§1180.2. Types of transactions. — Inbound Citations

(a) The regulations in this subpart set out the information to be filed and the procedures to be followed in control, merger, acquisition, lease, trackage rights, and any other consolidation transaction involving more than one railroad that is initiated under 49 U.S.C. 11323. Section 1180.2 separates these transactions into four types: Major, significant, minor, and exempt. The informational requirements for these types of transactions differ. Before an application is filed, the designation of type of transaction may be clarified or certain of the information required may be waived upon petition to the Board. This procedure is explained in § 1180.4. The required contents of an application are set out in §§ 1180.6 (general information supporting the transaction), 1180.7 (competitive and market information), 1180.8 (operational information), 1180.9 (financial data), 1180.10 (service assurance plans), and 1180.11 (transnational and other informational requirements). A major application must contain the information required in §§ 1180.6(a), 1180.6(b), 1180.7(a), 1180.7(b), 1180.8(a), 1180.8(b), 1180.9, 1180.10, and 1180.11. A significant application must contain the information required in §§ 1180.6(a), 1180.6(c), 1180.7(a), 1180.7(c), and 1180.8(b). A minor application must contain the information required in §§ 1180.6(a) and 1180.8(c). Procedures (including time limits, filing requirements, participation requirements, and other matters) are contained in § 1180.4. All applications must comply with the Board's Rules of General Applicability, 49 CFR parts 1100 through 1129, unless otherwise specified. These regulations may be cited as the Railroad Consolidation Procedures.

(2) An inconsistent application will be classified as a major, significant, or minor transaction as provided in § 1180.2(a) through (c). The fee for an inconsistent application will be the fee for the type of transaction involved. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(38) through (41). The fee for any other type of responsive application is the fee for the particular type of proceeding set forth in 49 CFR 1002.2(f).

(2) An inconsistent application will be classified as a major, significant, or minor transaction as provided in § 1180.2(a) through (c). The fee for an inconsistent application will be the fee for the type of transaction involved. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(38) through (41). The fee for any other type of responsive application is the fee for the particular type of proceeding set forth in 49 CFR 1002.2(f).

(2) An inconsistent application will be classified as a major, significant, or minor transaction as provided in § 1180.2(a) through (c). The fee for an inconsistent application will be the fee for the type of transaction involved. See 49 CFR 1002.2(f)(38) through (41). The fee for any other type of responsive application is the fee for the particular type of proceeding set forth in 49 CFR 1002.2(f).

(C) For rail transactions under 49 U.S.C. 11323 and the implementing regulations at 49 CFR 1180.2(d); and

(1) To qualify for an exemption under § 1180.2(d), a railroad must file a verified notice of the transaction with the Board. Except for verified notices filed under § 1180.2(d)(9), all verified notices under § 1180.2(d) must be filed at least 30 days before the transaction is consummated, indicating the proposed consummation date. Verified notices filed under § 1180.2(d)(9) will become effective upon service of notice of the transaction by the Board. Before a verified notice is filed, the railroad shall obtain a docket number from the Board's Section of Case Administration, Office of Chief Counsel.

(i) All notices filed under § 1180.2(d) shall contain the information required in § 1180.6(a)(1)(i) through (iii), (a)(5) and (6), and (a)(7)(ii), and indicate the level of labor protection to be imposed.

(ii) Notices filed under §§ 1180.2(d)(7), 1180.2(d)(8), or 1180.2(d)(9) shall also contain the following information:

(A) The name of the tenant railroad;

(B) The name of the landlord railroad;

(C) For notices under § 1180.2(d)(8) and (9), the notice must state that the trackage rights are overhead rights. For notices under § 1180.2(d)(7), the notice must state whether the trackage rights are local or overhead;

(D) The date the trackage rights transaction is proposed to be consummated;

(E) The date temporary trackage rights will expire, if applicable; and

(F) For notices under § 1180.2(d)(9), a description of the situation resulting in the outage in sufficient detail to allow the Board to determine an emergency exits, including, to the extent possible, the nature of the event that caused the unforeseen outage, the location of the outage, the date that the emergency situation occurred, the date the outage was discovered, and the expected duration of the outage.

(iii) Except for notices filed under § 1180.2(d)(9), the Board shall publish a notice of exemption in the Federal Register within 16 days of the filing of the notice. For notices filed under § 1180.2(d)(9), the Board shall serve a notice of exemption on parties of record within 5 days after the verified notice of exemption is filed and shall publish that notice in the Federal Register. The publication of notices under § 1180.2(d) will indicate the labor protection required.

(iv) If the notice contains false or misleading information that is brought to the Board's attention, the Board shall summarily revoke the exemption for that carrier and require divestiture.

(v) The filing of a petition to revoke under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) does not stay the effectiveness of an exemption. Except for notices filed under § 1180.2(d)(9), stay petitions must be filed at least 7 days before the exemption becomes effective. For notices filed under § 1180.2(d)(9), stay petitions should be filed as soon as possible before the exemption becomes effective.

(vi) Other exemptions that may be relevant to a proposal under this provision are codified at 49 CFR part 1150, subpart D, which governs transactions under 49 U.S.C. 10901.

(b) Other exemptions that may be relevant to a proposal under this subpart are the exemption for control at § 1180.2(d)(1) and (2), and the exemption from securities regulation at 49 CFR part 1177.

(d) A transaction is exempt if it is within one of the nine categories described in paragraphs (d)(1) through (9) of this section. The Board has found that its prior review and approval of these transactions is not necessary to carry out the rail transportation policy of 49 U.S.C. 10101; and is of limited scope or unnecessary to protect shippers from market abuse. See 49 U.S.C. 10502. A notice must be filed to use one of these class exemptions. The procedures are set out in § 1180.4(g). These class exemptions do not relieve a carrier of its statutory obligation to protect the interests of employees. See 49 U.S.C. 10502(g) and 11326. The enumeration of the following categories of transactions as exempt does not preclude a carrier from seeking an exemption of specific transactions not falling into these categories.

(1) Acquisition of a line of railroad which would not constitute a major market extension where the Board has found that the public convenience and necessity permit abandonment.

(2) Acquisition or continuance in control of a nonconnecting carrier or one of its lines where (i) the railroads would not connect with each other or any railroads in their corporate family, (ii) the acquisition or continuance in control is not part of a series of anticipated transactions that would connect the railroads with each other or any railroad in their corporate family, and (iii) the transaction does not involve a class I carrier.

(3) Transactions within a corporate family that do not result in adverse changes in service levels, significant operational changes, or a change in the competitive balance with carriers outside the corporate family.

(4) Renewal of leases and any other matters where the Board has previously authorized the transaction, and only an extension in time is involved.

(5) Joint projects involving the relocation of a line of railroad which does not disrupt service to shippers.

(7) Acquisition of trackage rights and renewal of trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: (i) based on written agreements, and (ii) not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings.

(8) Acquisition of temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, and {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed 1 year from the effective date of the exemption. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the 1-year period, the parties may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 1 year, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under 49 CFR 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(8) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(9) Acquisition of emergency temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} Based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed three months from the effective date of the exemption, and {v} sought in response to an unforeseen track outage and expected to last more than seven days where there is no reasonable alternative to maintain pre-outage levels of service. If during the exemption period, the outage is resolved and use of the temporary emergency trackage rights ceases to be necessary to maintain service at pre-outage levels, the rail carrier must file a notice stating that the outage has been resolved and that use of the trackage rights has ceased and identifying the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. Such a notice should be filed within 5 business days of the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. The emergency temporary trackage rights authority expires upon the official filing date of the notice. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the initial exemption period, the rail carrier may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 3 months, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under § 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(9) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(b) Other exemptions that may be relevant to a proposal under this subpart are the exemption for control at § 1180.2(d)(1) and (2), and the exemption from securities regulation at 49 CFR part 1177.

(d) A transaction is exempt if it is within one of the nine categories described in paragraphs (d)(1) through (9) of this section. The Board has found that its prior review and approval of these transactions is not necessary to carry out the rail transportation policy of 49 U.S.C. 10101; and is of limited scope or unnecessary to protect shippers from market abuse. See 49 U.S.C. 10502. A notice must be filed to use one of these class exemptions. The procedures are set out in § 1180.4(g). These class exemptions do not relieve a carrier of its statutory obligation to protect the interests of employees. See 49 U.S.C. 10502(g) and 11326. The enumeration of the following categories of transactions as exempt does not preclude a carrier from seeking an exemption of specific transactions not falling into these categories.

(1) Acquisition of a line of railroad which would not constitute a major market extension where the Board has found that the public convenience and necessity permit abandonment.

(2) Acquisition or continuance in control of a nonconnecting carrier or one of its lines where (i) the railroads would not connect with each other or any railroads in their corporate family, (ii) the acquisition or continuance in control is not part of a series of anticipated transactions that would connect the railroads with each other or any railroad in their corporate family, and (iii) the transaction does not involve a class I carrier.

(3) Transactions within a corporate family that do not result in adverse changes in service levels, significant operational changes, or a change in the competitive balance with carriers outside the corporate family.

(4) Renewal of leases and any other matters where the Board has previously authorized the transaction, and only an extension in time is involved.

(5) Joint projects involving the relocation of a line of railroad which does not disrupt service to shippers.

(7) Acquisition of trackage rights and renewal of trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: (i) based on written agreements, and (ii) not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings.

(8) Acquisition of temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, and {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed 1 year from the effective date of the exemption. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the 1-year period, the parties may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 1 year, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under 49 CFR 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(8) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(9) Acquisition of emergency temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} Based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed three months from the effective date of the exemption, and {v} sought in response to an unforeseen track outage and expected to last more than seven days where there is no reasonable alternative to maintain pre-outage levels of service. If during the exemption period, the outage is resolved and use of the temporary emergency trackage rights ceases to be necessary to maintain service at pre-outage levels, the rail carrier must file a notice stating that the outage has been resolved and that use of the trackage rights has ceased and identifying the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. Such a notice should be filed within 5 business days of the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. The emergency temporary trackage rights authority expires upon the official filing date of the notice. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the initial exemption period, the rail carrier may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 3 months, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under § 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(9) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(d) A transaction is exempt if it is within one of the nine categories described in paragraphs (d)(1) through (9) of this section. The Board has found that its prior review and approval of these transactions is not necessary to carry out the rail transportation policy of 49 U.S.C. 10101; and is of limited scope or unnecessary to protect shippers from market abuse. See 49 U.S.C. 10502. A notice must be filed to use one of these class exemptions. The procedures are set out in § 1180.4(g). These class exemptions do not relieve a carrier of its statutory obligation to protect the interests of employees. See 49 U.S.C. 10502(g) and 11326. The enumeration of the following categories of transactions as exempt does not preclude a carrier from seeking an exemption of specific transactions not falling into these categories.

(1) Acquisition of a line of railroad which would not constitute a major market extension where the Board has found that the public convenience and necessity permit abandonment.

(2) Acquisition or continuance in control of a nonconnecting carrier or one of its lines where (i) the railroads would not connect with each other or any railroads in their corporate family, (ii) the acquisition or continuance in control is not part of a series of anticipated transactions that would connect the railroads with each other or any railroad in their corporate family, and (iii) the transaction does not involve a class I carrier.

(3) Transactions within a corporate family that do not result in adverse changes in service levels, significant operational changes, or a change in the competitive balance with carriers outside the corporate family.

(4) Renewal of leases and any other matters where the Board has previously authorized the transaction, and only an extension in time is involved.

(5) Joint projects involving the relocation of a line of railroad which does not disrupt service to shippers.

(7) Acquisition of trackage rights and renewal of trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: (i) based on written agreements, and (ii) not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings.

(8) Acquisition of temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, and {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed 1 year from the effective date of the exemption. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the 1-year period, the parties may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 1 year, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under 49 CFR 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(8) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(9) Acquisition of emergency temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} Based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed three months from the effective date of the exemption, and {v} sought in response to an unforeseen track outage and expected to last more than seven days where there is no reasonable alternative to maintain pre-outage levels of service. If during the exemption period, the outage is resolved and use of the temporary emergency trackage rights ceases to be necessary to maintain service at pre-outage levels, the rail carrier must file a notice stating that the outage has been resolved and that use of the trackage rights has ceased and identifying the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. Such a notice should be filed within 5 business days of the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. The emergency temporary trackage rights authority expires upon the official filing date of the notice. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the initial exemption period, the rail carrier may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 3 months, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under § 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(9) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(d) A transaction is exempt if it is within one of the nine categories described in paragraphs (d)(1) through (9) of this section. The Board has found that its prior review and approval of these transactions is not necessary to carry out the rail transportation policy of 49 U.S.C. 10101; and is of limited scope or unnecessary to protect shippers from market abuse. See 49 U.S.C. 10502. A notice must be filed to use one of these class exemptions. The procedures are set out in § 1180.4(g). These class exemptions do not relieve a carrier of its statutory obligation to protect the interests of employees. See 49 U.S.C. 10502(g) and 11326. The enumeration of the following categories of transactions as exempt does not preclude a carrier from seeking an exemption of specific transactions not falling into these categories.

(1) Acquisition of a line of railroad which would not constitute a major market extension where the Board has found that the public convenience and necessity permit abandonment.

(2) Acquisition or continuance in control of a nonconnecting carrier or one of its lines where (i) the railroads would not connect with each other or any railroads in their corporate family, (ii) the acquisition or continuance in control is not part of a series of anticipated transactions that would connect the railroads with each other or any railroad in their corporate family, and (iii) the transaction does not involve a class I carrier.

(3) Transactions within a corporate family that do not result in adverse changes in service levels, significant operational changes, or a change in the competitive balance with carriers outside the corporate family.

(4) Renewal of leases and any other matters where the Board has previously authorized the transaction, and only an extension in time is involved.

(5) Joint projects involving the relocation of a line of railroad which does not disrupt service to shippers.

(7) Acquisition of trackage rights and renewal of trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: (i) based on written agreements, and (ii) not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings.

(8) Acquisition of temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, and {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed 1 year from the effective date of the exemption. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the 1-year period, the parties may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 1 year, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under 49 CFR 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(8) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(9) Acquisition of emergency temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} Based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed three months from the effective date of the exemption, and {v} sought in response to an unforeseen track outage and expected to last more than seven days where there is no reasonable alternative to maintain pre-outage levels of service. If during the exemption period, the outage is resolved and use of the temporary emergency trackage rights ceases to be necessary to maintain service at pre-outage levels, the rail carrier must file a notice stating that the outage has been resolved and that use of the trackage rights has ceased and identifying the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. Such a notice should be filed within 5 business days of the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. The emergency temporary trackage rights authority expires upon the official filing date of the notice. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the initial exemption period, the rail carrier may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 3 months, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under § 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(9) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(d) A transaction is exempt if it is within one of the nine categories described in paragraphs (d)(1) through (9) of this section. The Board has found that its prior review and approval of these transactions is not necessary to carry out the rail transportation policy of 49 U.S.C. 10101; and is of limited scope or unnecessary to protect shippers from market abuse. See 49 U.S.C. 10502. A notice must be filed to use one of these class exemptions. The procedures are set out in § 1180.4(g). These class exemptions do not relieve a carrier of its statutory obligation to protect the interests of employees. See 49 U.S.C. 10502(g) and 11326. The enumeration of the following categories of transactions as exempt does not preclude a carrier from seeking an exemption of specific transactions not falling into these categories.

(1) Acquisition of a line of railroad which would not constitute a major market extension where the Board has found that the public convenience and necessity permit abandonment.

(2) Acquisition or continuance in control of a nonconnecting carrier or one of its lines where (i) the railroads would not connect with each other or any railroads in their corporate family, (ii) the acquisition or continuance in control is not part of a series of anticipated transactions that would connect the railroads with each other or any railroad in their corporate family, and (iii) the transaction does not involve a class I carrier.

(3) Transactions within a corporate family that do not result in adverse changes in service levels, significant operational changes, or a change in the competitive balance with carriers outside the corporate family.

(4) Renewal of leases and any other matters where the Board has previously authorized the transaction, and only an extension in time is involved.

(5) Joint projects involving the relocation of a line of railroad which does not disrupt service to shippers.

(7) Acquisition of trackage rights and renewal of trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: (i) based on written agreements, and (ii) not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings.

(8) Acquisition of temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, and {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed 1 year from the effective date of the exemption. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the 1-year period, the parties may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 1 year, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under 49 CFR 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(8) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(9) Acquisition of emergency temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} Based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed three months from the effective date of the exemption, and {v} sought in response to an unforeseen track outage and expected to last more than seven days where there is no reasonable alternative to maintain pre-outage levels of service. If during the exemption period, the outage is resolved and use of the temporary emergency trackage rights ceases to be necessary to maintain service at pre-outage levels, the rail carrier must file a notice stating that the outage has been resolved and that use of the trackage rights has ceased and identifying the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. Such a notice should be filed within 5 business days of the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. The emergency temporary trackage rights authority expires upon the official filing date of the notice. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the initial exemption period, the rail carrier may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 3 months, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under § 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(9) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(d) A transaction is exempt if it is within one of the nine categories described in paragraphs (d)(1) through (9) of this section. The Board has found that its prior review and approval of these transactions is not necessary to carry out the rail transportation policy of 49 U.S.C. 10101; and is of limited scope or unnecessary to protect shippers from market abuse. See 49 U.S.C. 10502. A notice must be filed to use one of these class exemptions. The procedures are set out in § 1180.4(g). These class exemptions do not relieve a carrier of its statutory obligation to protect the interests of employees. See 49 U.S.C. 10502(g) and 11326. The enumeration of the following categories of transactions as exempt does not preclude a carrier from seeking an exemption of specific transactions not falling into these categories.

(1) Acquisition of a line of railroad which would not constitute a major market extension where the Board has found that the public convenience and necessity permit abandonment.

(2) Acquisition or continuance in control of a nonconnecting carrier or one of its lines where (i) the railroads would not connect with each other or any railroads in their corporate family, (ii) the acquisition or continuance in control is not part of a series of anticipated transactions that would connect the railroads with each other or any railroad in their corporate family, and (iii) the transaction does not involve a class I carrier.

(3) Transactions within a corporate family that do not result in adverse changes in service levels, significant operational changes, or a change in the competitive balance with carriers outside the corporate family.

(4) Renewal of leases and any other matters where the Board has previously authorized the transaction, and only an extension in time is involved.

(5) Joint projects involving the relocation of a line of railroad which does not disrupt service to shippers.

(7) Acquisition of trackage rights and renewal of trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: (i) based on written agreements, and (ii) not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings.

(8) Acquisition of temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, and {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed 1 year from the effective date of the exemption. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the 1-year period, the parties may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 1 year, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under 49 CFR 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(8) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(9) Acquisition of emergency temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} Based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed three months from the effective date of the exemption, and {v} sought in response to an unforeseen track outage and expected to last more than seven days where there is no reasonable alternative to maintain pre-outage levels of service. If during the exemption period, the outage is resolved and use of the temporary emergency trackage rights ceases to be necessary to maintain service at pre-outage levels, the rail carrier must file a notice stating that the outage has been resolved and that use of the trackage rights has ceased and identifying the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. Such a notice should be filed within 5 business days of the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. The emergency temporary trackage rights authority expires upon the official filing date of the notice. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the initial exemption period, the rail carrier may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 3 months, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under § 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(9) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(d) A transaction is exempt if it is within one of the nine categories described in paragraphs (d)(1) through (9) of this section. The Board has found that its prior review and approval of these transactions is not necessary to carry out the rail transportation policy of 49 U.S.C. 10101; and is of limited scope or unnecessary to protect shippers from market abuse. See 49 U.S.C. 10502. A notice must be filed to use one of these class exemptions. The procedures are set out in § 1180.4(g). These class exemptions do not relieve a carrier of its statutory obligation to protect the interests of employees. See 49 U.S.C. 10502(g) and 11326. The enumeration of the following categories of transactions as exempt does not preclude a carrier from seeking an exemption of specific transactions not falling into these categories.

(1) Acquisition of a line of railroad which would not constitute a major market extension where the Board has found that the public convenience and necessity permit abandonment.

(2) Acquisition or continuance in control of a nonconnecting carrier or one of its lines where (i) the railroads would not connect with each other or any railroads in their corporate family, (ii) the acquisition or continuance in control is not part of a series of anticipated transactions that would connect the railroads with each other or any railroad in their corporate family, and (iii) the transaction does not involve a class I carrier.

(3) Transactions within a corporate family that do not result in adverse changes in service levels, significant operational changes, or a change in the competitive balance with carriers outside the corporate family.

(4) Renewal of leases and any other matters where the Board has previously authorized the transaction, and only an extension in time is involved.

(5) Joint projects involving the relocation of a line of railroad which does not disrupt service to shippers.

(7) Acquisition of trackage rights and renewal of trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: (i) based on written agreements, and (ii) not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings.

(8) Acquisition of temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, and {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed 1 year from the effective date of the exemption. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the 1-year period, the parties may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 1 year, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under 49 CFR 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(8) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(9) Acquisition of emergency temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} Based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed three months from the effective date of the exemption, and {v} sought in response to an unforeseen track outage and expected to last more than seven days where there is no reasonable alternative to maintain pre-outage levels of service. If during the exemption period, the outage is resolved and use of the temporary emergency trackage rights ceases to be necessary to maintain service at pre-outage levels, the rail carrier must file a notice stating that the outage has been resolved and that use of the trackage rights has ceased and identifying the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. Such a notice should be filed within 5 business days of the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. The emergency temporary trackage rights authority expires upon the official filing date of the notice. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the initial exemption period, the rail carrier may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 3 months, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under § 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(9) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(ii) Notices filed under §§ 1180.2(d)(7), 1180.2(d)(8), or 1180.2(d)(9) shall also contain the following information:

(A) The name of the tenant railroad;

(B) The name of the landlord railroad;

(C) For notices under § 1180.2(d)(8) and (9), the notice must state that the trackage rights are overhead rights. For notices under § 1180.2(d)(7), the notice must state whether the trackage rights are local or overhead;

(D) The date the trackage rights transaction is proposed to be consummated;

(E) The date temporary trackage rights will expire, if applicable; and

(F) For notices under § 1180.2(d)(9), a description of the situation resulting in the outage in sufficient detail to allow the Board to determine an emergency exits, including, to the extent possible, the nature of the event that caused the unforeseen outage, the location of the outage, the date that the emergency situation occurred, the date the outage was discovered, and the expected duration of the outage.

(ii) Submit a copy of any contract or other written instrument entered into, or proposed to be entered into, pertaining to the proposed transaction. 3 In addition, parties to exempt trackage rights agreements and renewal of agreements described at § 1180.2(d)(7) must submit one copy of the executed agreement or renewal agreement with the notice of exemption, or within 10 days of the date that the agreement is executed, whichever is later.

(d) A transaction is exempt if it is within one of the nine categories described in paragraphs (d)(1) through (9) of this section. The Board has found that its prior review and approval of these transactions is not necessary to carry out the rail transportation policy of 49 U.S.C. 10101; and is of limited scope or unnecessary to protect shippers from market abuse. See 49 U.S.C. 10502. A notice must be filed to use one of these class exemptions. The procedures are set out in § 1180.4(g). These class exemptions do not relieve a carrier of its statutory obligation to protect the interests of employees. See 49 U.S.C. 10502(g) and 11326. The enumeration of the following categories of transactions as exempt does not preclude a carrier from seeking an exemption of specific transactions not falling into these categories.

(1) Acquisition of a line of railroad which would not constitute a major market extension where the Board has found that the public convenience and necessity permit abandonment.

(2) Acquisition or continuance in control of a nonconnecting carrier or one of its lines where (i) the railroads would not connect with each other or any railroads in their corporate family, (ii) the acquisition or continuance in control is not part of a series of anticipated transactions that would connect the railroads with each other or any railroad in their corporate family, and (iii) the transaction does not involve a class I carrier.

(3) Transactions within a corporate family that do not result in adverse changes in service levels, significant operational changes, or a change in the competitive balance with carriers outside the corporate family.

(4) Renewal of leases and any other matters where the Board has previously authorized the transaction, and only an extension in time is involved.

(5) Joint projects involving the relocation of a line of railroad which does not disrupt service to shippers.

(7) Acquisition of trackage rights and renewal of trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: (i) based on written agreements, and (ii) not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings.

(8) Acquisition of temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, and {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed 1 year from the effective date of the exemption. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the 1-year period, the parties may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 1 year, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under 49 CFR 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(8) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(9) Acquisition of emergency temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} Based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed three months from the effective date of the exemption, and {v} sought in response to an unforeseen track outage and expected to last more than seven days where there is no reasonable alternative to maintain pre-outage levels of service. If during the exemption period, the outage is resolved and use of the temporary emergency trackage rights ceases to be necessary to maintain service at pre-outage levels, the rail carrier must file a notice stating that the outage has been resolved and that use of the trackage rights has ceased and identifying the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. Such a notice should be filed within 5 business days of the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. The emergency temporary trackage rights authority expires upon the official filing date of the notice. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the initial exemption period, the rail carrier may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 3 months, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under § 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(9) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(ii) Notices filed under §§ 1180.2(d)(7), 1180.2(d)(8), or 1180.2(d)(9) shall also contain the following information:

(A) The name of the tenant railroad;

(B) The name of the landlord railroad;

(C) For notices under § 1180.2(d)(8) and (9), the notice must state that the trackage rights are overhead rights. For notices under § 1180.2(d)(7), the notice must state whether the trackage rights are local or overhead;

(D) The date the trackage rights transaction is proposed to be consummated;

(E) The date temporary trackage rights will expire, if applicable; and

(F) For notices under § 1180.2(d)(9), a description of the situation resulting in the outage in sufficient detail to allow the Board to determine an emergency exits, including, to the extent possible, the nature of the event that caused the unforeseen outage, the location of the outage, the date that the emergency situation occurred, the date the outage was discovered, and the expected duration of the outage.

(d) A transaction is exempt if it is within one of the nine categories described in paragraphs (d)(1) through (9) of this section. The Board has found that its prior review and approval of these transactions is not necessary to carry out the rail transportation policy of 49 U.S.C. 10101; and is of limited scope or unnecessary to protect shippers from market abuse. See 49 U.S.C. 10502. A notice must be filed to use one of these class exemptions. The procedures are set out in § 1180.4(g). These class exemptions do not relieve a carrier of its statutory obligation to protect the interests of employees. See 49 U.S.C. 10502(g) and 11326. The enumeration of the following categories of transactions as exempt does not preclude a carrier from seeking an exemption of specific transactions not falling into these categories.

(1) Acquisition of a line of railroad which would not constitute a major market extension where the Board has found that the public convenience and necessity permit abandonment.

(2) Acquisition or continuance in control of a nonconnecting carrier or one of its lines where (i) the railroads would not connect with each other or any railroads in their corporate family, (ii) the acquisition or continuance in control is not part of a series of anticipated transactions that would connect the railroads with each other or any railroad in their corporate family, and (iii) the transaction does not involve a class I carrier.

(3) Transactions within a corporate family that do not result in adverse changes in service levels, significant operational changes, or a change in the competitive balance with carriers outside the corporate family.

(4) Renewal of leases and any other matters where the Board has previously authorized the transaction, and only an extension in time is involved.

(5) Joint projects involving the relocation of a line of railroad which does not disrupt service to shippers.

(7) Acquisition of trackage rights and renewal of trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: (i) based on written agreements, and (ii) not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings.

(8) Acquisition of temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, and {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed 1 year from the effective date of the exemption. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the 1-year period, the parties may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 1 year, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under 49 CFR 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(8) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(9) Acquisition of emergency temporary trackage rights by a rail carrier over lines owned or operated by any other rail carrier or carriers that are: {i} Based on written agreements, {ii} not filed or sought in responsive applications in rail consolidation proceedings, {iii} for overhead operations only, {iv} scheduled to expire on a specific date not to exceed three months from the effective date of the exemption, and {v} sought in response to an unforeseen track outage and expected to last more than seven days where there is no reasonable alternative to maintain pre-outage levels of service. If during the exemption period, the outage is resolved and use of the temporary emergency trackage rights ceases to be necessary to maintain service at pre-outage levels, the rail carrier must file a notice stating that the outage has been resolved and that use of the trackage rights has ceased and identifying the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. Such a notice should be filed within 5 business days of the date on which use of the trackage rights ceased. The emergency temporary trackage rights authority expires upon the official filing date of the notice. If the operations contemplated by the exemption will not be concluded within the initial exemption period, the rail carrier may, prior to expiration of the period, file a request for a renewal of the temporary rights for an additional period of up to 3 months, including the reason(s) therefor. Rail carriers acquiring temporary trackage rights need not seek authority from the Board to discontinue the trackage rights as of the expiration date specified under § 1180.4(g)(1)(ii). All transactions under this paragraph (d)(9) will be subject to applicable statutory labor protective conditions.

(1) To qualify for an exemption under § 1180.2(d), a railroad must file a verified notice of the transaction with the Board. Except for verified notices filed under § 1180.2(d)(9), all verified notices under § 1180.2(d) must be filed at least 30 days before the transaction is consummated, indicating the proposed consummation date. Verified notices filed under § 1180.2(d)(9) will become effective upon service of notice of the transaction by the Board. Before a verified notice is filed, the railroad shall obtain a docket number from the Board's Section of Case Administration, Office of Chief Counsel.

(i) All notices filed under § 1180.2(d) shall contain the information required in § 1180.6(a)(1)(i) through (iii), (a)(5) and (6), and (a)(7)(ii), and indicate the level of labor protection to be imposed.

(ii) Notices filed under §§ 1180.2(d)(7), 1180.2(d)(8), or 1180.2(d)(9) shall also contain the following information:

(A) The name of the tenant railroad;

(B) The name of the landlord railroad;

(C) For notices under § 1180.2(d)(8) and (9), the notice must state that the trackage rights are overhead rights. For notices under § 1180.2(d)(7), the notice must state whether the trackage rights are local or overhead;

(D) The date the trackage rights transaction is proposed to be consummated;

(E) The date temporary trackage rights will expire, if applicable; and

(F) For notices under § 1180.2(d)(9), a description of the situation resulting in the outage in sufficient detail to allow the Board to determine an emergency exits, including, to the extent possible, the nature of the event that caused the unforeseen outage, the location of the outage, the date that the emergency situation occurred, the date the outage was discovered, and the expected duration of the outage.

(iii) Except for notices filed under § 1180.2(d)(9), the Board shall publish a notice of exemption in the Federal Register within 16 days of the filing of the notice. For notices filed under § 1180.2(d)(9), the Board shall serve a notice of exemption on parties of record within 5 days after the verified notice of exemption is filed and shall publish that notice in the Federal Register. The publication of notices under § 1180.2(d) will indicate the labor protection required.

(iv) If the notice contains false or misleading information that is brought to the Board's attention, the Board shall summarily revoke the exemption for that carrier and require divestiture.

(v) The filing of a petition to revoke under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) does not stay the effectiveness of an exemption. Except for notices filed under § 1180.2(d)(9), stay petitions must be filed at least 7 days before the exemption becomes effective. For notices filed under § 1180.2(d)(9), stay petitions should be filed as soon as possible before the exemption becomes effective.

(vi) Other exemptions that may be relevant to a proposal under this provision are codified at 49 CFR part 1150, subpart D, which governs transactions under 49 U.S.C. 10901.