§10903 Filing and procedure for application to abandon or discontinue

Summary

If a rail carrier wants to abandon any part of its railroad or stop all rail service over any part of a line, it must file an application with the Board. The application must give a clear summary of why the carrier wants to do this, tell people that they can make recommendations to the Board, say the line can be sold or subsidized under section 10904, promise to provide an estimate of the yearly subsidy and the minimum sale price (calculated under section 10904), and list the name and business address of the person who can discuss sale or subsidy terms. The carrier must also notify those affected: send certified mail to each affected State’s chief executive officer, post notices in terminals and stations on the line, publish the notice for 3 consecutive weeks in each county newspaper where the line is, and, when practical, mail the notice to shippers who used the line heavily in the prior 12 months. The carrier must file an affidavit saying these notices were done within the 30 days before filing. Carriers must keep and update a map of their system showing lines that could be abandoned and lines they plan to file about. The Board will handle the abandonment under sections 10904 and 10905, must require employee protections at least as good as those in place before May 31, 1998, and will approve the application (as filed or with conditions) if it finds public convenience and necessity, or deny it if it does not.