29953

EB

In Decision No. 6, served on August 14, 1998, we accepted for consideration the primary application and related filing, and issued the procedural schedule to be followed in this proceeding, including tentative dates for the oral argument and voting conference.⁽¹⁾

To accommodate the Board's schedule, we are adjusting the dates for the oral argument and the voting conference, as follows. Oral argument will be held in this proceeding on Thursday, March 18, 1999, and the voting conference will be held on Thursday, March 25, 1999, at 10:00 a.m., in the Surface Transportation Board Hearing Room (Room 760) at

1925 K Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C. The date of May 25, 1999, for service of the final decision, remains the same.

Oral argument procedures. It is anticipated that the time for oral argument will be set for 2 hours, with the applicants,⁽²⁾ on the one hand, having a total of 1 hour, and all other participants, on the other, having a total of 1 hour.

An extensive written record has been developed in this proceeding. Each party is therefore encouraged to use oral argument to state simply and concisely why the evidence it has submitted supports its position, and to call our attention to points that it believes are particularly important. The purpose of oral argument is not to restate the written arguments previously made, but to provide an opportunity for questions from Members of the Board, and to summarize and emphasize the key points of each party's case.

Parties who wish to participate in oral argument must indicate: (1) the issue or issues they will address; (2) whether they support or oppose the primary application, the responsive applications, or the various requests for conditions; (3) how much speaking time they require; and (4) the full name(s) and title(s) of the speaker(s). Parties must provide this information to the Office of the Secretary no later than Tuesday, February 9, 1999, by letter (an original with 25 copies and an electronic copy),⁽³⁾ addressed to:

Surface Transportation Board

Office of the Secretary

Case Control Unit

1925 K Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20423-0001

Re: STB Finance Docket No. 33556 Oral Argument

A decision will then be issued setting a schedule for argument and delineating any issues we request the participants specifically to address. Parties are encouraged to consolidate and coordinate their presentations.

Because seating space in the Board's hearing room is limited, the Board will provide an overflow room (the Brick Room) on the first floor of the building with a closed-circuit telecast of the entire oral argument.

Any party wishing to enhance its argument by using a map as a visual aid is encouraged to do so. Participants are limited, however, to projector-adaptable visual displays and/or handouts. The Board will provide space for handouts participants wish to bring to the hearing for dissemination to the public. The staff of the Office of the Secretary will be available to demonstrate the Hearing Room's projection system on Tuesday, March 16, 1999, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Please call (202) 565-1650 to make arrangements.

This action will not affect either the quality of the human environment or the conservation of energy resources.

It is ordered:

1. Oral argument in this proceeding will be held on Thursday, March 18, 1999, at

10:00 a.m., in the Surface Transportation Board Hearing Room (Room 760), at 1925 K Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C.

2. Parties who wish to participate in the oral argument must inform the Board no later than Tuesday, February 9, 1999, and provide the specific information requested above.

3. The voting conference in this proceeding will be held on Thursday, March 25, 1999, at 10:00 a.m., in the Surface Transportation Board Hearing Room (Room 760), at

1925 K Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C.

3. The procedural schedule, as revised, is set forth in the Appendix to this decision.

4. This decision is effective on the date of service.

By the Board, Chairman Morgan and Vice Chairman Clyburn.

Vernon A. Williams

Secretary

February 9, 1999 Parties who wish to participate in the oral argument must inform the Board by this date, and provide the specific information requested in this decision.

February 19, 1999 Briefs due, all parties (not to exceed 50 pages for applicants and not to exceed 25 pages for all other parties).

March 18, 1999 Oral argument (close of record).

March 25, 1999 Voting conference (at Board's discretion).

May 25, 1999 Date of service of final decision

1. In Decision No. 11, served on October 2, 1998, the procedural schedule was modified due to discovery-related issues, and the Board extended the previously established procedural schedule by 2 weeks to accommodate certain filings, which resulted in the changing of the dates for the oral argument to March 22, 1999, the voting conference to March 29, 1999, and the date of service of the final written decision to May 25, 1999.

2. In the context of this proceeding, Canadian National Railway Company, Grand Trunk Corporation, and Grand Trunk Western Railroad Incorporated, and their affiliates, are referred to collectively as CN. Illinois Central Corporation, Illinois Central Railroad Company, Chicago, Central and Pacific Railroad Company, and Cedar River Railroad Company, and their affiliates, are referred to collectively as IC. CN and IC are referred to collectively as applicants.

3. In addition to submitting an original and 25 copies, the parties shall also submit an electronic copy on 3.5 inch IBM-compatible floppy diskettes or compact discs. Textual materials must be in, or convertible by and into, WordPerfect 7.0, and parties must identify the compatible format if such is being used.