Received in RRS May 19, 2020 SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY: at [email protected]
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Lori Kennedy 7550 Ogden Dale Road SE T 403 319-7413 Director Regulatory Affairs Calgary Alberta E [email protected] Regulatory Department Canada T2C 4X9 Received in RRS May 19, 2020 SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY: at [email protected] May 19, 2020 Mr. Karl Alexy Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer Federal Railroad Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20590 SUBJECT: FRA-2003-15010 CP Waiver Modification Petition - 49 CFR § 241.7(c) Fringe Border Dispatching Dear Mr. Alexy; Pursuant to 49 C.F.R. Part 211, Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CP) hereby petitions the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to modify the current waiver under Docket Number FRA-2003-15010, originally granted on December 5, 2013. Pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 241.7(c), the existing waiver provides CP with relief from the requirements of Title 49 C.F.R. Part 241, U.S. Locational Requirement for Dispatching of United States Rail Operations. Specifically, CP requests that FRA allow Canadian dispatching from CP’s Operations Center located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada (CP Calgary OC) for the recently acquired Central Maine and Québec Railway (CMQR) track segments on the Newport Subdivision within the United States. The Newport Subdivision starts in the vicinity of Brookport, Quebec, Canada, and ends in the vicinity of Newport, Vermont, U.S., crossing the U.S./Canada border at three separate locations. In Canada, the Newport Subdivision connects to CMQR’s Adirondack and Sherbrooke Subdivisions in Brookport, Quebec, Canada. CP does not have track that extends south beyond mile 60.40 of the Newport Subdivision. Traffic handled at this location is for local customers or interchange to the Washington County Railroad, a division of Vermont Rail System. The waiver would apply to two track segments totaling 23.44 miles of the CMQR Newport Subdivision within the United States, extending from: 1) The Canada / U.S. Border in the vicinity of Abercorn, Quebec and Richford, VT (Richford, VT) 1 to the Canada / U.S. Border in the vicinity of East Richford, VT and Sutton, Quebec (East Richford, VT) 2 (6.37 miles); and 2) The Canada / U.S. Border in the vicinity of Highwater, Quebec and North Troy, VT (North Troy, VT) 3 to the end of the Newport Subdivision at mile 60.40 near Newport, VT (17.07 miles). 1 Canada / US Border crossing in the vicinity of the following Ports of Entry: U.S. Customs and Border Protection - Richford Port of Entry, 705 Province St, Richford, VT 05476, United States and the Canada Border Services Agency 549 Rte 139, Abercorn, Quebec J0E 1B0. 2 Canada / US Border crossing in the vicinity of the following Ports of Entry: U.S. Customs and Border Protection - East Richford Port of Entry, 1683 Glen Sutton Rd, Richford, VT 05476, United States and the Canada Border Services Agency 139 Missisquoi Valley Road, Sutton, Quebec J0E 2K0. 3 Canada / US Border crossing in the vicinity of the following Ports of Entry: U.S. Customs and Border Protection 807 VT- 243, North Troy, VT 05859, United States and the Canada Border Services Agency 4 Mansonville Rd, Route 243, Highwater, Quebec, Quebec J0E 1X0. Page 2 FRA-2003-15010 CP Waiver Modification--CMQR Train operations and crewing are subject to change under the terms of the acquisition but all trains operated into the U.S. will be under the control of a single crew, unless unforeseen circumstances occur. The Newport Subdivision operations will interact primarily with CMQR Canadian Operations and have limited direct interactions with the rest of CP’s U.S. Operations. CP Canadian crews operating in the province of Quebec are dispatched by the CP Calgary OC. Effective June 24, 2020; CMQR Canada Operations will also be dispatched by the CP Calgary OC. CP would like to move the control of the Newport Subdivision to be under a single dispatching desk, which would be located in the CP Calgary OC as the majority of operations on this subdivision, will be most closely linked with Canadian Operations. This change would occur following approval by FRA of this waiver request. CP Acquisition On May 1, 2020, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) issued a decision authorizing the Soo Line Corporation (Soo Line Corp.) to acquire control of the Central Maine & Quebec Railway US Inc. (CMQR US)4 with the decision being effective on June 18, 2020. CMQR U.S. owns and operates approximately 244.2 miles of rail lines in Vermont and Maine. On May 7, 2020, the STB granted a request to modify the effective date to June 3, 20205. Soo Line Corp. is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway Company. The Transaction is an end-to-end acquisition involving approximately 301.45 miles of rail line in Maine and Vermont. CP also acquired the Canadian portion of the CMQR system. The acquisition of the Central Maine & Quebec Railway Canada Inc. (CMQR Canada) includes 236.81 route miles of rail line and was closed on December 30, 2019. Description of the Line Proposed to be Dispatched The Newport Subdivision starts in Brookport, Quebec, Canada, and ends in Newport, VT, crossing the U.S./Canada border at three separate locations. CP does not have track that extends beyond mile 60.40 of the Newport Subdivision, in Newport, VT. The waiver would apply to two track segments encompassing a total of 23.44 miles of the CMQR Newport Subdivision within the United States, extending from: 1) The Canada / U.S. Border at Abercorn, Quebec and Richford, VT (Richford, VT) 6 to the Canada / U.S. Border at East Richford, VT and Sutton, Quebec (East Richford, VT) 7 (6.37 miles); and 2) The Canada / U.S. Border at Highwater, Quebec and North Troy, VT (North Troy, VT) 8 to the end of the Newport Subdivision at mile 60.40 near Newport, VT (17.07 miles). Subdivision Mileage & Location Description Total Miles From To Canada US Total 0.00 Brookport, Quebec 26.6 Richford VT 26.26 26.26 26.6 Richford, VT 32.63 East Richford, VT 6.37 6.37 32.63 East Richford, VT 43.33 North Troy, VT 10.7 10.7 43.33 North Troy, VT 60.40 Newport, VT (End of CP Track) 17.07 17.07 Total Miles 36.96 23.44 60.4 4 Surface Transportation Board Decision Docket No. FD 36368 Soo Line Corporation—Control—Central Maine & Quebec Railway US Inc. Decision No. 3 (served May 4, 2020). 5 Surface Transportation Board Decision Docket No. FD 36368 Soo Line Corporation—Control—Central Maine & Quebec Railway US Inc. Decision No. 4 (served May 8, 2020). 6 U.S. Customs and Border Protection - Richford Port of Entry, 705 Province St, Richford, VT 05476, United States / Canada Border Services Agency 549 Rte 139, Abercorn, Quebec J0E 1B0. 7 U.S. Customs and Border Protection - East Richford Port of Entry, 1683 Glen Sutton Rd, Richford, VT 05476, United States / Canada Border Services Agency 139 Missisquoi Valley Road, Sutton, Quebec J0E 2K0. 8 U.S. Customs and Border Protection 807 VT-243, North Troy, VT 05859, United States / Canada Border Services Agency 4 Mansonville Rd, Route 243, Highwater, Quebec, Quebec J0E 1X0. Page 3 FRA-2003-15010 CP Waiver Modification--CMQR Newport Subdivision - Map A map of the Newport Subdivision and the referenced Canada / U.S. Border locations is included below. 1) Richford, VT 2) East Richford, VT 3) North Troy, VT Current Operations CMQR is operating the Newport Subdivision under a single rule book, the Canadian Railway Operating Rules (CROR). The CMQR rules contain a number of special instructions addressing differences in regulatory requirements between the United States and Canada. A single method of train control (Occupancy Control System rules – OCS – similar to Track Warrant Control rules in the U.S.) is utilized on the line. The subdivision has been dispatched using a third party contracted company, RailTerm. RailTerm has dispatched the subdivision from an office located in Rutland VT. Planned Operations Going forward, the Newport Subdivision will continue to be operated under a single rule book, the CROR with special instructions addressing differences in regulatory requirements between the United States and Canada. Effective June 24, 2020, CMQR Canada operations, including the Newport Subdivision, will be transferred from RailTerm to be dispatched by the CP Calgary OC. CP would like to move the control of the entire Newport Subdivision to the CP Calgary OC. Pending approval of a waiver by FRA, dispatching of trains operating south of mile 26.26 will be transferred from RailTerm to CP’s U.S Operations Center, located in Minneapolis, MN. Page 4 FRA-2003-15010 CP Waiver Modification--CMQR In response to specific requirements in 49 C.F.R. § 241.7(c)(3): • All units of measure used by Canadian railways are the same as in the U.S. • All trains operated into the U.S. will be under the control of a single crew, unless unforeseen circumstances occur. • Dispatching will be provided by train dispatchers that are bilingual in French and English to allow train crews, such as those from Quebec, Canada, to communicate with the dispatchers in their primary language. • Because of the very short distances, all train operations into the U.S. will be under the control of a single dispatching desk. • Dispatching is transferred to a U.S. carrier at the point or yard where the interchange takes place. In Newport, VT this is the Washington County Railroad, a division of Vermont Rail System. Documents Included as Part of the Waiver Request • Time Table: 9 o CP East Division Time Table 12 General (Effective October 14, 2015) 10 o East Division Time Table No 12, Module 21 Newport Subdivision (Effective June 4, 2020) .