Canadian National Railway Company and Grand Trunk Corporation-Control-Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Company, and The Pittsburgh & Conneaut Dock Company

The Surface Transportation Board (Board) is accepting for consideration the primary application and related filings filed November 5, 2003, by Canadian National Railway Company (CNR, a rail carrier that controls several rail carrier subsidiaries) and Grand Trunk Corporation (GTC, a noncarrier holding company through which CNR controls its U.S. rail carrier subsidiaries). CNR and GTC are referred to collectively as CN or as applicants. The primary application seeks Board approval and authorization under 49 U.S.C. 11321-26 for the acquisition by CN of control of three U.S. railroads: Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company (DMIR), Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Company (B&LE), and the Pittsburgh & Conneaut Dock Company (P&C Dock). Because DMIR, B&LE, and P&C Dock are now controlled by Great Lakes Transportation LLC (GLT), the primary application is referred to as the "CN/GLT Application," the transaction proposed in the primary application is referred to as the "CN/GLT Transaction" or the Transaction, and DMIR, B&LE, and P&C Dock are referred to collectively as the "GLT Railroads." The related filings seek related trackage rights contingent upon approval of the primary application. The Board finds that the transaction proposed in the primary application is a "minor transaction" under 49 CFR 1180.2(c). The Board has considered CN's petition suggesting a 146-day procedural schedule, also filed November 5, 2003. The Board is adopting a 156-day procedural schedule patterned upon the 156-day procedural schedule that was adopted earlier this year in the "KCS/Tex Mex" proceeding.\2\ The 156-day procedural schedule adopted by the Board is essentially the same as the 146-day procedural schedule suggested by CN, except that the Board's schedule adds five days to the "evidentiary proceeding" stage and another five days to the "final decision" stage. The 156-day procedural schedule will allow the Board to issue a decision 45 days after the close of the record and 24 days prior to the statutory deadline, assuming that no unanticipated environmental review is required. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------