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43203 SERVICE DATE – LATE RELEASE JULY 19, 2013 <br />EB <br /> <br />SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD <br /> <br />DECISION <br /> <br />Docket No. FD 35749 <br /> <br />BOSTON AND MAINE CORPORATION AND <br />SPRINGFIELD TERMINAL RAILROAD COMPANY— <br />PETITION FOR DECLARATORY ORDER <br /> <br /> <br />Digest: 1 This decision declares that certain zoning decisions issued by the Town <br />of Winchester, Mass., which would ban freight rail transportation to a warehouse <br />in the Town, are preempted by federal law. <br /> <br />Decided: July 19, 2013 <br /> <br />The Boston and Maine Corporation and Springfield Terminal Railway Company <br />(collectively, Pan Am), filed a petition for declaratory order on July 1, 2013 (Petition), pursuant <br />to 5 U.S.C. § 554(e) and 49 U.S.C. § 721, requesting that the Board declare that 49 U.S.C. <br />§ 10501(b) preempts actions taken by the Town of Winchester, Mass. (the Town or Winchester), <br />to ban certain rail transportation conducted by Pan Am. On July 10, 2013, the Town replied. <br />For the reasons discussed below, we hold that the Town’s actions are preempted. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br /> <br />This proceeding involves two railroad tracks adjacent to a warehouse in Winchester <br />operated by Tighe Logistics Group (Tighe). The two tracks lie between the warehouse and a rail <br />line over which Pan Am operates.2 Pan Am, a rail common carrier, states that the track <br />immediately next to the warehouse is owned by Tighe, and the other is held by Pan Am under an <br />exclusive freight rail easement from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Pan Am <br />states that it provides common carrier rail transportation from its main line over these two tracks <br />to the warehouse, where cargo is stored before continuing transportation to distribution centers <br />and, ultimately, to retail customers.3 <br /> <br />1 The digest constitutes no part of the decision of the Board but has been prepared for the <br />convenience of the reader. It may not be cited to or relied upon as precedent. Policy Statement <br />on Plain Language Digests in Decisions, EP 696 (STB served Sept. 2, 2010). <br />2 Pan Am notes that the area between the warehouse and the main line, where the two <br />tracks are located, historically has been known as Montvale Yard. <br />3 See Pet. 2-3, 16.