P&W, State of Connecticut Update Middletown Cluster Operating Agreement
According to the STB, P&W filed a verified notice of exemption pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.41 to enter into a 20-year operating agreement with up to two ten-year extensions with the State. P&W will continue to run the Middletown Cluster, which comprises the Cromwell Industrial Track from its connection to the Laurel Industrial Track in Middletown (approximately milepost 22.34) north along the west side of the Connecticut River to the end of the line in Cromwell, Conn. (approximately milepost 24.35); the East Berlin Industrial Track in Middletown, Conn., from its point of connection to the Cromwell Industrial Track (approximately milepost 0.0) to the end of the line (approximately milepost 1.0); the Laurel Industrial Track from its connection to the Middletown Secondary on the west side of the Connecticut River Swing Bridge (approximately milepost 0.0) south along the west side of the Connecticut River to the end of the line in Laurel, Middletown Township, Conn. (approximately milepost 5.47); the Middletown Secondary from a point approximately 4,330 feet south of the centerline of Route 157—Overhead Bridge No. 17.71 in Reed’s Gap, Durham Township, Conn. (approximately milepost 14.99) to the west side of the Connecticut River Swing Bridge (approximately milepost 22.34); and the Portland Industrial Track from the west side of the Connecticut River Swing Bridge, its connection to the Middletown Secondary in Middletown (approximately milepost 0.0) to the easterly side of Marlboro Street in Portland, Conn. (approximately milepost 1.01). The verified notice states that the mileposts have been revised to reflect the current designation.
“According to the verified notice, the State owns the Line, and P&W currently operates the Line as a successor in interest to Connecticut Central Railroad Company, Inc. (CCR),” the STB reported. “P&W states that CCR began operating the Line in 1987. The verified notice states that P&W and the State have entered into a new operating agreement that will replace the prior operating agreement. … The verified notice notes that as the successor to CCR, P&W also currently operates the State’s approximately 11.49-mile Wethersfield Secondary rail line pursuant to a modified certificate, and further states that this arrangement will continue under the new operating agreement.”
According to the STB decision (download below), the new operating agreement does not include an interchange commitment. The government agency noted that P&W further certifies that projected annual revenues due to this transaction will not result in the creation of a Class II or Class I rail carrier.
Pursuant to 49 CFR 1150.42(e), because P&W revenues currently exceed $5 million, it must, at least 60 days before this exemption is to become effective, post a notice of its intent to undertake the proposed transaction at the workplace of the employees on the affected lines, serve a copy of the notice on the national offices of the labor unions with employees on the affected lines, and certify to the Board that it has done so. However, STB reported that P&W’s verified notice of exemption “includes a request for waiver of the 60-day advance labor notice requirement so that the exemption can become effective 30 days after the verified notice was filed.” P&W’s waiver request will be addressed in a separate decision, according to the STB. The Board said it will establish the effective date of the exemption in its separate decision on the waiver request.
Petitions for stay must be filed no later than Dec. 5, 2025.
