[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 208 (Friday, October 25, 1996)] [Notices] [Pages 55357-55358] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-27423] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION [STB Finance Docket No. 33138] RailAmerica, Inc.--Acquisition of Control Exemption--Otter Tail Valley Company, Inc. RailAmerica, Inc. (RailAmerica), a noncarrier, has filed a notice of exemption to acquire control, through its wholly owned subsidiary Dakota Rail, Inc., of Otter Tail Valley Railroad Company, Inc. (OTVR).1 OTVR, a Class III rail carrier, operates solely in Minnesota.2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ Dakota seeks to acquire control, through stock purchase, of OTVR, in a concurrently filed notice of exemption in STB Finance Docket No. 33133, Dakota Rail, Inc.--Acquisition of Control Exemption--Otter Tail Valley Railroad Company, Inc. \2\ OTVR's main line runs from milepost 185.1, near Fergus Falls, MN, northwest to Barnesville Junction, MN (milepost 218.6 = 0). From Barnesville Junction, milepost 0, the main line runs northwest to Moorehead, MN, at milepost 21.25. In addition, a branch line runs from milepost 49.0, at Fergus Falls, west to milepost 61.5, at Foxhome, MN. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- RailAmerica also controls the following eight Class III rail carriers that do not connect with OTVR: Huron & Eastern Railway Company, Inc., the Saginaw Valley Railway Company, Inc., the South Central Tennessee Railroad Company, Dakota, the West Texas & Lubbock Railroad Company, Inc., the Plainview Terminal Company, Evansville Terminal Company, Inc., and the Cascade and Columbia River Railroad Company.3 The effective date of the exemption was October 11, 1996. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \3\ Common control of these carriers was approved in: John H. Marino, Eric D. Gerst, and Mariner Corporation--Control Exemption-- Saginaw Valley Railway Company, Inc., Finance Docket No. 31196 (ICC served Apr. 23, 1991); RailAmerica, Inc.--Control Exemption--South Central Tennessee Railroad Company, Finance Docket No. 32421 (ICC served Jan. 18, 1994); RailAmerica, Inc.--Control Exemption--Prairie Holding Corporation and Dakota Rail, Inc., Finance Docket No. 32750 (ICC served Sept. 25, 1995); RailAmerica, Inc.--Continuance in Control Exemption--West Texas and Lubbock Railroad Company, Inc. and Plainview Terminal Company, Finance Docket No. 32797 (ICC served Dec. 27, 1995); RailAmerica, Inc.--Continuance in Control Exemption--Evansville Terminal Company, Inc., STB Finance Docket No. 32990 (STB served July 17, 1996); and RailAmerica, Inc.--Continuance in Control Exemption--Cascade and Columbia River Railroad Company, STB Finance Docket No. 33048 (STB served Sept. 13, 1996). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This transaction is related to a notice of exemption filed in STB Finance Docket No. 33133, Dakota Rail, Inc.--Acquisition of Control Exemption--Otter Tail Valley Railroad Company, Inc., wherein Dakota seeks to acquire control, through stock purchase, of OTVR. RailAmerica states that: (1) OTVR does not connect with any other railroads in its corporate family; (2) the involved transaction is not part of a [[Page 55358]] series of anticipated transactions that would connect OTVR with any other railroad in its corporate family; and (3) the transaction does not involve a Class I carrier. Therefore, the transaction is exempt from the prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. 11323. See 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2). The purpose of the transaction is to achieve operating economies and to improve service and financial viability. Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the Board may not use its exemption authority to relieve a rail carrier of its statutory obligation to protect the interests of its employees. Section 11326(c), however, does not provide for labor protection for transactions under sections 11324 and 11325 that involve only Class III rail carriers. Because this transaction involves Class III rail carriers only, the Board, under the statute, may not impose labor protective conditions for this transaction. If the 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 transaction. An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB Finance Docket No. 33138, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, Office of the Secretary, Case Control Branch, 1201 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20423. In addition, one copy of all pleadings must be served on: Edward D. Greenberg, Canal Square, 1054 Thirty-First Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20007. Decided: October 17, 1996. By the Board, Joseph H. Dettmar, Acting Director, Office of Proceedings. Vernon A. Williams, Secretary. [FR Doc. 96-27423 Filed 10-24-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4915-00-P