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BNSF

STB to Hold Hearing on Service Denial

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board will hold a public hearing on July 29 on a case that centers on whether a railroad may deny service to coal shippers who do not follow the railroad’s rules on coal dust dispersal. The case, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation—Petition for Declaratory Order, Docket No. FD 35305, raises the issues of whether BNSF Railway Co. may establish rules regarding coal dust dispersion from coal trains operating over its lines and if it can refuse to provide rail service to shippers who do not comply with its rules. The Board will decide if this constitutes
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STB

STB Sets Hearing on Maine Proposed Maine Abandonment

WASHINGTON — The federal Surface Transportation Board announced it will hold a public hearing in Presque Isle, Maine, on May 10 to allow citizens and stakeholders to provide testimony on the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway’s application to abandon 233 miles of rail line in Aroostook and Penobscot counties. The hearing will be held at the District Courthouse located at 27 Riverside Drive in Presque Isle. The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. The courthouse will open at 8 a.m. All speakers and attendees must present valid government-issued identification and pass security screening to gain entry to the hearing.
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Short Line/Regional

Proposed Maine Abandonment Would Force More Trucks Onto Roads

WASHINGTON — The Section of Environmental Analysis at the Surface Transportation Board issued a draft environmental assessment on the proposed abandonment of 233 miles of rail line in the northern Maine counties of Aroostook and Penobscot. The draft review found that the abandonment of this line could divert onto Maine’s highways as many as an additional 73,344 truck trips per year, consuming an additional 3.3 million gallons of fuel per year. However, the draft review, which estimated it would take four trucks to replace every rail car, found that the diversion of rail traffic onto trucks would appear to be
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Short Line/Regional

STB Grants ARRC Permission to Build 80-Mile Extension

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board announced it has granted the request of the Alaska Railroad Corp. (ARRC, a state-owned railroad) to construct and operate a new, 80-mile railroad line—the Northern Rail Extension—in the State of Alaska, subject to extensive environmental-mitigation conditions. After considering the entire public record before it, including both the transportation aspects of ARRC’s proposal and potential environmental issues, the Board was satisfied that the proposed line would provide reliable, year-round freight and passenger service to the region south of North Pole, Alaska; access to training areas used by the United States military; and an alternative to