Surface Transportation Board [STB Finance Docket No. 35189] Sierra Northern Railway--Acquisition and Operation Exemption-- BNSF Railway Company Sierra Northern Railway (SNR), a Class III rail carrier, has filed a verified notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1150.41 to acquire, by purchase from BNSF Railway Company (BNSF), and to operate two rail lines, totaling approximately 6.5 miles of rail line in Riverbank and Oakdale, Stanislaus County, CA. SNR will acquire: (1) The Oakdale Branch located between milepost 1.0, in Riverbank, and the end of BNSF's line at milepost 7.1, in Oakdale (including the Hershey Spur); and (2) the Riverbank Industrial Park Lead, Track 7959, between Engineer's Station 8+60 and Engineer's Station 38+02, at the end of BNSF's line at the plant gate, including BNSF's sidings and related trackage. Pursuant to the purchase agreement,\1\ BNSF will grant to SNR limited overhead rights to operate over segments of BNSF's rail corridor between the two acquired lines and within the Riverbank Yard complex. BNSF will also assign to SNR certain trackage rights of Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) over the Oakdale Branch between BNSF's Riverbank Yard and Oakdale, to the extent such UP trackage rights and obligations are related to the subject lines. SNR has disclosed that the purchase agreement contains a provision that may limit future interchange with a third-party connecting carrier. SNR states that the affected interchange point is Riverbank, CA. ---------------------------------------------------------- \1\ SNR's purchase agreement was filed under seal pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.43(h)(ii).
Modesto Bee article RAILROAD BUYS RIVERBANK-OAKDALE LINE: Starting Tuesday, Sierra Railroad freight trains traveling between Riverbank and Oakdale will make their trips faster. Sierra Railroad recently purchased a six-mile stretch of track between the two cities. The track once belonged to Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. In the past, Sierra had to stop its trains in Oakdale. The trains would sit in an interchange yard for two days while they were transferred onto BNSF's track, said Sierra president Mike Hart. Now Sierra owns the track, so its trains don't have to make that time-consuming transfer. That gives Sierra faster access to its freight clients at the Riverbank Industrial Complex on Claus Road, said Hart. It also will improve service for Sconza Candy Co. and ConAgra in Oakdale, Hart said. Sierra hauls 2,000 to 4,000 carloads of freight over the six-mile section of track each year, said Hart. Sierra long has wanted to acquire the track, said Hart. When he bought Sierra in 1993, his "first and highest priority" was to buy the track from BNSF. Completing the deal took 15 years of negotiations.
