FOR RELEASE	Contact: Dennis Watson
07/26/2004 (Monday)	(202) 565-1596
No. 04-30	FIRS 1 (800) 877-8339
	www.stb.gov

Public & Media Advisory: Surface Transportation Board to Hold August 11 Public Hearing on "Small Railroad Abandonments"

Surface Transportation Board Chairman Roger Nober today announced that the STB will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, August 11, 2004, in Room 760, the agency's hearing room, on the 7th Floor of the agency's headquarters in the Mercury Building, 1925 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., concerning the case entitled Class Exemption for Expedited Abandonment Procedure for Class II and Class III Railroads, STB Ex Parte No. 647. The hearing will begin immediately after the conclusion of the STB's voting conference, which begins at 10:00 a.m.

Persons wishing to speak at the hearing should file with the agency a written "Notice of Intent to Participate,"and should indicate a requested time allotment, as soon as possible but no later than July 26, 2004. Each speaker's written testimony, if any, should be filed with the agency by August 3, 2004.

The agency's decision announcing the public hearing in STB Ex Parte No. 647 and providing additional information regarding participation in the hearing is available for viewing and downloading via the agency's Web site at http://www.stb.dot.gov. A printed copy of the agency's decision also is available for a fee by contacting ASAP Document Solutions,9332 Annapolis Rd., Suite 103, Lanham, MD 20706, telephone (301) 577-2600, or via asapmd@verizon.net.

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