On November 25, 2003, Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) and Stillwater Central Railroad Company (SLWC) filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(5) to participate in a joint project involving the relocation of certain rail lines of UP near the Fort Sill Military Reservation (FSMR) at Fort Sill, OK. The transaction was scheduled to be consummated on or after December 2, 2003.
The purpose of the joint relocation project is to permit the reconstruction of the wye tracks providing access to FSMR to accommodate larger rail cars. To allow the needed reconstruction, UP must remove certain existing main line track and relocate its operations over that track to a parallel line of SLWC. Thus, the joint relocation project notice covers the following actions:
(1) SLWC will grant trackage rights to UP (including rights to serve FSMR) over SLWC's line extending from SLWC milepost 624.65 near Fort Sill, OK, to SLWC milepost 628.0 near Lawton, OK, a distance of approximately 3.35 miles; and
(2) UP will abandon and remove approximately 1.04 miles of its line between UP milepost 48.56 and UP milepost 49.60 near Fort Sill, OK.
UP and SLWC state that the proposed project will not disrupt service to shippers. They also state that the relocated line and trackage rights will not involve an expansion of service by either carrier into a new territory, but rather, will enable UP to continue to serve FSMR once its line is abandoned and removed.
The Board will exercise jurisdiction over the abandonment or construction components of a relocation project, and require separate approval or exemption, only where the removal of track affects service to shippers or the construction of new track involves expansion into new territory.
As a condition to this exemption, any employees affected by the trackage rights will be protected by the conditions imposed in
If the notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void
An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB Finance Docket No. 34439, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20423–0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on Robert T. Opal, Union Pacific Railroad Company, 1416 Dodge Street, Room 830, Omaha, NE 68179 and Craig R. Richey, Stillwater Central Railroad Company, 315 West 3rd Street, Pittsburg, KS 66767.
Board decisions and notices are available on our website at
By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of Proceedings.