Notice2026-08749
Grainbelt Corporation-Trackage Rights Exemption-BNSF 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
May 5, 2026
Issuing agencies
Surface Transportation Board
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 86 (Tuesday, May 5, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 86 (Tuesday, May 5, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 24316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-08749]
[[Page 24316]]
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SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. FD 36486 (Sub-No. 11)]
Grainbelt Corporation--Trackage Rights Exemption--BNSF Railway
Company
By petition filed on March 31, 2026, Grainbelt Corporation (GNBC)
requests that the Board permit the trackage rights granted to it under
49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7) in Docket No. FD 36486 (Sub-No. 10) to expire under
the terms agreed to by GNBC and the grantor of the rights, BNSF Railway
Company (BNSF).
As explained by GNBC in its verified notice of exemption in Docket
No. FD 36486 (Sub-No. 10), GNBC and BNSF entered into an agreement to
extend the term of the previously amended, local trackage rights on
trackage owned by BNSF between approximately milepost 668.73 in Long,
Okla., and approximately milepost 723.30 in Quanah, Tex. (the Line),
allowing GNBC to (1) use the Line to access the Plains Cotton
Cooperative Association (PCCA) facility near BNSF Chickasha Subdivision
milepost 688.6 at Altus, Okla., and (2) operate additional trains on
the Line to accommodate the movement of trains transporting BNSF
customers' railcars (loaded or empty) located along the Line to unit
train facilities on the Line (collectively, the PCCA Trackage Rights).
GNBC Verified Notice of Exemption 1-2, 1 n.1, March 31, 2026, Grainbelt
Corp.--Trackage Rts. Exemption--BNSF Ry., FD 36486 (Sub-No. 10).
According to GNBC, it filed its verified notice of exemption under the
Board's trackage rights class exemption at 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7), instead
of the temporary trackage rights exemption at 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(8),
because the trackage rights covered by the notice are local rather than
overhead. (GNBC Pet. 4.)
In its petition, GNBC asks the Board to partially revoke the
exemption as necessary to permit the trackage rights to expire on March
30, 2027, pursuant to the parties' agreement. (Id. at 1.) GNBC argues
that granting this petition would be consistent with the rail
transportation policy at 49 U.S.C. 10101 and with the limited scope of
the transaction and would not result in an abuse of market power. (GNBC
Pet. 1-2.) In addition, GNBC asserts that the Board has granted similar
petitions for partial revocation to permit temporary trackage rights to
expire, including petitions involving prior iterations of the trackage
rights agreement at issue here. (Id. at 5.)
Discussion and Conclusions
Although GNBC and BNSF have expressly agreed on the duration of the
proposed PCCA Trackage Rights, trackage rights approved under the class
exemption at 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7) typically remain effective
indefinitely, regardless of any contractual provisions. At times,
however, the Board has taken action to allow such rights to expire
after a limited time rather than lasting in perpetuity, based on the
parties' agreement. See, e.g., Grainbelt Corp.--Trackage Rts.
Exemption--BNSF Ry., FD 36486 (Sub-No. 9) (STB served June 4, 2025)
(allowing trackage rights under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7) to expire).
Permitting the trackage rights to expire as agreed to by the
parties would eliminate the need for GNBC to separately seek
discontinuance authority at a later date, thereby minimizing the need
for federal regulatory control (49 U.S.C. 10101(2)), reducing
regulatory barriers to entry into and exit from the rail industry (49
U.S.C. 10101(7)), and allowing for the expeditious handling and
resolution of this transaction (49 U.S.C. 10101(15)). Moreover, doing
so is consistent with the limited scope of the transaction previously
exempted.\1\ Therefore, the Board will grant the petition and permit
the trackage rights exempted in Docket No. FD 36486 (Sub-No. 10) to
expire on March 30, 2027.
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\1\ Because the proposed transaction is of limited scope, the
Board need not make a market power finding. See 49 U.S.C. 10502(a).
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To provide the statutorily mandated protection to any employee
adversely affected by the discontinuance of trackage rights, the Board
will impose the employee protective conditions set forth in Oregon
Short Line Railroad--Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch Between Firth &
Ammon, in Bingham & Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979).
This action is categorically excluded from environmental review
under 49 CFR 1105.6(c).
It is ordered:
1. GNBC's petition to permit expiration of the trackage rights in
Docket No. FD 36486 (Sub-No. 10) per the agreement of the parties is
granted.
2. As discussed above, the trackage rights in Docket No. FD 36486
(Sub-No. 10) are permitted to expire on March 30, 2027, subject to the
employee protective conditions set forth in Oregon Short Line.
3. Notice of this decision will be published in the Federal
Register.
4. This decision is effective on June 4, 2026. Petitions for stay
must be filed by May 15, 2026. Petitions for reconsideration must be
filed by May 26, 2026.
Decided: May 1, 2026.
By the Board, Board Members Fuchs, Hedlund, and Schultz.
Brendetta Jones,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2026-08749 Filed 5-4-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 5, 2026.
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