[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 4]
[Revised as of October 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR201.18]

[Page 13]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
       CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF 
                             TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 201_FORMAL RULES OF PRACTICE FOR PASSENGER SERVICE--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 201.18  Conduct of the hearing.

    (a) The hearing shall be held at the time and place fixed in the 
notice of hearing, unless the presiding officer changes the time or 
place. If a change occurs, the presiding officer shall publish the 
change in the Federal Register and shall expeditiously notify all 
parties by telephone or by mail; provided, that if the change in time or 
place of hearing is made less than five days before the date previously 
fixed for the hearing, the presiding officer shall also announce, or 
cause to be announced, the change at the time and place previously fixed 
for the hearing.
    (b) The presiding officer shall, at the commencement of the hearing, 
introduce into the record. The notice of hearing as published in the 
Federal Register; all subsequent notices published in the Federal 
Register; the draft Environmental Impact Statement if it is required, 
and the comments thereon and agency responses to the comments; and a 
list of all parties. Direct testimony shall then be received with 
respect to the matters specified in the final agenda in such order as 
the presiding officer shall announce. With respect to direct testimony 
submitted as rebuttal testimony or in response to new issues presented 
by the prehearing conference, the presiding officer shall determine the 
relevance of such testimony.
    (c) The hearing shall be publicly conducted and reported verbatim by 
an offical reporter.
    (d) If a party objects to the admission or rejection of any direct 
testimony or to any other ruling of the presiding officer during the 
hearing, he shall state briefly the grounds of such objection, whereupon 
an automatic exception will follow if the objection is overruled by the 
presiding officer. The transcript shall not include argument or debate 
thereon except as ordered by the presiding officer. The ruling of the 
presiding officer on any objection shall be a part of the transcript and 
shall be subject to review at the same time and in the same manner as 
the Administrator's final decision. Only objections made before the 
presiding officer may subsequently be relied upon in the proceedings.
    (e) All motions and requests shall be addressed to, and ruled on by, 
the presiding officer if made prior to his certification of the 
transcript, or by the Administrator if made thereafter.