City of Chicago v. United States

314 F. Supp. 886, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11459, 1970 WL 202927
District Court, N.D. Illinois·Decided June 4, 1970·No. Nos. 70 C 585, 70 C 689·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

The plaintiffs seek to enjoin under 28 U.S.C. § 2325 various orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission permitting the discontinuance of certain passenger trains of the Western Pacific Railroad and a reduction of passenger service by the Denver and Rio Grande Western, Southern Pacific and the Burlington Northern Railroads.

On May 12, 1969, the Denver and Rio Grande Western sent notices to the I.C.C. and the Governors of Colorado and Utah proposing discontinuance of passenger trains numbers 17 and 18, the California Zephyr, between Denver, Colorado, and Salt Lake City, Utah, as of June 16, 1969. Notices were also posted in the cars and the stations along the route. The I.C.C. entered into an investigation and postponed the discontinuance for a period not to exceed four months as provided by statute. Hearings were held from July 14 to 31, 1969, in various places in Colorado and Utah.

The Western Pacific Railroad on July 23, 1969, notified the I.C.C. and the Governors of the states of California, Nevada and Utah of its proposal to discontinue its operation of the Zephyr between Salt Lake City, Utah, and San Francisco, California, as of September 5, 1969. The Southern Pacific Company on July 29, 1969, filed notices with the I.C.C. and the Governors of California, Nevada and Utah proposing that its train service between Ogden, Utah, and San Francisco which runs parallel to the route of the Zephyr be reduced to thrice-weekly from daily as of September 1, 1969. Both the Western Pacific and the Southern Pacific posted notices in cars and stations along the route. On August 20, 1969, the Commission entered into an investigation of both proposals and continued operation for the four-month period. Hearings were held from October 6, to November 1, 1969, on a consolidated record.

No notices were ever served on the Governors of the states through which the Zephyr runs between Denver, Colorado, and Chicago, Illinois, and notices were not posted in the stations along the route. On the Southern Pacific route, no notices were posted east of Ogden, Utah, although the train was operated by the Union Pacific Railroad from Ogden, Utah, to Omaha, Nebraska, and by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company from Omaha to Chicago.

Petitions to dismiss for failure to notify the Governors of the states along the entire route and petitions by these states to intervene in the proceedings were denied by the I.C.C.

On February 11, 1970, the I.C.C. entered a report on all three proposals.

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City of Chicago v. United States, 314 F. Supp. 886, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11459, 1970 WL 202927 (N.D. Ill. 1970).

314 F. Supp. 886 (City of Chicago v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

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400 U.S. 987 (Supreme Court, 1971)