Notice2022-02416
Application of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation Under 49 U.S.C. 24308(e)-CSX Transportation, Inc., and Norfolk Southern Railway Company
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 4, 2022
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Abstract
The Surface Transportation Board (Board) will hold a public hearing in this docket, consisting of two phases. The first phase, which will involve comments from the public, will commence on February 15, 2022, and will continue on February 16, 2022, if necessary. The second phase will be an evidentiary hearing commencing on March 9, 2022, and will be limited to the four parties to this case--the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR), and the Alabama State Port Authority and its rail carrier division, the Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks (collectively, the Port; and with Amtrak, CSXT, and NSR, the "Parties"). Immediately following the first phase, the Board will hold a conference with the Parties on February 16, 2022, to discuss issues related to the second phase.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 24 (Friday, February 4, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 24 (Friday, February 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6644-6646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02416]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. FD 36496]
Application of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation Under
49 U.S.C. 24308(e)--CSX Transportation, Inc., and Norfolk Southern
Railway Company
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.
ACTION: Notice of public hearing.
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SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation Board (Board) will hold a public
hearing in this docket, consisting of two phases. The first phase,
which will involve comments from the public, will commence on February
15, 2022, and
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will continue on February 16, 2022, if necessary. The second phase will
be an evidentiary hearing commencing on March 9, 2022, and will be
limited to the four parties to this case--the National Railroad
Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT),
Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR), and the Alabama State Port
Authority and its rail carrier division, the Terminal Railway Alabama
State Docks (collectively, the Port; and with Amtrak, CSXT, and NSR,
the ``Parties''). Immediately following the first phase, the Board will
hold a conference with the Parties on February 16, 2022, to discuss
issues related to the second phase.
DATES: The public hearing will commence on February 15, 2022, at 9:30
a.m., and will continue on February 16, 2022, if necessary. Notices of
intent to participate shall be filed (and participants' email addresses
separately provided to the Board via email) by February 7, 2022. The
pre-evidentiary hearing conference with the Parties will be held on
February 16, 2022, commencing at 9:30 a.m. or at the conclusion of the
first phase of the hearing, whichever is later. At the conclusion of
the pre-evidentiary hearing conference, the Board will recess the
public hearing until March 9, 2022. Phase two, the evidentiary hearing
on the record with the Parties, will be held beginning on March 9,
2022, at 9:30 a.m., and continuing on March 10, 2022, if necessary.
ADDRESSES: All filings, referring to Docket No. FD 36496, should be
filed with the Surface Transportation Board via e-filing on the Board's
website. Persons who file notices of intent to participate in the first
phase of the public hearing shall concurrently provide to the Board,
via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e5ad8084978c8b8296a5969187cb828a93"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="49012c283b20272e3a093a3d2b672e263f">[email protected]</span></a>, their email address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathon Binet at (202) 245-0368.
Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal
Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 16, 2021, Amtrak filed an
application with the Board, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 24308(e), seeking an
order requiring CSXT and NSR \1\ to allow Amtrak to operate additional
intercity passenger trains, consisting of two round-trips per day, over
the rail lines of CSXT and NSR between New Orleans, La., and Mobile,
Ala. The Board received numerous comments in response to Amtrak's
application. By decision served August 6, 2021, the Board, among other
things, denied CSXT and NSR's motion to dismiss the application,
adopted a procedural schedule, and appointed Administrative Law Judge
Thomas McCarthy to handle all discovery matters and resolve initially
all discovery disputes.
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\1\ Although Amtrak names Norfolk Southern Corporation in its
application, it appears that NSR is the proper party. (See Mot. to
Dismiss 1 n.1.)
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In accordance with the procedural schedule, on November 3, 2021,
CSXT and NSR filed opening evidence. On December 3, 2021, Amtrak filed
reply evidence. On December 23, 2021, CSXT and NSR filed rebuttal
evidence. The Board also received opening evidence, reply evidence, and
rebuttal evidence from the Port, which the Board has permitted to
intervene in this proceeding. On December 30, 2021, the Board received
proposals on the format for the hearing from CSXT and NSR jointly and
from Amtrak.
The initial phase of the hearing will commence on February 15,
2022. The primary purpose of this phase of the hearing is for
interested persons, other than the four Parties to the case, to provide
comments.\2\ The hearing will continue on February 16, 2022, as
necessary to accommodate participating persons. This initial phase of
the hearing will be entirely virtual. It will be held online via Zoom
and will be available for concurrent viewing on YouTube by the public.
All interested persons are invited to appear at this phase of the
public hearing. Any person wishing to participate in this phase of the
public hearing shall file with the Board by February 7, 2022, a notice
of intent to participate (identifying the entity, if any, the person
represents; the proposed speaker; the amount of time requested; and
briefly summarizing the key points that the speaker intends to
address). The notices of intent to participate need not be served on
any persons or entities; they will be posted to the Board's website
when they are filed. Concurrently with filing a notice of intent to
participate, persons wishing to participate in the public commentary
phase of the hearing shall also provide to the Board, via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#034b6662716a6d6470437077612d646c75"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dc94b9bdaeb5b2bbaf9cafa8bef2bbb3aa">[email protected]</span></a>, their email address.
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\2\ The Board recognizes that this proceeding is an adjudication
to be decided after a hearing on the record pursuant to 49 U.S.C.
24308(e), but given the broad public interest in Amtrak matters, the
Board is also providing this opportunity for public comments.
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The Board will issue, prior to commencement of the February 15
public hearing, a decision setting a schedule of appearances for
speakers, with specific allotments of time for presentations. To ensure
an opportunity for all interested persons to be heard, such allotments
may be limited, and persons wishing to speak at the hearing should be
prepared to keep their comments as succinct as possible, to ensure an
opportunity for all interested persons to be heard. The Parties will be
given an opportunity to respond after other interested persons have
provided comments.
As noted, on February 16, 2022, beginning at 9:30 a.m. or
immediately following the conclusion of the public commentary phase of
the hearing, whichever is later, the Board will also hold a conference,
at which counsel for the Parties are directed to appear. The conference
will be entirely virtual. It will be held online via Zoom and will be
available for concurrent viewing on YouTube by the public. During the
conference, the Board and the Parties will discuss issues and
procedures to be followed at the evidentiary hearing on the record. The
Board encourages the Parties to meet and confer in advance of the
conference, in an effort to narrow the issues to be heard at the
hearing on the record and to stipulate to any facts that are not
contested. Before the conference, the Board will issue a decision with
additional information for the Parties, including what they will need
to prepare in advance of the conference and further details on the
evidentiary phase of the hearing, including whether it will be held
online, in-person, or in a hybrid format. At the conclusion of the
conference, the Board will recess the public hearing until commencement
of the evidentiary phase at 9:30 a.m. on March 9, 2022.
On March 9, 2022, the Board will commence the evidentiary portion
of the hearing, at which the Parties are directed to appear, and which
will be open to the public. The evidentiary portion will involve
participation by the Parties only and will be presided over by the
entire Board. The Board will accept all of the previously filed
evidence into the record. The evidentiary portion of the hearing is not
intended as an opportunity for the Parties simply to restate the
entirety of their written evidence or, on the other hand, to submit a
substantially different case. Rather, the evidentiary portion of the
hearing is intended to allow the Parties to illuminate their primary
contentions, evidence, and points of disagreement through direct
examination of witnesses, cross-examination, and re-direct examination,
as appropriate, and through opening and closing presentations by
counsel.
Board Releases and Transcript Availability: Decisions and notices
of the Board, including this notice, are available on the Board's
website at
[[Page 6646]]
<a href="http://www.stb.gov">www.stb.gov</a>. A recording of the public commentary phase of the hearing,
the conference, and the evidentiary phase of the hearing, as well as a
transcript of each, will be posted on the Board's website when they
become available.
It is ordered:
1. A public hearing in this proceeding will commence on February
15, 2022. All portions of the hearing taking place on February 15,
2022, and February 16, 2022, will be held online using video
conferencing.
2. By February 7, 2022, any person who is not one of the Parties
identified above and wishes to speak at the public portion of the
hearing shall file with the Board a notice of intent to participate
identifying the entity, if any, the person represents, the proposed
speaker, and the amount of time requested, and also summarizing the key
points that the speaker intends to address. Also by February 7, 2022,
such persons shall submit, via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#baf2dfdbc8d3d4ddc9fac9ced894ddd5cc"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1a527f7b6873747d695a696e78347d756c">[email protected]</span></a>, the email
address of the speaker.
3. Notices of intent to participate will be posted to the Board's
website and need not be served on any other persons or entities.
4. Counsel for Amtrak, CSXT, NSR, and the Port are directed to
appear at a conference before the Board on February 16, 2022, at 9:30
a.m., or immediately following the conclusion of the public commentary
phase of the hearing, whichever is later.
5. Amtrak, CSXT, NSR, and the Port are directed to appear at the
evidentiary phase of the hearing before the Board beginning on March 9,
2022, at 9:30 a.m.
6. All evidence previously filed in this proceeding is accepted
into the record.
7. This decision is effective on its service date.
8. This decision will be published in the Federal Register.
Decided: February 1, 2022.
By the Board, Board Members Fuchs, Hedlund, Oberman, Primus, and
Schultz.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2022-02416 Filed 2-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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