Petition for Waiver of Compliance, 42144 [05-14346]

Agencies

• Federal Railroad Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 139 (Thursday, July 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 42144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14346]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with part 211 of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration 
(FRA) received a request for a waiver of compliance with certain 
requirements of its safety standards. The individual petition is 
described below, including the party seeking relief, the regulatory 
provisions involved, the nature of the relief being requested, and the 
petitioner's arguments in favor of relief.

Utah Transit Authority

[Supplement and Extension To Waiver Docket Number FRA-1999-6253]

    As a supplement to Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) Petition for 
Approval of Shared Use and Waiver of Certain FRA Regulations (the 
original shared use waiver was granted by the FRA Railroad Safety Board 
on August 19, 1999 and a one year extension was granted by the FRA 
Railroad Safety Board on December 20, 2004), UTA seeks a permanent 
waiver of compliance from additional sections of title 49 of the CFR 
and a five year extension of this amended shared use waiver for 
continued safe operation of its TRAX System. UTA submits that this 
request is consistent with the waiver process for Shared Use. See 
Statement of Agency Policy Concerning Jurisdiction Over the Safety of 
Railroad Passenger Operations and Waivers Related to Shared Use of the 
Tracks of the General Railroad System by Light Rail and Conventional 
Equipment, 65 FR 42529 (July 10, 2000); see also Joint Statement of 
Agency Policy Concerning Shared Use of the Tracks of the General 
Railroad System by Conventional Railroads and Light Rail Transit 
Systems, 65 FR 42626 (July 10, 2000).
    UTA TRAX is a temporally separated light rail system that shares 
track with Utah Railway, a freight railroad. On December 20, 2004, the 
FRA agreed to expand the conditions and terms of the original waiver to 
include 29 Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) cars it 
recently added to its fleet. Prior to service with UTA TRAX, these VTA 
cars were already granted a waiver from the 49 CFR part 229 except for 
Sec.  229.125. UTA did not seek continuance of waiver from this 
provision because the newly acquired VTA vehicles would be augmented so 
that the lights would form the triangular pattern, identical to UTA's 
current fleet which is in compliance with FRA guidelines.
    On April 27, 2005, the FRA issued the Final Rule on Use of 
Locomotive Horns at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings, 69 FR 21844 (2005), 
with an effective date on June 24, 2005. UTA now seeks a waiver from 49 
CFR parts 222 and 229 Use of Locomotive Horns at Highway Rail Grade 
Crossings; Final Rule. Specifically, UTA now is requesting that the FRA 
waive the requirements of 49 CFR 229.129(a) with respect to UTA's 
existing fleet of light rail vehicles insofar as it requires that the 
horn be sounded at a level of at least 96dB(A) at each public highway-
rail crossing.
    Including this aforementioned amendment, UTA is requesting that the 
FRA extend its current shared use waiver for five years. UTA petitions 
that this time period will provide more certainty to UTA planners when 
setting schedules and standards for operations and maintenance, and 
overall make the TRAX system less costly to operate. UTA also proposes 
that FRA's concerns with the level of state safety oversight by Utah 
Department of Transportation (UDOT), which led to the one year 
extension rather than the five years initially sought, are being 
addressed and that UDOT's State Safety Oversight System Program is in 
compliance with the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) State Safety 
Oversight Final Rule (see 49 CFR part 659 Rail Fixed Guideway Systems; 
State Safety Oversight). UTA also states that it is aware of no 
accidents or incidents occurring on the shared track portion of the 
TRAX System that give rise to safety concerns relevant to any of the 
waived FRA regulations.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate 
scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since 
the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. If any interested party 
desires an opportunity for oral comment, they should notify FRA, in 
writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for 
their request.
    Because the final rule on Use of Locomotive Horns is now in effect, 
and because it was not FRA's intention in issuing that rule to require 
compliance by light rail vehicles operating in joint use situations 
with the horn level required for conventional rail equipment, FRA may 
issue temporary relief in this proceeding following the expiration of 
ten (10) days from the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register absent persuasive filings indicating that a contrary 
course of action should be taken.
    All communication concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-
1999-6253) and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT Docket 
Management Facility, Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 400 7th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590. Communications received within 30 days of the 
date of this notice will be considered by FRA before final action is 
taken. Comments received after that date will be considered as far as 
practicable. All written communications concerning these proceedings 
are available for examination during regular business hours (9 a.m.-5 
p.m.) at the above facility. All documents in the public docket are 
also available for inspection and copying on the Internet at the docket 
facility's Web site at https://dms.dot.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC on July 13, 2005.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 05-14346 Filed 7-20-05; 8:45 am]
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