Kansas City Southern Railway CompanyAbandonment ExemptionIn Jackson County, MO

INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION

[Docket No. AB-103 (Sub-No. 10X)]

Kansas City Southern Railway Company--Abandonment Exemption--In

Jackson County, MO

Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCS) has filed a notice of

exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F--Exempt Abandonments to abandon

approximately 1.42 miles of rail line, known as the Independence Air

Line Branch, in Kansas City and Independence, in Jackson County, MO.

The trackage is from the west line of Kentucky Avenue at milepost 6.93E

to the end at milepost 8.35E.1

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\1\The City of Independence (City) owns and maintains a power

transmission line along the tracks and right-of-way lying between

Kentucky and Independence Avenues. KCS states that, once the

abandonment becomes effective, it will transfer the right-of-way to

the City by quitclaim deed.

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KCS has certified that:

(1) no local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years;

(2) overhead traffic, if any, which previously moved over the line,

has been rerouted;

(3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the line

(or by a State or local government entity acting on behalf of such

user) regarding cessation of service over the line either is pending

with the Commission or with any U.S. District Court or has been decided

in favor of the complainant within the 2-year period; and

(4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 (environmental reports), 49

CFR 1105.8 (historic reports), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal letter), 49

CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice

to governmental agencies) have been met.

As a condition to use of this exemption, any employee adversely

affected by the abandonment shall be protected under Oregon Short Line

R. Co.--Abandonment--Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979). To address whether

this condition adequately protects affected employees, a petition for

partial revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10505(d) must be filed.

Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of

financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be

effective on January 21, 1995, unless stayed pending reconsideration.

Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues,2

formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR

1152.27(c)(2),3 and trail use/rail banking requests under 49 CFR

1152.294 must be filed by January 3, 1995. Petitions to reopen or

requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed

by January 11, 1995, with: Office of the Secretary, Case Control

Branch, Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423.

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\2\A stay will be issued routinely by the Commission in those

proceedings where an informed decision on environmental issues

(whether raised by a party or by the Commission's Section of

Environmental Analysis in its independent investigation) cannot be

made prior to the effective date of the notice of exemption. See

Exemption of Out-of-Service Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any

entity seeking a stay on environmental concerns is encouraged to

file its request as soon as possible in order to permit this

Commission to review and act on the request before the effective

date of this exemption.

\3\See Exempt. of Rail Abandonment--Offers of Finan. Assist., 4

I.C.C.2d 164 (1987).

\4\The Commission will accept a late-filed trail use request as

long as it retains jurisdiction to do so.

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A copy of any pleading filed with the Commission should be sent to

applicant's representative: Jay M. Nadlman, 114 W. Eleventh St., Kansas

City, MO 64105.

If the notice of exemption contains false or misleading

information, the exemption is void ab initio.

KCS has filed an environmental report which addresses the

abandonment's effects, if any, on the environmental and historic

resources. The Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) will issue an

environmental assessment (EA) by December 27, 1994. Interested persons

may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 3219, Interstate

Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423) or by calling Elaine Kaiser,

Chief of SEA, at (202) 927-6248. Comments on environmental and historic

preservation matters must be filed within 15 days after the EA is

available to the public.

Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/rail

banking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent

decision.

Decided: December 14, 1994.

By the Commission, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of

Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 94-31449 Filed 12-21-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7035-01-P