Shortline Sammiee Wrote:
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> A carrier cannot file for abandonment until 2
> years have elapsed after the last revenue carload
> has been delivered/received from the connecting
> carrier.. I'm sure that time has passed and the
> abandonment qualifies under that scenario.

Not quite true, Sam...the abandonment process is definately easier if no revenue carloads have been generated in two years (Notice of Exemption process). Railroad lines that have generated traffic can still be abandoned, but the carrier has to prove to the STB the abandonment to be in the public interest and that it won't negatively impact the railroad network (Petition for Exemption process).

[www.stb.dot.gov]

> An existing shipper in danger of losing rail
> service can petition the STB with an offer of
> financial assistance and agree to operate as a
> common carrier for two years. The remaining
> shipper could make such an offer and Hammond would
> have to sell the assets to the new operator at NLV
> (net liquidation value,:ie; the value of the track
> material less the cost to remove). The new owner
> then could operate the railroad (all he needs is
> ONE team track customer) for two years, hope the
> scrap
> market stays stable and scrap the line more than
> two years down the road.

Doesn't have to be an affected shipper- almost anyone proving themselves as a responsible party can go the OFA route. The first steps are direct negotiations between the party and the carrier, in which the party filing the OFA can offer to first subsidize continued operations of the carrier and then offer to buy the line up for abandonment if those negotiations fail. If direct sale negotiations fail, the either party (the carrier or the party filing the OFA) can ask the STB to set sale terms. That process turned into a quite a circus during the McCloud abandonment a few years ago.

Jeff Moore
Elko, NV