Railroad Safety Advisory Committee; Working Group Activity Update, 11401-11405 [E9-5676]
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Background
BILLING CODE 4910–22–P
The FHWA’s Buy America policy in
23 CFR 635.410 requires a domestic
manufacturing process for any steel or
iron products (including protective
coatings) that are permanently
incorporated in a Federal-aid
construction project. The regulation also
provides for a waiver of the Buy
America requirements when the
application would be inconsistent with
the public interest or when satisfactory
quality domestic steel and iron products
are not sufficiently available. This
notice provides information regarding
the FHWA’s findings that a Buy
America waiver is appropriate for a
span lock linear electric actuator in the
State of New York.
In accordance with section 130 of
Division K of the ‘‘Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2008’’ (Pub. L. 110–
161), the FHWA published on its Web
site a notice of intent to issue a Buy
America waiver for the span lock linear
electric actuator in New York https://
www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/
contracts/waivers.cfm?id=28 on
February 4. The FHWA received one
comment in response to the span lock
linear electric actuator. The comment
was ‘‘Buy America needs to be
maintained in every instance possible.’’
During the 15-day comment period, the
FHWA conducted an additional
nationwide review to locate potential
domestic manufacturers for the product.
Based on all the information available to
the agency, including the response
received to the notice as well as the
Agency’s nationwide review, the FHWA
concludes that there are no domestic
manufacturers for the span lock linear
electric actuator.
In accordance with the provisions of
section 117 of the ‘‘SAFETEA–LU
Technical Corrections Act of 2008’’
(Pub. L. 110–244, 122 Stat. 1572), the
FHWA is providing this notice as its
finding that a waiver of the Buy
America requirements is appropriate
pursuant to 23 CFR 635.410(c)(1). The
FHWA invites public comment on this
finding for an additional 15 days
following the effective date of the
finding. Comments may be submitted to
the FHWA’s Web site via the link
provided to the New York waiver page
noted above.
(Authority: 23 U.S.C. 313; Pub. L. 110–
161, 23 CFR 635.410.)
VerDate Nov<24>2008
Issued on: March 9, 2009.
Jeffrey F. Paniati,
Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal
Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. E9–5752 Filed 3–16–09; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA–2000–7257; Notice No. 51]
Railroad Safety Advisory Committee;
Notice of Meeting
AGENCY: Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Announcement of Railroad
Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC)
Meeting.
SUMMARY: FRA announces the thirtyeighth meeting of the RSAC, a Federal
Advisory Committee that develops
railroad safety regulations through a
consensus process. The RSAC meeting
topics will include opening remarks
from the FRA Acting Deputy
Administrator, and status reports will be
provided by the following Working
Groups: Positive Train Control, Hours of
Service, Passenger Safety, Locomotive
Safety Standards, Railroad Bridge
Safety, Medical Standards, Railroad
Operating Rules, and Track Safety
Standards. The Committee may be asked
to approve recommendations
concerning a final rule on revision of
recordkeeping and reporting
requirements for hours of service of
safety-critical railroad employees. The
Committee may be asked to approve a
proposed rule on Railroad Bridge Safety
and to consent to a mail ballot on
recommendations for a proposed rule on
Positive Train Control. The Committee
may also be asked to accept a Task
concerning hours of service for train,
engine and yard employees of intercity
and commuter passenger railroads. This
agenda is subject to change, including
the possible addition of further
proposed tasks under the Rail Safety
and Improvement Act of 2008.
DATES: The meeting of the RSAC is
scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. and
will adjourn by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday,
April 2, 2009.
ADDRESSES: The RSAC meeting will be
held at the Washington Marriott Hotel,
located at 1221 22nd Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20005. The meeting is
open to the public on a first-come, firstserve basis, and is accessible to
individuals with disabilities. Sign and
oral interpretation can be made
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available if requested 10 calendar days
before the meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Larry Woolverton, RSAC Administrative
Officer/Coordinator, FRA, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Mailstop 25,
Washington, DC 20590, (202) 493–6212;
or Grady Cothen, Deputy Associate
Administrator for Safety, FRA, 1200
New Jersey Avenue, SE., Mailstop 25,
Washington, DC 20590, (202) 493–6302.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant
to Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–
463), FRA is giving notice of a meeting
of the RSAC. The RSAC was established
to provide advice and recommendations
to the FRA on railroad safety matters.
The RSAC is composed of 54 voting
representatives from 31 member
organizations, representing various rail
industry perspectives. In addition, there
are non-voting advisory representatives
from the agencies with railroad safety
regulatory responsibility in Canada and
Mexico, the National Transportation
Safety Board, and the Federal Transit
Administration. The diversity of the
Committee ensures the requisite range
of views and expertise necessary to
discharge its responsibilities. See the
RSAC Web site for details on pending
tasks at: https://rsac.fra.dot.gov/. Please
refer to the notice published in the
Federal Register on March 11, 1996, 61
FR 9740) for additional information
about the RSAC.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 11,
2009.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety
Standards and Program Development.
[FR Doc. E9–5675 Filed 3–16–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA–2000–7257; Notice No. 52]
Railroad Safety Advisory Committee;
Working Group Activity Update
AGENCY: Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Announcement of Railroad
Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC)
Working Group Activities.
SUMMARY: The FRA is updating its
announcement of RSAC’s Working
Group activities to reflect its current
status.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Larry Woolverton, RSAC Coordinator,
FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
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Mailstop 25, Washington, DC 20590,
(202) 493–6212; or Grady Cothen,
Deputy Associate Administrator for
Safety, FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue,
SE., Mailstop 25, Washington, DC
20590, (202) 493–6302.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
notice serves to update FRA’s last
announcement of working group
activities and status reports of August
29, 2008 (73 FR 51041). The 37th full
RSAC Committee meeting was held
December 10, 2008, and the 38th
meeting is scheduled for April 2, 2009,
at the Washington Marriott Hotel
located at 1221 22nd Street, NW., in
Washington, DC.
Since its first meeting in April of
1996, the RSAC has accepted 30 tasks.
The status for each of the open tasks
(neither completed nor terminated) is
provided below:
Open Tasks
Task 96–4—Tourist and Historic
Railroads. Reviewing the
appropriateness of the agency’s current
policy regarding the applicability of
existing and proposed regulations to
tourist, excursion, scenic, and historic
railroads. This Task was accepted on
April 2, 1996, and a Working Group was
established. The Working Group
monitored the steam locomotive
regulation task. Planned future activities
involve the review of other regulations
for possible adaptation to the safety
needs of tourist and historic railroads.
Contact: Grady Cothen, (202) 493–6302.
Task 03–01—Passenger Safety. This
task includes updating and enhancing
the regulations pertaining to passenger
safety, based on research and
experience. This Task was accepted on
May 20, 2003, and a Working Group was
established. Prior to embarking on
substantive discussions of a specific
task, the Working Group set forth in
writing a specific description of the
task. The Working Group reports
planned activities to the full Committee
at each scheduled full RSAC meeting,
including milestones for completion of
projects and progress toward
completion. At the first meeting, held
September 9–10, 2003, a consolidated
list of issues was completed. At the
second meeting, held November 6–7,
2003, four task groups were established:
Emergency Preparedness; Mechanical;
Crashworthiness; and Track/Vehicle
Interaction. The task forces met and
reported on activities for Working
Group consideration at the third
meeting, held May 11–12, 2004, and a
fourth meeting was held October 26–27,
2004. The Working Group met on March
21–22, 2006, and again on September
12–13, 2006, at which time the group
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agreed to establish a task force on
General Passenger Safety. The full
Passenger Safety Working Group met on
April 17–18, 2007, December 11–12,
2007, and November 13, 2008. The next
meeting is to be scheduled in June 2009.
Contact: Charles Bielitz, (202) 493–6314.
(Emergency Preparedness Task Force)
At the Working Group meeting of March
9–10, 2005, the Working Group received
and approved the consensus report of
the Emergency Preparedness Task Force
related to emergency communication,
emergency egress and rescue access.
These recommendations were presented
to and approved by the full RSAC
Committee on May 18, 2005. The
Working Group met on September 7–8,
2005, and additional, supplementary
recommendations were presented to and
accepted by the full RSAC on October
11, 2005. The Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) was published on
August 24, 2006, (71 FR 50275) and was
open for comment until October 23,
2006. The Working Group agreed upon
recommendations for the final rule,
including resolution of final comments
received, during the April 17–18, 2007,
meeting. The recommendations were
presented to and approved by the full
RSAC on June 26, 2007. The Passenger
Train Emergency Systems final rule,
focusing on emergency communication,
emergency egress, and rescue access,
was published on February 1, 2008 (73
FR 6370). The Task Force met on
October 17–18, 2007, and reached
consensus on draft rule text for a
followup NPRM on Passenger Train
Emergency Systems, focusing on lowlocation emergency exit path marking,
emergency lighting, and emergence
signage. The Task Force presented the
draft rule text to the Passenger Safety
Working Group on December 11–12,
2007, and the consensus draft rule text
was presented to and approved by full
RSAC vote during the February 20,
2008, meeting. At its most recent
meeting, held May 13–14, 2008, the
Task Force recommended clarifying the
applicability of backup emergency
communication system requirements in
the February 1, 2008, final rule, and
FRA announced its intention to exercise
limited enforcement discretion for a
new provision amending instruction
requirements for emergency window
exit removal. The Working Group
ratified these recommendations on June
19, 2008. No additional Task Force
meetings are currently scheduled.
Contact: Brenda Moscoso, (202) 493–
6282.
(Mechanical Task Force) (Completed)
Initial recommendations on mechanical
issues (revisions to Title 49 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 238)
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were approved by the full Committee on
January 26, 2005. At the Working Group
meeting of September 7–8, 2005, the
Task Force presented additional
perfecting amendments and the full
RSAC approved them on October 11,
2005. An NPRM was published in the
Federal Register on December 8, 2005,
(70 FR 73070). Public comments were
due by February 17, 2006. The final rule
was published in the Federal Register
on October 19, 2006, (71 FR 61835)
effective December 18, 2006.
(Crashworthiness Task Force) Among
its efforts, the Crashworthiness Task
Force provided consensus
recommendations on static end strength
that were adopted by the Working
Group on September 7–8, 2005. The full
Committee accepted the
recommendations on October 11, 2005.
The Front-End Strength of Cab Cars and
Multiple-Unit Locomotives NPRM was
published in the Federal Register on
August 1, 2007, (72 FR 42016) with
comments due by October 1, 2007. A
number of comments were entered into
the docket, and a Crashworthiness Task
Force meeting was held September 9,
2008, to resolve comments on the
NPRM. Based on the consensus
language agreed to at the meeting, FRA
has prepared the text of the final rule
incorporating the resolutions made at
the Task Force meeting and the final
rule language was adopted at the
Passenger Safety Working Group
meeting, held on November 13, 2008.
The language was presented and
approved at the December 10, 2008, full
RSAC meeting and the rule will go
forward with a target publication date of
April 2009. Contact: Gary Fairbanks,
(202) 493–6322.
(Vehicle/Track Interaction Task
Force) The Task Force is developing
proposed revisions to 49 CFR parts 213
and 238 principally regarding highspeed passenger service. The Task Force
met on October 9–11, 2007, and again
on November 19–20, 2007, in
Washington, DC and presented the final
Task Force Report and final
recommendations and proposed rule
text for approval by the Passenger Safety
Working Group at the December 11–12,
2007, meeting. The final report and the
proposed rule text were approved by the
Working Group and was presented to
and approved by full RSAC vote during
the February 20, 2008, meeting. The
group last met on February 27–28, 2008,
and FRA is currently crafting an NPRM
with a target publication date of
September 2009. No additional Task
Force meetings are currently scheduled.
Contact: John Mardente, (202) 493–
1335.
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(General Passenger Safety Task Force)
At the Passenger Safety Working Group
meeting on April 17–18, 2007, the Task
Force presented a progress report to the
Working Group. The Task Force met on
July 18–19, 2007, and afterwards, it
reported proposed reporting cause codes
for injuries involving the platform gap,
which were approved by the Working
Group by mail ballot in September 2007.
The full RSAC approved the
recommendations for changes to 49 CFR
part 225 accident/incident cause codes
on October 25, 2007. The Task Force
continues work on passenger train door
securement, ‘‘second train in station,’’
trespasser incidents, and System-Safety
based solutions by developing a
regulatory approach to System Safety.
The General Passenger Safety Task
Force presented draft guidance material
for management of the gap that was
considered and approved by the
Working Group during the December
11–12, 2007, meeting and was presented
to and approved by full RSAC vote
during the February 20, 2008, meeting.
The group met April 23–24, 2008, and
December 3–4, 2008. The next meeting
is scheduled for April 21–23, 2009.
Contact: Dan Knote, (631) 567–1596.
Task 05–01—Review of Roadway
Worker Protection (RWP) Issues. This
Task was accepted on January 26, 2005,
to review 49 CFR part 214, subpart C,
Roadway Worker Protection, and related
sections of Subpart A; recommend
consideration of specific actions to
advance the on-track safety of railroad
employees and contractors engaged in
maintenance-of-way activities
throughout the general system of
railroad transportation, including
clarification of existing requirements. A
Working Group was established and
reported to the RSAC any specific
actions identified as appropriate. The
first meeting of the Working Group was
held on April 12–14, 2005. The group
drafted and accepted regulatory
language for various revisions,
clarifications, and additions to 32
separate items in 19 sections of the rule.
However, two parties raised technical
concerns regarding the draft language
concerning electronic display of track
authorities. The Working Group
reported recommendations to the full
Committee at the June 26, 2007,
meeting. The FRA, through the NPRM
process, is to address this issue along
with eight additional items on which
the Working Group was unable to reach
a consensus. Comments were received
and were considered during the drafting
of the NPRM. In early 2008, the external
working group members were solicited
to review the consensus text for errata
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review. In order to address the
heightened concerns raised with the
current regulations for adjacent-track
on-track safety, an NPRM was published
on July 17, 2008, that focused on this
element of the RWP rule alone. As this
was an NPRM, FRA sought comment on
the entire proposal, including those
portions that FRA sought to clarify.
However, on August 13, 2008, the
NPRM was withdrawn to permit further
consideration of the RSAC-reported
consensus language. FRA has decided to
separately issue a second proposed rule
on adjacent track protection, which will
be handled on an accelerated basis. The
second NPRM concerning adjacent
controlled track safety is under final
review and is expected to be published
by mid-year 2009. The remaining larger
NPRM for the various revisions,
clarifications, and additions to 31
separate items in 19 sections of the rule
and FRA’s recommendations for the
eight non-consensus items is planned
for late 2009. Contact: Christopher
Schulte, (610) 521–8201.
Task 05–02—Reduce Human FactorCaused Train Accident/Incidents. This
Task was accepted on May 18, 2005, to
reduce the number of human factorcaused train accidents/incidents and
related employee injuries. The Railroad
Operating Rules Working Group was
formed and the Group extensively
reviewed the issues presented. The final
Working Group meeting devoted to
developing a proposed rule was held
February 8–9, 2006. The Working Group
was not able to deliver a consensus
regulatory proposal, but did recommend
that it be used to review comments on
FRA’s NPRM, which was published in
the Federal Register on October 12,
2006, (FR 71 60372) with public
comments due by December 11, 2006.
Two reviews were held, one on
February 8–9, 2007, the other on April
4–5, 2007. Consensus was reached on
four items and those items were
presented and accepted by the full
RSAC Committee at the June 26, 2007,
meeting. A final rule was published in
the Federal Register on February 13,
2008 (73 FR 8442) with an effective date
of April 14, 2008. FRA received four
petitions for reconsideration of that final
rule. The final rule that responded to
the petitions for consideration was
published in the Federal Register on
June 16, 2008, and concluded the
rulemaking. Working group meetings
were held September 27–28, 2007,
January 17–18, 2008, May 21–22, 2008,
and September 25–26, 2008. The
Working Group has considered issues
related to issuance of Emergency Order
No. 26 (prohibition on use of certain
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electronic devices while on duty) and
‘‘after arrival mandatory directives,’’
among other issues. The working group
continues to work on After Arrival
Orders and at the September 25, 2008,
meeting voted to create a Highway-Rail
Grade Crossing Task Force to review
highway-rail grade crossing accident
reports regarding incidents of crossing
warning systems providing ‘‘short or no
warning’’ resulting from or contributed
to ‘‘by train operational issues’’ with the
intent to recommend new accident/
incident reporting codes that would
better explain such events, and which
may provide information for remedial
action going forward. A follow-on task
is to review and provide
recommendations regarding
supplementary reporting of train
operations-related, no-warning or shortwarning incidents that are not
technically warning system activation
failures but which result in an accident/
incident or a near miss. The Task Force
has been formed and is scheduled to
meet in the May/June 2009 timeframe.
Contact: Douglas Taylor, (202) 493–
6255.
Task 06–01—Locomotive Safety
Standards. This task was accepted on
February 22, 2006, to review 49 CFR
Part 229, Railroad Locomotive Safety
Standards, and revise as appropriate. A
Working Group was established with
the mandate to report any planned
activity to the full Committee at each
scheduled full RSAC meeting, to
include milestones for completion of
projects and progress toward
completion. The first Working Group
meeting was held May 8–10, 2006.
Working Group meetings were held on
August 8–9, 2006, September 25–26,
2006, and October 30–31, 2006, and the
Working Group presented
recommendations regarding revisions to
requirements for locomotive sanders to
the full RSAC on September 21, 2006.
The NPRM regarding sanders was
published in the Federal Register on
March 6, 2007 (72 FR 9904). Comments
received were discussed by the Working
Group for clarification, and FRA
published a final rule on October 19,
2007 (72 FR 59216). The Working Group
is continuing the review of Part 229
with work in the areas of locomotive cab
temperature standards, alerters, remote
control locomotives, and critical
locomotive electronics with a view to
proposing further revisions to update
the standards. The Working Group met
on January 9–10, 2007, November 27–
28, 2007, February 5–6, 2008, May 20–
21, 2008, August 5–6, 2008, October 22–
23, 2008, and January 6–7, 2009. The
next meeting is scheduled for April 15–
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16, 2009. Contact: George Scerbo, (202)
493–6249.
Task 06–02—Track Safety Standards
and Continuous Welded Rail (CWR).
Section 9005 of the Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity
Act: A Legacy for Users (Pub. L. 109–
59), the 2005 Surface Transportation
Authorization Act, requires FRA to
issue requirements for inspection of
joint bars in CWR to detect cracks that
could affect the integrity of the track
structure (49 U.S.C. 20142(e)). FRA
published an interim final rule (IFR)
establishing new requirements for
inspections on November 2, 2005 (70 FR
66288). On October 11, 2005, FRA
offered the RSAC a task to review
comments on this IFR, but the
conditions could not be established
under which the Committee could have
undertaken this with a view toward
consensus. Comments on the IFR were
received through December 19, 2005.
FRA reviewed the comments, and on
February 22, 2006, the RSAC accepted
this task to review and revise the CWR
related to provisions of the Track Safety
Standards, with particular emphasis on
reduction of derailments and
consequent injuries and damage caused
by defective conditions, including joint
failures, in track using CWR. A Working
Group was established, and the first
Working Group meeting was held April
3–4, 2006, at which time the Working
Group reviewed comments on the IFR.
The second Working Group meeting was
held April 26–28, 2006. The Working
Group also met May 24–25, 2006, and
July 19–20, 2006. The Working Group
reported consensus recommendations
for the final rule that were accepted by
the full RSAC Committee by mail ballot
on August 11, 2006. The final rule was
published in the Federal Register on
October 11, 2006 (71 FR 59677). The
Working Group continued review of
Section 213.119 with a view to
proposing further revisions to update
the standards. The Working Group met
January 30–31, 2007, April 10–11, 2007,
June 27–28, 2007, August 15–16, 2007,
October 23–24, 2007, and January, 8–9,
2008. The Working Group reported
consensus recommendations for
revisions to Section 213.119 regulations
to the full RSAC Committee on February
20, 2008, and the recommendations
were accepted. FRA published an
NPRM on December 1, 2008, and is
preparing a final rule with a target
publication date of April 2009. See task
07–01 and 08–03, below. Contact: Ken
Rusk, (202) 493–6236.
Task 06–03—Medical Standards for
Safety-Critical Personnel. This task was
accepted on September 21, 2006, to
enhance the safety of persons in the
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railroad operating environment and the
public by establishing standards and
procedures for determining the medical
fitness for duty of personnel engaged in
safety-critical functions. A Working
Group has been established and will
report any planned activity to the full
Committee at each scheduled full RSAC
meeting, including milestones for
completion of projects and progress
toward completion. The first Working
Group meeting was held December 12–
13, 2006. The Working Group has held
follow-on meetings on the following
dates: February 20–21, 2007, July 24–25,
2007, August 29–30, 2007, October 31–
November 1, 2007, December 4–5, 2007,
February 13–14, 2008, March 26–27,
2008, and April 22–23, 2008. At the
latest meeting, FRA announced that the
agency would prepare an NPRM draft
based on the discussions to date and
schedule a further meeting for review of
the document. The draft NPRM is
currently in FRA coordination and the
language is being revised based on
comments. The draft NPRM will be
presented to the RSAC Medical
Standards Working Group when
completed. A Doctors Task Force,
established by the Working Group in
May 2007, is proceeding to develop
accompanying medical guidelines
which will be used to provide
consistent criteria for determining the
medical fitness for duty of the safetycritical positions. These guidelines will
be presented for Working Group
consideration when complete. When
accepted by the Medical Standards
Working Group, the two parts of the
rulemaking will be presented to the full
RSAC for approval. The target date for
publishing the NPRM is May, 2009. The
Task Force of Physicians has had
meetings or conference calls on July 24,
2007, August 20, 2007, October 15,
2007, October 31, 2007, June 23–24,
2008, September 8–10, 2008, October 8,
2008, November 12–13, 2008, December
8–10, 2008, January 27–28, 2009, and
February 24–25, 2009. The next meeting
of the Task Force is scheduled for
March 11–12, 2009. Contact: Dr.
Bernard Arseneau, (202) 493–6002.
Task 07–01—Track Safety Standards.
This task was accepted on February 22,
2007, to consider specific improvements
to the Track Safety Standards or other
responsive actions, supplementing work
already underway on continuous
welded rail (CWR) specifically to:
review controls applied to reuse of rail
in CWR ‘‘plug rail’’; review the issue of
cracks emanating from bond wire
attachments; consider improvements in
the Track Safety Standards related to
fastening of rail to concrete ties; and
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ensure a common understanding within
the regulated community concerning
requirements for internal rail flaw
inspections. The tasks were assigned to
the Track Safety Standards Working
Group. The Working Group will report
any planned activity to the full
Committee at each scheduled full RSAC
meeting, including milestones for
completion of projects and progress
toward completion. The first Working
Group meeting was held on June 27–28,
2007, and the group met again on
August 15–16, 2007, and October 23–24,
2007. Two Task Forces were created
under the Working Group: The Concrete
Ties and Rail Integrity Task Forces. The
Concrete Ties Task force met on
November 26–27, 2007, February 13–14,
2008, April 16–17, 2008, July 9–10,
2008, and September 17–18, 2008. The
Concrete Ties Task Force finalized
consensus language regarding concrete
crossties (49 CFR Part 213) and
presented a recommendation to the
Track Standards Working Group at the
November 20, 2008, Working Group
meeting. The language was approved by
both the Working Group and the
December 10, 2008, RSAC meeting and
the Task Force was dissolved. FRA is
preparing an NPRM with a target
publication date of April, 2009. Contact:
Ken Rusk, (202) 493–6236.
Task 08–03—Track Safety Standards
Rail Integrity. This task was accepted on
September 10, 2008, to consider specific
improvements to the Track Safety
Standards or other responsive actions
designed to enhance rail integrity. The
Rail Integrity Task Force was created in
October 2007 under Task 07–01 and
first met on November 28–29, 2007. The
Task Force met on February 12–13,
2008, April 15–16, 2008, July 8–9, 2008,
September 16–17, 2008, and February
3–4, 2009. Consensus has been achieved
on bond wires and a common
understanding on internal rail flaw
inspections has been reached; however,
more work remains before a
recommendation for possible regulatory
action is made. The next Rail Integrity
Task Force meeting is scheduled for
June 16–17, 2009. Contact: Ken Rusk,
(202) 493–6236.
Task No. 08–04—Positive Train
Control (PTC). This task was accepted
on December 10, 2008, to provide
advice regarding development of
implementing regulations for PTC
systems and their deployment under the
Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008
(RSIA, Pub. L. 110–432). The task
included a requirement to convene an
initial meeting not later than January
2009 and to report recommendations
back to the RSAC no later than April 24,
2009. The PTC Working Group was
E:\FR\FM\17MRN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 50 / Tuesday, March 17, 2009 / Notices
created in December 2008 by Working
Group member nominations from
Committee member organizations under
Task 08–04, and the kickoff meeting was
held on January 26–27, 2009. The group
met again on February 11–13, 2009, and
February 25–27, 2009. The next meeting
is scheduled for March 17–19, 2009.
Contact: Grady Cothen, (202) 493–6302.
Task No. 08–05—Railroad Bridge
Safety Assurance. This task was
accepted on December 10, 2008, to
develop a draft rule encompassing the
requirements of Section 417, of the
RSIA (Division A), Railroad Bridge
Safety Assurance. This Section directs
the Secretary of Transportation to
promulgate regulations, not later than
12 months after the October 16, 2008,
date of enactment, requiring owners of
track carried on one or more railroad
bridges to adopt a bridge safety
management program to reduce the risk
of human casualties, environmental
damage, and disruption to the Nation’s
railroad transportation system that
would result from a catastrophic bridge
failure. The Railroad Bridge Working
Group created under Task 08–01 was
directed to reconvene and the kickoff
meeting was held January 28–29, 2009.
The working group also met on
February 23–24, 2009, where they
reached agreement on consensus
language covering all but two issues that
remain to be resolved pending
comments on the NPRM. The group will
present the draft language to the full
committee at the April 2, 2009, meeting.
Contact: Gordon Davids, (202) 230–
6320.
Task No. 08–06—Hours of Service
Recordkeeping and Reporting. This task
was accepted on December 10, 2008, to
develop revised recordkeeping and
reporting requirements for hours of
service of railroad employees. The
Hours of Service Working Group was
formed in January 2009 by member
nominations from committee member
organizations and the first meeting was
held on January 22–23, 2009. The
working group met again on February 4–
6, 2009, and February 18–20, 2009, and
is scheduled to meet for the final time
on March 23–25, 2009. Contact: Mark
McKeon, (202) 493–6350.
Task No. 08–07—Conductor
Certification. This task was accepted on
December 10, 2008, to develop
regulations for certification of railroad
conductors, as required by the RSIA,
and to consider any appropriate related
amendments to existing regulations and
report recommendations for the
proposed or interim final rule (as
determined by FRA in consultation with
the Office of the Secretary of
Transportation and the Office of
VerDate Nov<24>2008
13:44 Mar 16, 2009
Jkt 217001
Management and Budget) by October 16,
2009. The Conductor Certification
Working Group will be officially formed
at a later date by nominations from
member organizations and work will
begin as time and schedules will permit
in 2009 after other Congressional RSAC
priorities are met.
Completed Tasks
Task 96–1—(Completed) Revising the
Freight Power Brake Regulations.
Task 96–2—(Completed) Reviewing
and recommending revisions to the
Track Safety Standards (49 CFR Part
213).
Task 96–3—(Completed) Reviewing
and recommending revisions to the
Radio Standards and Procedures (49
CFR Part 220).
Task 96–5—(Completed) Reviewing
and recommending revisions to Steam
Locomotive Inspection Standards (49
CFR Part 230).
Task 96–6—(Completed) Reviewing
and recommending revisions to
miscellaneous aspects of the regulations
addressing Locomotive Engineer
Certification (49 CFR Part 240).
Task 96–7—(Completed) Developing
Roadway Maintenance Machines (OnTrack Equipment) Safety Standards.
Task 96–8—(Completed) This
Planning Task evaluated the need for
action responsive to recommendations
contained in a report to Congress
entitled, Locomotive Crashworthiness &
Working Conditions.
Task 97–1—(Completed) Developing
crashworthiness specifications (49 CFR
Part 229) to promote the integrity of the
locomotive cab in accidents resulting
from collisions.
Task 97–2—(Completed) Evaluating
the extent to which environmental,
sanitary, and other working conditions
in locomotive cabs affect the crew’s
health and the safe operation of
locomotives, proposing standards where
appropriate.
Task 97–3—(Completed) Developing
event recorder data survivability
standards.
Task 97–4 and Task 97–5—
(Completed) Defining Positive Train
Control (PTC) functionalities, describing
available technologies, evaluating costs
and benefits of potential systems, and
considering implementation
opportunities and challenges, including
demonstration and deployment.
Task 97–6—(Completed) Revising
various regulations to address the safety
implications of processor-based signal
and train control technologies,
including communications-based
operating systems.
PO 00000
Frm 00061
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
11405
Task 97–7—(Completed) Determining
damages qualifying an event as a
reportable train accident.
Task 00–1—(Task withdrawn)
Determining the need to amend
regulations protecting persons who
work on, under, or between rolling
equipment and persons applying,
removing or inspecting rear end
marking devices (Blue Signal
Protection).
Task 01–1—(Completed) Developing
conformity of FRA’s regulations for
accident/incident reporting (49 CFR Part
225) to revised regulations of the
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), U.S.
Department of Labor, and to make
appropriate revisions to the FRA Guide
for Preparing Accident/Incident Reports
(Reporting Guide).
Task 08–01—(Completed) Report on
the Nation’s Railroad Bridges.
Please refer to the notice published in
the Federal Register on March 11, 1996,
(61 FR 9740) for more information about
the RSAC.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 11,
2009.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety
Standards and Program Development.
[FR Doc. E9–5676 Filed 3–16–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
United States Mint
Notification of Pricing for the United
States Mint 2009 American Presidency
$1 Coin Cover Series, and the United
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and U.S. Territories Quarters Official
First Day Coin Cover Series
ACTION: Notification of Pricing for the
United States Mint 2009 American
Presidency $1 Coin Cover Series, and
the United States Mint 2009 District of
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SUMMARY: The United States Mint is
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the public.
E:\FR\FM\17MRN1.SGM
17MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 17, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11401-11405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5676]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA-2000-7257; Notice No. 52]
Railroad Safety Advisory Committee; Working Group Activity Update
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Announcement of Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC)
Working Group Activities.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The FRA is updating its announcement of RSAC's Working Group
activities to reflect its current status.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Woolverton, RSAC Coordinator,
FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
[[Page 11402]]
Mailstop 25, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 493-6212; or Grady Cothen,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety, FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue,
SE., Mailstop 25, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 493-6302.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice serves to update FRA's last
announcement of working group activities and status reports of August
29, 2008 (73 FR 51041). The 37th full RSAC Committee meeting was held
December 10, 2008, and the 38th meeting is scheduled for April 2, 2009,
at the Washington Marriott Hotel located at 1221 22nd Street, NW., in
Washington, DC.
Since its first meeting in April of 1996, the RSAC has accepted 30
tasks. The status for each of the open tasks (neither completed nor
terminated) is provided below:
Open Tasks
Task 96-4--Tourist and Historic Railroads. Reviewing the
appropriateness of the agency's current policy regarding the
applicability of existing and proposed regulations to tourist,
excursion, scenic, and historic railroads. This Task was accepted on
April 2, 1996, and a Working Group was established. The Working Group
monitored the steam locomotive regulation task. Planned future
activities involve the review of other regulations for possible
adaptation to the safety needs of tourist and historic railroads.
Contact: Grady Cothen, (202) 493-6302.
Task 03-01--Passenger Safety. This task includes updating and
enhancing the regulations pertaining to passenger safety, based on
research and experience. This Task was accepted on May 20, 2003, and a
Working Group was established. Prior to embarking on substantive
discussions of a specific task, the Working Group set forth in writing
a specific description of the task. The Working Group reports planned
activities to the full Committee at each scheduled full RSAC meeting,
including milestones for completion of projects and progress toward
completion. At the first meeting, held September 9-10, 2003, a
consolidated list of issues was completed. At the second meeting, held
November 6-7, 2003, four task groups were established: Emergency
Preparedness; Mechanical; Crashworthiness; and Track/Vehicle
Interaction. The task forces met and reported on activities for Working
Group consideration at the third meeting, held May 11-12, 2004, and a
fourth meeting was held October 26-27, 2004. The Working Group met on
March 21-22, 2006, and again on September 12-13, 2006, at which time
the group agreed to establish a task force on General Passenger Safety.
The full Passenger Safety Working Group met on April 17-18, 2007,
December 11-12, 2007, and November 13, 2008. The next meeting is to be
scheduled in June 2009. Contact: Charles Bielitz, (202) 493-6314.
(Emergency Preparedness Task Force) At the Working Group meeting of
March 9-10, 2005, the Working Group received and approved the consensus
report of the Emergency Preparedness Task Force related to emergency
communication, emergency egress and rescue access. These
recommendations were presented to and approved by the full RSAC
Committee on May 18, 2005. The Working Group met on September 7-8,
2005, and additional, supplementary recommendations were presented to
and accepted by the full RSAC on October 11, 2005. The Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) was published on August 24, 2006, (71 FR
50275) and was open for comment until October 23, 2006. The Working
Group agreed upon recommendations for the final rule, including
resolution of final comments received, during the April 17-18, 2007,
meeting. The recommendations were presented to and approved by the full
RSAC on June 26, 2007. The Passenger Train Emergency Systems final
rule, focusing on emergency communication, emergency egress, and rescue
access, was published on February 1, 2008 (73 FR 6370). The Task Force
met on October 17-18, 2007, and reached consensus on draft rule text
for a followup NPRM on Passenger Train Emergency Systems, focusing on
low-location emergency exit path marking, emergency lighting, and
emergence signage. The Task Force presented the draft rule text to the
Passenger Safety Working Group on December 11-12, 2007, and the
consensus draft rule text was presented to and approved by full RSAC
vote during the February 20, 2008, meeting. At its most recent meeting,
held May 13-14, 2008, the Task Force recommended clarifying the
applicability of backup emergency communication system requirements in
the February 1, 2008, final rule, and FRA announced its intention to
exercise limited enforcement discretion for a new provision amending
instruction requirements for emergency window exit removal. The Working
Group ratified these recommendations on June 19, 2008. No additional
Task Force meetings are currently scheduled. Contact: Brenda Moscoso,
(202) 493-6282.
(Mechanical Task Force) (Completed) Initial recommendations on
mechanical issues (revisions to Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) Part 238) were approved by the full Committee on January 26,
2005. At the Working Group meeting of September 7-8, 2005, the Task
Force presented additional perfecting amendments and the full RSAC
approved them on October 11, 2005. An NPRM was published in the Federal
Register on December 8, 2005, (70 FR 73070). Public comments were due
by February 17, 2006. The final rule was published in the Federal
Register on October 19, 2006, (71 FR 61835) effective December 18,
2006.
(Crashworthiness Task Force) Among its efforts, the Crashworthiness
Task Force provided consensus recommendations on static end strength
that were adopted by the Working Group on September 7-8, 2005. The full
Committee accepted the recommendations on October 11, 2005. The Front-
End Strength of Cab Cars and Multiple-Unit Locomotives NPRM was
published in the Federal Register on August 1, 2007, (72 FR 42016) with
comments due by October 1, 2007. A number of comments were entered into
the docket, and a Crashworthiness Task Force meeting was held September
9, 2008, to resolve comments on the NPRM. Based on the consensus
language agreed to at the meeting, FRA has prepared the text of the
final rule incorporating the resolutions made at the Task Force meeting
and the final rule language was adopted at the Passenger Safety Working
Group meeting, held on November 13, 2008. The language was presented
and approved at the December 10, 2008, full RSAC meeting and the rule
will go forward with a target publication date of April 2009. Contact:
Gary Fairbanks, (202) 493-6322.
(Vehicle/Track Interaction Task Force) The Task Force is developing
proposed revisions to 49 CFR parts 213 and 238 principally regarding
high-speed passenger service. The Task Force met on October 9-11, 2007,
and again on November 19-20, 2007, in Washington, DC and presented the
final Task Force Report and final recommendations and proposed rule
text for approval by the Passenger Safety Working Group at the December
11-12, 2007, meeting. The final report and the proposed rule text were
approved by the Working Group and was presented to and approved by full
RSAC vote during the February 20, 2008, meeting. The group last met on
February 27-28, 2008, and FRA is currently crafting an NPRM with a
target publication date of September 2009. No additional Task Force
meetings are currently scheduled. Contact: John Mardente, (202) 493-
1335.
[[Page 11403]]
(General Passenger Safety Task Force) At the Passenger Safety
Working Group meeting on April 17-18, 2007, the Task Force presented a
progress report to the Working Group. The Task Force met on July 18-19,
2007, and afterwards, it reported proposed reporting cause codes for
injuries involving the platform gap, which were approved by the Working
Group by mail ballot in September 2007. The full RSAC approved the
recommendations for changes to 49 CFR part 225 accident/incident cause
codes on October 25, 2007. The Task Force continues work on passenger
train door securement, ``second train in station,'' trespasser
incidents, and System-Safety based solutions by developing a regulatory
approach to System Safety. The General Passenger Safety Task Force
presented draft guidance material for management of the gap that was
considered and approved by the Working Group during the December 11-12,
2007, meeting and was presented to and approved by full RSAC vote
during the February 20, 2008, meeting. The group met April 23-24, 2008,
and December 3-4, 2008. The next meeting is scheduled for April 21-23,
2009. Contact: Dan Knote, (631) 567-1596.
Task 05-01--Review of Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) Issues. This
Task was accepted on January 26, 2005, to review 49 CFR part 214,
subpart C, Roadway Worker Protection, and related sections of Subpart
A; recommend consideration of specific actions to advance the on-track
safety of railroad employees and contractors engaged in maintenance-of-
way activities throughout the general system of railroad
transportation, including clarification of existing requirements. A
Working Group was established and reported to the RSAC any specific
actions identified as appropriate. The first meeting of the Working
Group was held on April 12-14, 2005. The group drafted and accepted
regulatory language for various revisions, clarifications, and
additions to 32 separate items in 19 sections of the rule. However, two
parties raised technical concerns regarding the draft language
concerning electronic display of track authorities. The Working Group
reported recommendations to the full Committee at the June 26, 2007,
meeting. The FRA, through the NPRM process, is to address this issue
along with eight additional items on which the Working Group was unable
to reach a consensus. Comments were received and were considered during
the drafting of the NPRM. In early 2008, the external working group
members were solicited to review the consensus text for errata review.
In order to address the heightened concerns raised with the current
regulations for adjacent-track on-track safety, an NPRM was published
on July 17, 2008, that focused on this element of the RWP rule alone.
As this was an NPRM, FRA sought comment on the entire proposal,
including those portions that FRA sought to clarify. However, on August
13, 2008, the NPRM was withdrawn to permit further consideration of the
RSAC-reported consensus language. FRA has decided to separately issue a
second proposed rule on adjacent track protection, which will be
handled on an accelerated basis. The second NPRM concerning adjacent
controlled track safety is under final review and is expected to be
published by mid-year 2009. The remaining larger NPRM for the various
revisions, clarifications, and additions to 31 separate items in 19
sections of the rule and FRA's recommendations for the eight non-
consensus items is planned for late 2009. Contact: Christopher Schulte,
(610) 521-8201.
Task 05-02--Reduce Human Factor-Caused Train Accident/Incidents.
This Task was accepted on May 18, 2005, to reduce the number of human
factor-caused train accidents/incidents and related employee injuries.
The Railroad Operating Rules Working Group was formed and the Group
extensively reviewed the issues presented. The final Working Group
meeting devoted to developing a proposed rule was held February 8-9,
2006. The Working Group was not able to deliver a consensus regulatory
proposal, but did recommend that it be used to review comments on FRA's
NPRM, which was published in the Federal Register on October 12, 2006,
(FR 71 60372) with public comments due by December 11, 2006. Two
reviews were held, one on February 8-9, 2007, the other on April 4-5,
2007. Consensus was reached on four items and those items were
presented and accepted by the full RSAC Committee at the June 26, 2007,
meeting. A final rule was published in the Federal Register on February
13, 2008 (73 FR 8442) with an effective date of April 14, 2008. FRA
received four petitions for reconsideration of that final rule. The
final rule that responded to the petitions for consideration was
published in the Federal Register on June 16, 2008, and concluded the
rulemaking. Working group meetings were held September 27-28, 2007,
January 17-18, 2008, May 21-22, 2008, and September 25-26, 2008. The
Working Group has considered issues related to issuance of Emergency
Order No. 26 (prohibition on use of certain electronic devices while on
duty) and ``after arrival mandatory directives,'' among other issues.
The working group continues to work on After Arrival Orders and at the
September 25, 2008, meeting voted to create a Highway-Rail Grade
Crossing Task Force to review highway-rail grade crossing accident
reports regarding incidents of crossing warning systems providing
``short or no warning'' resulting from or contributed to ``by train
operational issues'' with the intent to recommend new accident/incident
reporting codes that would better explain such events, and which may
provide information for remedial action going forward. A follow-on task
is to review and provide recommendations regarding supplementary
reporting of train operations-related, no-warning or short-warning
incidents that are not technically warning system activation failures
but which result in an accident/incident or a near miss. The Task Force
has been formed and is scheduled to meet in the May/June 2009
timeframe. Contact: Douglas Taylor, (202) 493-6255.
Task 06-01--Locomotive Safety Standards. This task was accepted on
February 22, 2006, to review 49 CFR Part 229, Railroad Locomotive
Safety Standards, and revise as appropriate. A Working Group was
established with the mandate to report any planned activity to the full
Committee at each scheduled full RSAC meeting, to include milestones
for completion of projects and progress toward completion. The first
Working Group meeting was held May 8-10, 2006. Working Group meetings
were held on August 8-9, 2006, September 25-26, 2006, and October 30-
31, 2006, and the Working Group presented recommendations regarding
revisions to requirements for locomotive sanders to the full RSAC on
September 21, 2006. The NPRM regarding sanders was published in the
Federal Register on March 6, 2007 (72 FR 9904). Comments received were
discussed by the Working Group for clarification, and FRA published a
final rule on October 19, 2007 (72 FR 59216). The Working Group is
continuing the review of Part 229 with work in the areas of locomotive
cab temperature standards, alerters, remote control locomotives, and
critical locomotive electronics with a view to proposing further
revisions to update the standards. The Working Group met on January 9-
10, 2007, November 27-28, 2007, February 5-6, 2008, May 20-21, 2008,
August 5-6, 2008, October 22-23, 2008, and January 6-7, 2009. The next
meeting is scheduled for April 15-
[[Page 11404]]
16, 2009. Contact: George Scerbo, (202) 493-6249.
Task 06-02--Track Safety Standards and Continuous Welded Rail
(CWR). Section 9005 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (Pub. L. 109-59), the
2005 Surface Transportation Authorization Act, requires FRA to issue
requirements for inspection of joint bars in CWR to detect cracks that
could affect the integrity of the track structure (49 U.S.C. 20142(e)).
FRA published an interim final rule (IFR) establishing new requirements
for inspections on November 2, 2005 (70 FR 66288). On October 11, 2005,
FRA offered the RSAC a task to review comments on this IFR, but the
conditions could not be established under which the Committee could
have undertaken this with a view toward consensus. Comments on the IFR
were received through December 19, 2005. FRA reviewed the comments, and
on February 22, 2006, the RSAC accepted this task to review and revise
the CWR related to provisions of the Track Safety Standards, with
particular emphasis on reduction of derailments and consequent injuries
and damage caused by defective conditions, including joint failures, in
track using CWR. A Working Group was established, and the first Working
Group meeting was held April 3-4, 2006, at which time the Working Group
reviewed comments on the IFR. The second Working Group meeting was held
April 26-28, 2006. The Working Group also met May 24-25, 2006, and July
19-20, 2006. The Working Group reported consensus recommendations for
the final rule that were accepted by the full RSAC Committee by mail
ballot on August 11, 2006. The final rule was published in the Federal
Register on October 11, 2006 (71 FR 59677). The Working Group continued
review of Section 213.119 with a view to proposing further revisions to
update the standards. The Working Group met January 30-31, 2007, April
10-11, 2007, June 27-28, 2007, August 15-16, 2007, October 23-24, 2007,
and January, 8-9, 2008. The Working Group reported consensus
recommendations for revisions to Section 213.119 regulations to the
full RSAC Committee on February 20, 2008, and the recommendations were
accepted. FRA published an NPRM on December 1, 2008, and is preparing a
final rule with a target publication date of April 2009. See task 07-01
and 08-03, below. Contact: Ken Rusk, (202) 493-6236.
Task 06-03--Medical Standards for Safety-Critical Personnel. This
task was accepted on September 21, 2006, to enhance the safety of
persons in the railroad operating environment and the public by
establishing standards and procedures for determining the medical
fitness for duty of personnel engaged in safety-critical functions. A
Working Group has been established and will report any planned activity
to the full Committee at each scheduled full RSAC meeting, including
milestones for completion of projects and progress toward completion.
The first Working Group meeting was held December 12-13, 2006. The
Working Group has held follow-on meetings on the following dates:
February 20-21, 2007, July 24-25, 2007, August 29-30, 2007, October 31-
November 1, 2007, December 4-5, 2007, February 13-14, 2008, March 26-
27, 2008, and April 22-23, 2008. At the latest meeting, FRA announced
that the agency would prepare an NPRM draft based on the discussions to
date and schedule a further meeting for review of the document. The
draft NPRM is currently in FRA coordination and the language is being
revised based on comments. The draft NPRM will be presented to the RSAC
Medical Standards Working Group when completed. A Doctors Task Force,
established by the Working Group in May 2007, is proceeding to develop
accompanying medical guidelines which will be used to provide
consistent criteria for determining the medical fitness for duty of the
safety-critical positions. These guidelines will be presented for
Working Group consideration when complete. When accepted by the Medical
Standards Working Group, the two parts of the rulemaking will be
presented to the full RSAC for approval. The target date for publishing
the NPRM is May, 2009. The Task Force of Physicians has had meetings or
conference calls on July 24, 2007, August 20, 2007, October 15, 2007,
October 31, 2007, June 23-24, 2008, September 8-10, 2008, October 8,
2008, November 12-13, 2008, December 8-10, 2008, January 27-28, 2009,
and February 24-25, 2009. The next meeting of the Task Force is
scheduled for March 11-12, 2009. Contact: Dr. Bernard Arseneau, (202)
493-6002.
Task 07-01--Track Safety Standards. This task was accepted on
February 22, 2007, to consider specific improvements to the Track
Safety Standards or other responsive actions, supplementing work
already underway on continuous welded rail (CWR) specifically to:
review controls applied to reuse of rail in CWR ``plug rail''; review
the issue of cracks emanating from bond wire attachments; consider
improvements in the Track Safety Standards related to fastening of rail
to concrete ties; and ensure a common understanding within the
regulated community concerning requirements for internal rail flaw
inspections. The tasks were assigned to the Track Safety Standards
Working Group. The Working Group will report any planned activity to
the full Committee at each scheduled full RSAC meeting, including
milestones for completion of projects and progress toward completion.
The first Working Group meeting was held on June 27-28, 2007, and the
group met again on August 15-16, 2007, and October 23-24, 2007. Two
Task Forces were created under the Working Group: The Concrete Ties and
Rail Integrity Task Forces. The Concrete Ties Task force met on
November 26-27, 2007, February 13-14, 2008, April 16-17, 2008, July 9-
10, 2008, and September 17-18, 2008. The Concrete Ties Task Force
finalized consensus language regarding concrete crossties (49 CFR Part
213) and presented a recommendation to the Track Standards Working
Group at the November 20, 2008, Working Group meeting. The language was
approved by both the Working Group and the December 10, 2008, RSAC
meeting and the Task Force was dissolved. FRA is preparing an NPRM with
a target publication date of April, 2009. Contact: Ken Rusk, (202) 493-
6236.
Task 08-03--Track Safety Standards Rail Integrity. This task was
accepted on September 10, 2008, to consider specific improvements to
the Track Safety Standards or other responsive actions designed to
enhance rail integrity. The Rail Integrity Task Force was created in
October 2007 under Task 07-01 and first met on November 28-29, 2007.
The Task Force met on February 12-13, 2008, April 15-16, 2008, July 8-
9, 2008, September 16-17, 2008, and February 3-4, 2009. Consensus has
been achieved on bond wires and a common understanding on internal rail
flaw inspections has been reached; however, more work remains before a
recommendation for possible regulatory action is made. The next Rail
Integrity Task Force meeting is scheduled for June 16-17, 2009.
Contact: Ken Rusk, (202) 493-6236.
Task No. 08-04--Positive Train Control (PTC). This task was
accepted on December 10, 2008, to provide advice regarding development
of implementing regulations for PTC systems and their deployment under
the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA, Pub. L. 110-432). The
task included a requirement to convene an initial meeting not later
than January 2009 and to report recommendations back to the RSAC no
later than April 24, 2009. The PTC Working Group was
[[Page 11405]]
created in December 2008 by Working Group member nominations from
Committee member organizations under Task 08-04, and the kickoff
meeting was held on January 26-27, 2009. The group met again on
February 11-13, 2009, and February 25-27, 2009. The next meeting is
scheduled for March 17-19, 2009. Contact: Grady Cothen, (202) 493-6302.
Task No. 08-05--Railroad Bridge Safety Assurance. This task was
accepted on December 10, 2008, to develop a draft rule encompassing the
requirements of Section 417, of the RSIA (Division A), Railroad Bridge
Safety Assurance. This Section directs the Secretary of Transportation
to promulgate regulations, not later than 12 months after the October
16, 2008, date of enactment, requiring owners of track carried on one
or more railroad bridges to adopt a bridge safety management program to
reduce the risk of human casualties, environmental damage, and
disruption to the Nation's railroad transportation system that would
result from a catastrophic bridge failure. The Railroad Bridge Working
Group created under Task 08-01 was directed to reconvene and the
kickoff meeting was held January 28-29, 2009. The working group also
met on February 23-24, 2009, where they reached agreement on consensus
language covering all but two issues that remain to be resolved pending
comments on the NPRM. The group will present the draft language to the
full committee at the April 2, 2009, meeting. Contact: Gordon Davids,
(202) 230-6320.
Task No. 08-06--Hours of Service Recordkeeping and Reporting. This
task was accepted on December 10, 2008, to develop revised
recordkeeping and reporting requirements for hours of service of
railroad employees. The Hours of Service Working Group was formed in
January 2009 by member nominations from committee member organizations
and the first meeting was held on January 22-23, 2009. The working
group met again on February 4-6, 2009, and February 18-20, 2009, and is
scheduled to meet for the final time on March 23-25, 2009. Contact:
Mark McKeon, (202) 493-6350.
Task No. 08-07--Conductor Certification. This task was accepted on
December 10, 2008, to develop regulations for certification of railroad
conductors, as required by the RSIA, and to consider any appropriate
related amendments to existing regulations and report recommendations
for the proposed or interim final rule (as determined by FRA in
consultation with the Office of the Secretary of Transportation and the
Office of Management and Budget) by October 16, 2009. The Conductor
Certification Working Group will be officially formed at a later date
by nominations from member organizations and work will begin as time
and schedules will permit in 2009 after other Congressional RSAC
priorities are met.
Completed Tasks
Task 96-1--(Completed) Revising the Freight Power Brake
Regulations.
Task 96-2--(Completed) Reviewing and recommending revisions to the
Track Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 213).
Task 96-3--(Completed) Reviewing and recommending revisions to the
Radio Standards and Procedures (49 CFR Part 220).
Task 96-5--(Completed) Reviewing and recommending revisions to
Steam Locomotive Inspection Standards (49 CFR Part 230).
Task 96-6--(Completed) Reviewing and recommending revisions to
miscellaneous aspects of the regulations addressing Locomotive Engineer
Certification (49 CFR Part 240).
Task 96-7--(Completed) Developing Roadway Maintenance Machines (On-
Track Equipment) Safety Standards.
Task 96-8--(Completed) This Planning Task evaluated the need for
action responsive to recommendations contained in a report to Congress
entitled, Locomotive Crashworthiness & Working Conditions.
Task 97-1--(Completed) Developing crashworthiness specifications
(49 CFR Part 229) to promote the integrity of the locomotive cab in
accidents resulting from collisions.
Task 97-2--(Completed) Evaluating the extent to which
environmental, sanitary, and other working conditions in locomotive
cabs affect the crew's health and the safe operation of locomotives,
proposing standards where appropriate.
Task 97-3--(Completed) Developing event recorder data survivability
standards.
Task 97-4 and Task 97-5--(Completed) Defining Positive Train
Control (PTC) functionalities, describing available technologies,
evaluating costs and benefits of potential systems, and considering
implementation opportunities and challenges, including demonstration
and deployment.
Task 97-6--(Completed) Revising various regulations to address the
safety implications of processor-based signal and train control
technologies, including communications-based operating systems.
Task 97-7--(Completed) Determining damages qualifying an event as a
reportable train accident.
Task 00-1--(Task withdrawn) Determining the need to amend
regulations protecting persons who work on, under, or between rolling
equipment and persons applying, removing or inspecting rear end marking
devices (Blue Signal Protection).
Task 01-1--(Completed) Developing conformity of FRA's regulations
for accident/incident reporting (49 CFR Part 225) to revised
regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor, and to make appropriate revisions to
the FRA Guide for Preparing Accident/Incident Reports (Reporting
Guide).
Task 08-01--(Completed) Report on the Nation's Railroad Bridges.
Please refer to the notice published in the Federal Register on
March 11, 1996, (61 FR 9740) for more information about the RSAC.
Issued in Washington, DC, on March 11, 2009.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program
Development.
[FR Doc. E9-5676 Filed 3-16-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
