hasskamp, in Sumter County, SC.\1\ The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 29150, 29153 and 29514.

\1\ On August 18, 2005, NSR informed the Board that milepost SB- 22.20 stated in its notice, should be milepost 22.00.

NSR has certified that: (1) No local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years and that 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 2-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 R. Co.--Abandonment--Goshen, 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 September 29, 2005,\2\ unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay and formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2), must be filed by September 9, 2005. Petitions to reopen must be filed by September 19, 2005, with: Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423- 0001.

\2\ Because this is a discontinuance of service proceeding and not an abandonment, there is no need to provide an opportunity for trail use/rail banking or public use condition requests. Likewise, no environmental or historic documentation is required under 49 CFR 1105.6(c)(6) and 1105.8.

A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to NSR's representative: James R. Paschall, General Attorney, Norfolk Southern Railway Company, Three Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA 23510.

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

Decided: August 23, 2005.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of Proceedings. Vernon A. Williams, Secretary.

[FR Doc. 05-17136 Filed 8-29-05; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915-01-P