Regulatory Support 2140-0008

49 CFR 1152.22 Contents of application.


Applications for the abandonment of railroad lines or the discontinuance of rail service shall contain the following information, including workpapers and supporting documents, and each paragraph (a) through (j) of this section shall be attested to by a person having personal knowledge of the matters contained therein:

(a) General. (1) Exact name of applicant.

(2) Whether applicant is a common carrier by railroad subject to 49 U.S.C. Subtitle IV, chapter 105.

(3) Relief sought (abandonment of line or discontinuance of service).

(4) Detailed map of the subject line on a sheet not larger than 8x10 1/2 inches, drawn to scale, and with the scale shown thereon. The map must show, in clear relief, the exact location of the rail line to be abandoned or over which service is to be discontinued and its relation to other rail lines in the area, highways, water routes, and population centers.

(5) Reference to inclusion of the rail line to be abandoned or over which service is to be discontinued on the carrier's system diagram map or narrative, in compliance with §§ 1152.10 through 1152.13, and the date upon which such line was first listed on the system diagram map or included in the narrative in category 1 in accordance with § 1152.10(b)(1). A copy of the line description which accompanies the system diagram map shall also be submitted.

(6) Detailed statement of reasons for filing application.

(7) Name, title, and address of representative of applicant to whom correspondence should be sent.

(8) List of all United States Postal Service ZIP Codes that the line proposed for abandonment traverses.

49 CFR 1152.50 Exempt abandonments and discontinuances of service and trackage rights.

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(d) Notice of exemption.

(1) At least 10 days prior to filing a notice of exemption with the Board, the railroad seeking the exemption must notify in writing:

(i) The Public Service Commission (or equivalent agency) in the state(s) where the line will be abandoned or the service or trackage rights discontinued;

(ii) Department of Defense (Military Traffic Management Command, Transportation Engineering Agency, Railroads for National Defense Program);

(iii) The National Park Service, Recreation Resources Assistance Division; and

(iv) The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Chief of the Forest Service.
The notice shall name the railroad, describe the line involved, including United States Postal Service ZIP Codes, indicate that the exemption procedure is being used, and include the approximate date that the notice of exemption will be filed with the Board. The notice shall include the following statement "Based on information in our possession, the line (does) (does not) contain federally granted rights-of-way. Any documentation in the railroad's possession will be made available promptly to those requesting it."

(2) The railroad must file a verified notice using its appropriate abandonment docket number and subnumber (followed by the letter "X") with the Board at least 50 days before the abandonment or discontinuance is to be consummated. The notice shall include the proposed consummation date, the certification required in § 1152.50(b), the information required in §§ 1152.22(a)(1) through (4), (7) and (8), and (e)(4), the level of labor protection, and a certificate that the notice requirements of §§ 1152.50(d)(1) and 1105.11 have been complied with.

(3) The Board, through the Director of the Office of Proceedings, shall publish a notice in the Federal Register within 20 days after the filing of the notice of exemption. The notice shall include a statement to alert the public that following any abandonment of rail service and salvage of the line, the line may be suitable for other public use, including interim trail use. Petitions to stay the effective date of the notice on other than environmental or historic preservation grounds must be filed within 10 days of the publication. Petitions to stay the effective date of the notice on environmental or historic preservation grounds may be filed at any time but must be filed sufficiently in advance of the effective date in order to allow the Board to consider and act on the petition before the notice becomes effective. Petitions for reconsideration, comments regarding environmental, energy and historic preservation matters, and requests for public use conditions under 49 U.S.C. 10905 and 49 CFR 1152.28(a)(2) must be filed within 20 days after publication. Requests for a trail use condition under 16 U.S.C. 1247(d) and 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed within 10 days after publication. The exemption will be effective 30 days after publication, unless stayed. If the notice of exemption contains false or misleading information, the use of the exemption is void ab initio and the Board shall summarily reject the exemption notice.

(4) In out-of-service rail line exemption proceedings under 49 CFR 1152.50, the Board, on its own motion, will stay the effective date of individual notices of exemption when an informed decision on pending environmental and historic preservation issues cannot be made prior to the date that the exemption authority would otherwise become effective.

(5) A notice or decision to all parties will be issued if use of the exemption is made subject to environmental, energy, historic preservation, public use and/or interim trail use and rail banking conditions.

(6) To address whether the standard labor protective conditions set forth in Oregon Short Line R. Co.--Abandonment--Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979), adequately protect affected employees, a petition for partial revocation of the exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) must be filed.

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49 CFR 1152.60 Special rules.

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(b) Any petition filed under the 49 U.S.C. 10502 exemption procedure for either the abandonment of a rail line or the discontinuance of service or trackage rights over a rail line must be accompanied by a map that meets the requirements of § 1152.22(a)(4) of this part.

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