[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 136 (Friday, July 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46152-46153]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16774]


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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 387X)]


Chesapeake Western Railway--Discontinuance of Service Exemption--
in Rockingham and Shenandoah Counties, VA

    Chesapeake Western Railway (CW), a wholly owned subsidiary of 
Norfolk Southern Railway Company, filed a verified notice of exemption 
under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt Abandonments and 
Discontinuances of Service to discontinue service over an approximately 
15.1-mile rail line, between milepost CW 84.4 at Mt. Jackson, VA, and 
milepost CW 99.5 at Broadway, VA, in Rockingham and Shenandoah 
Counties, VA (the Line). The Line traverses United States Postal 
Service Zip Codes 22842, 22844, 22847, 22853, and 22815.
    CW 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 before the Surface Transportation Board 
or any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of a 
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 U.S.C. 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 August 16, 2016 (50 
days after the filing of the exemption), 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

[[Page 46153]]

rail service under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2) \1\ must be filed by July 25, 
2016.\2\ Petitions to reopen must be filed by August 4, 2016, with the 
Surface Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20423-
0001.
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    \1\ Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing fee, which is 
currently set at $1,600. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25).
    \2\ Because CW is seeking to discontinue service, not to abandon 
the Line, trail use/rail banking and public use conditions are not 
appropriate. Because there will be environmental review during 
abandonment, this discontinuance does not require an environmental 
review.
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    A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to CW's 
representative: William A. Mullins, 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: July 12, 2016.

    By the Board, Rachel D. Campbell, Director, Office of 
Proceedings.
Raina S. Contee,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2016-16774 Filed 7-14-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4915-01-P