Notice2026-05490
60-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval of Collection: Statutory Authority To Preserve Rail Service
Primary source
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Published
March 20, 2026
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Abstract
As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Surface Transportation Board (Board) gives notice of its intent to request from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval without change of the existing collection, Preservation of Rail Service, OMB Control No. 2140-0022, as described below.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 54 (Friday, March 20, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 54 (Friday, March 20, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13692-13693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05490]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
60-Day Notice of Intent To Seek Extension of Approval of
Collection: Statutory Authority To Preserve Rail Service
AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens,
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the
Surface Transportation Board (Board) gives notice of its intent to
request from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval without
change of the existing collection, Preservation of Rail Service, OMB
Control No. 2140-0022, as described below.
DATES: Comments on this information collection should be submitted by
May 19, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Direct all comments to Chris Oehrle, PRA Officer, Surface
Transportation Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20423-0001, or to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#abfbf9eaebd8dfc985ccc4dd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5a0a081b1a292e38743d352c">[email protected]</span></a>. When submitting comments, please refer to ``Paperwork
Reduction Act Comments, Statutory Authority to Preserve Rail Service.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding this
collection, contact Mike Higgins at (866) 254-1792 (toll-free) or 202-
245-0238, or by emailing <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e89a8b9889a89b9c8ac68f879e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e694859687a6959284c8818990">[email protected]</span></a>. Assistance for the hearing
impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay Service
(FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments are requested concerning each
collection as to (1) whether the particular collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Board,
including whether the collection has practical utility; (2) the
accuracy of the Board's burden estimates; (3) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (4)
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, when appropriate. Submitted
comments will be included and summarized in the Board's request for OMB
approval.
Subjects: In this notice, the Board is requesting comments on the
extension of the following information collection:
Description of Collection
Title: Preservation of Rail Service.
OMB Control Number: 2140-0022.
STB Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension without change.
Respondents: Affected shippers, communities, or other interested
persons seeking to preserve rail service over rail lines that are
proposed or identified for abandonment, and railroads that are required
to provide information to the offeror or applicant: Approximately 25.
Frequency: On occasion, as follows:
Table--Number of Yearly Responses
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Estimated annual average
Type of filing number of filings (2023-
2025)
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Offer of Financial Assistance (and related 2
filings)..................................
Request for Public Use Condition........... 1
Feeder Line Application.................... 1
Trail Use Request (with extensions)........ 23
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Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): 281 hours
(total of estimated hours per response x number of responses for each
type of filing).
Table--Estimated Total Burden Hours
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Estimated annual average
Type of filing number of filings (2023- Number of hours Total estimated
2025) per response burden hours
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Offer of Financial Assistance (and related 2 46 92
filings)....................................
Request for Public Use Condition............. 1 4 4
Feeder Line Application...................... 1 70 70
Trail Use Request (with extensions).......... 23 5 115
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Total burden hours....................... ........................... ................. 281
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Total ``Non-hour Burden'' Cost: None identified. Filings may be
submitted electronically to the Board.
Needs and Uses: The Surface Transportation Board is, by statute,
responsible for the economic regulation of common carrier freight
railroads and certain other carriers operating in the United States.
Under the laws the Board administers, persons seeking to preserve rail
service may file pleadings before the Board to acquire or subsidize a
rail line for continued service, or to impose a trail use or public use
condition.
When a line is proposed for abandonment, affected shippers,
communities, or other interested persons may seek to preserve rail
[[Page 13693]]
service by filing with the Board: an offer of financial assistance
(OFA) to subsidize or purchase a rail line for which a railroad is
seeking abandonment (49 U.S.C. 10904), including a request for the
Board to set terms and conditions of the financial assistance; a
request for a public use condition (Sec. 10905); or a trail use
request (16 U.S.C. 1247(d)). Similarly, when a line is placed on a
system diagram map identifying it as an anticipated or potential
candidate for abandonment, affected shippers, communities, or other
interested persons may seek to preserve rail service by filing with the
Board a feeder line application to purchase the identified rail line
(Sec. 10907). Additionally, the railroad owning the rail line subject
to abandonment must, in some circumstances, provide information to the
applicant or offeror.
As to trail use, the STB will issue a CITU or NITU to a prospective
trail sponsor who seeks an interim trail use agreement with the rail
carrier of the rail line that is being abandoned. The CITU/NITU permits
parties to negotiate for an interim trail use agreement. The parties
may also agree to an extension of the negotiating period. If parties
reach an agreement, then they must jointly notify the Board of that
fact and of any modification or vacancy of the agreement. There is a
one-year period for any initial interim trail use negotiating period
(with potential extensions).
The Board makes this submission because, under the PRA, a federal
agency that conducts or sponsors a collection of information must
display a currently valid OMB control number. A collection of
information, which is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c),
includes agency requirements that persons submit reports, keep records,
or provide information to the agency, third parties, or the public.
Under 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), federal agencies are required to
provide, prior to an agency's submitting a collection to OMB for
approval, a 60-day notice and comment period through publication in the
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information,
including each proposed extension of an existing collection of
information.
Dated: March 17, 2026.
Eden Besera,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2026-05490 Filed 3-19-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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