Notice2025-23648
Norfolk Southern Railway Company-Abandonment Exemption-in the City of Baltimore, Md.
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
December 23, 2025
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 244 (Tuesday, December 23, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 23, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60221-60222]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23648]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 420X)]
Norfolk Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--in the
City of Baltimore, Md.
Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) has filed a verified notice
of exemption (NOE) under 49 CFR part 1152 subpart F--Exempt
Abandonments to abandon its freight rail easement over an approximately
one-mile rail line extending from milepost UU 0.00 +/- to milepost UU
1.00 +/- in the City of Baltimore, Md. (the Line). The Line traverses
U.S. Postal Service Zip Codes 21201 and 21211.
According to the verified notice, the Maryland Transit
Administration (MTA) owns the portion of the Line from milepost UU 0.50
+/- to milepost UU 1.00 +/-,\1\ and the National Railroad Passenger
Corporation (Amtrak) owns the portion of the Line from milepost UU 0.00
+/- to milepost UU 0.50 +/- but NSR retained the ``freight operating
easement, rights and operations'' for the Line. NSR states that because
neither MTA nor Amtrak have a residual common carrier obligation to
provide rail freight service over the Line, the entire common carrier
obligation of any rail carrier or party to provide freight service over
the Line will be extinguished with the abandonment of the freight
operating rights. NSR further states that MTA's passenger services will
continue after NSR abandons its easement and, therefore, the corridor
is not available for alternative public use(s) and that it does not
intend to negotiate for trail use/railbanking.
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\1\ MTA currently operates light rail transit service over the
Line. The Board previously determined that MTA did not require
authorization from the Board's predecessor when MTA acquired the
Line in 1990 and that MTA had not become a common carrier on the
Line. See Md. Transit Admin.--Pet. for Declaratory Ord., FD 34975,
slip op. at 7-8 (STB served Oct. 9, 2007).
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NSR has certified that: (1) no local freight traffic has moved over
the Line for at least two years; (2) any overhead traffic on the Line
can 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 on
behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the Line is
pending with either the Surface Transportation Board (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
1105.7(b) and 1105.8(c) (notice of environmental and historic reports),
49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1)
(notice to government agencies) have been met.
As a condition to this exemption, any employee adversely affected
by the abandonment 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
[[Page 60222]]
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) has been received,\2\ this exemption will be
effective on January 22, 2026, unless stayed pending reconsideration.
Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,\3\ formal
expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2), and
interim trail use/railbanking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be
filed by January 2, 2026.\4\ Petitions to reopen and requests for
public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by January 12,
2026.\5\
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\2\ Persons interested in submitting an OFA must first file a
formal expression of intent to file an offer, indicating the type of
financial assistance they wish to provide (i.e., subsidy or
purchase) and demonstrating that they are preliminarily financially
responsible. See 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2)(i).
\3\ The Board will grant a stay if an informed decision on
environmental issues (whether raised by a party or by the Board's
Office of Environmental Analysis (OEA) in its independent
investigation) cannot be made before the exemption's effective date.
See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any
request for a stay should be filed as soon as possible so that the
Board may take appropriate action before the exemption's effective
date.
\4\ Filing fees for OFAs and trail use requests can be found at
49 CFR 1002.2(f)(25) and (27), respectively.
\5\ NSR previously filed a verified NOE to abandon the Line on
October 31, 2024, in Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 412X). Notice of the
exemption was served and published in the Federal Register on
November 20, 2024 (89 FR 91869). On December 6, 2024, NSR requested
permission to withdraw its NOE to resolve certain real estate and
other issues. Prior to NSR's request to withdraw its NOE, James
Riffin filed a notice of intent to file an OFA to purchase the Line.
The Acting Director of the Office of Proceedings (now, the Office of
Chief Counsel) granted NSR's request to withdraw its NOE and
dismissed the proceeding without prejudice to NSR seeking authority
to abandon the Line in the future. Norfolk S. Ry.--Aban. Exemption--
in Balt. City, Md., AB 290 (Sub-No. 412X) (STB served Dec. 9, 2024).
By decision served April 14, 2025, the Board construed a submission
by Riffin as a request to reopen the Acting Director's decision and
denied that request. Norfolk S. Ry.--Aban. Exemption--in Balt. City,
Md., AB 290 (Sub-No. 412X) (STB served Apr. 14, 2025). Riffin's
challenge to the decisions before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit remains pending. Riffin v. STB, Nos.
24-1385 & 25-1141 (consol.) (D.C. Cir.). Given the pending
litigation, if necessary, the Board will address further the
effective date of this notice in a subsequent decision.
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All pleadings, referring to Docket No. AB 290 (Sub-No. 420X), must
be filed with the Surface Transportation Board either via e-filing on
the Board's website or in writing addressed to 395 E Street SW,
Washington, DC 20423-0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be
served on NSR's representative, William A. Mullins, Mullins Law Group
PLLC, 2001 L St. NW, Suite 720, Washington, DC 20036.
If the verified notice contains false or misleading information,
the exemption is void ab initio.
NSR has filed a combined environmental and historic report that
addresses the potential effects, if any, of the abandonment on the
environment and historic resources. OEA will issue a Draft
Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) by December 26, 2025. The Draft EA
will be available to interested persons on the Board's website, by
writing to OEA, or by calling OEA at (202) 245-0294. If you require an
accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call
(202) 245-0245. Comments on environmental or historic preservation
matters must be filed within 15 days after the Draft EA becomes
available to the public.
Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/rail
banking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent
decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), NSR shall file
a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has
exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the Line. If
consummation has not been effected by NSR's filing of a notice of
consummation by December 23, 2026, and there are no legal or regulatory
barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically
expire.
Board decisions and notices are available at <a href="http://www.stb.gov">www.stb.gov</a>.
Decided: December 18, 2025.
By the Board, Anika S. Cooper, Chief Counsel, Office of Chief
Counsel.
Tammy Lowery,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2025-23648 Filed 12-22-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 23, 2025.
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