Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC); Working Group Activity Update, 29268-29272 [E9-14390]

Agencies

• Federal Railroad Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 117 (Friday, June 19, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29268-29272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-14390]



[[Page 29268]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2000-7257; Notice No. 54]


Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC); 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., 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 March 
17, 2009 (74 FR 11401). The 38th full RSAC Committee meeting was held 
April 2, 2009, and the 39th meeting is scheduled for June 25, 2009, at 
the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, NW., Washington, DC 
20008.
    Since its first meeting in April of 1996, the RSAC has accepted 31 
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, November 13, 2008, and June 8, 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 
emergency 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. The Task Force 
met on March 31, 2009, to clarify issues related to the followup NPRM 
raised by members. The rule text was modified to better reflect the 
intent of the Task Force and the revised rule text was presented to and 
approved by the Passenger Safety Working Group on June 8, 2009. The 
Working Group proposed adding language to address an issue left open by 
the Task Force related to daily inspection of removable panels/windows 
in vestibule doors and is sending this back to the Task Force for 
review. The Working Group will finalize the open issue via mail ballot. 
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

[[Page 29269]]

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 June 25, 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. The Task Force may be 
reconvened to review comments on the NPRM, but no further meetings are 
currently scheduled. Contact: John Mardente, (202) 493-1335.
    General Passenger Safety Task Force: At the 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 System Safety regulation will cover all passenger railroads, 
including high-speed rail, and it is expected that the System Safety 
regulation will satisfy the risk reduction-mandated requirements for 
passenger railroads in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA) 
(Pub. L. 110-432).
    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 and approved by full RSAC vote during the February 20, 2008, 
meeting. The group met on April 23-24, 2008, December 3-4, 2008, and 
April 21-23, 2009, and continues to work on emergency preparedness, 
door securement, and System Safety issues. The door securement team 
will meet in July and August 2009 and the System Safety group will hold 
``GoTo meetings'' by teleconference in July with the American Public 
Transportation Association and commuter railroads. The next full 
meeting of the General Passenger Safety Task Force is scheduled for 
October 2009. Contact: Dan Knote, (631) 567-1596.
    Task 05-01--Review of Roadway Worker Protection Issues. This Task 
was accepted on January 26, 2005, to review 49 CFR Part 214, Subpart C, 
Roadway Worker Protection (RWP), and related sections of Subpart A. The 
RSAC agreed to 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 Working Group was able to come 
to consensus on 32 separate items. However, prior to the full RSAC vote 
in June 2007, which confirmed working group recommendations on 31 of 
those items, two parties raised technical concerns regarding the draft 
language concerning electronic display of track authorities. In 
addition, there were eight items discussed by the Working Group, which 
led to valuable insight but over which the Working Group was unable to 
come to consensus. FRA intends to address all the items discussed 
through two rulemakings: (1) A relatively compact rulemaking that will 
address adjacent track protection and (2) a longer, catchall rulemaking 
that will address all consensus items and be broad enough in scope to 
raise the nonconsensus items for further discussion and comment. The 
decision to issue a separate adjacent track rule was due to an increase 
in roadway worker fatalities that occurred on adjacent track. 
Consequently, a draft NPRM to address adjacent track protection was 
published in the Federal Register on July 17, 2008, but due to concern 
that parts of the NPRM failed to accurately capture the consensus 
recommendations of the RSAC, the NPRM was withdrawn by FRA on August 
13, 2008. FRA will address discrepancies between the consensus language 
and the adjacent track protection NPRM to clarify the essential issues, 
and intends to publish a second NPRM by August 31, 2009. FRA is also 
working on the longer, catchall rulemaking and plans to publish an NPRM 
in 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

[[Page 29270]]

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 late 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 to 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, 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, January 6-7, 2009, and April 15-
16, 2009. The group has completed the review of Part 229 and was unable 
to reach consensus regarding locomotive cab temperature standards, 
locomotive alerters, and remote control locomotives. The group reached 
consensus regarding critical locomotive electronic standards, updated 
annual/biennial air brake standards, clarification of the ``air brakes 
operate-as-intended requirement, locomotive pilot clearance within hump 
classification yards, clarification of the high-voltage warning 
requirement, updated headlight lamp requirements, and language to allow 
locomotive records to be stored electronically. FRA will brief the full 
RSAC and proceed to an NPRM. There are no meetings planned for the 
immediate future but the group may be called back into service to 
address comments received on the NPRM. 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. 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. 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 49 CFR 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 49 CFR Section 213.119 
regulations to the full RSAC Committee on February 20, 2008, and the 
Working Groups recommendations were accepted and incorporated into 
FRA's publication of an NPRM on December 1, 2008 (73 FR 73077). The 
NPRM proposes specific requirements for the qualification of persons 
designated to inspect CWR track, or supervise the installation, 
adjustment, or maintenance of CWR track. FRA is also proposing to 
clarify the procedures associated with the submission of CWR plans to 
FRA by track owners. FRA proposes that these plans focus on inspecting 
CWR for pull-apart prone conditions, and focus more specifically on CWR 
joint installation and maintenance procedures. FRA is preparing a final 
rule with a target publication date of July 2009. See Tasks 07-01 and 
08-03, below. Contact: Ken Rusk, (202) 493-6236.
    Task 06-0--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. The 
Medical Standards Working Group has met 10 times since December 2006; 
the last Working Group meeting was held April 22-23, 2008. A Medical 
Standards Physicians Task Force was established in May 2007 to provide 
medical support for this task and had met four times prior to the last 
Working Group meeting held April 22-23, 2008. It was noted by FRA 
during the April 2008 Working Group meeting that although general 
agreement about the general structure of the medical standards had been 
achieved by the Working Group, significant points of departure remained 
unresolved among Working Group members despite efforts to achieve 
consensus. FRA announced that the agency would take the Working Group's 
products through April 2008, including information provided by the 
Medical Standards Physicians Task Force, and endeavor to produce a 
draft medical standards document by June 30, 2009. The Physicians Task 
Force met June 22-23, 2008, and began the process of development of 
mandatory medical guidelines, which will be the specific medical 
criteria used by railroad Chief Medical Officers and railroad 
physicians to assess whether safety-critical employees, who have 
specific medical conditions and/or take certain categories of 
medications, are medically fit for duty. Since meeting on June 22-23, 
2008, the Physicians Task Force has met on September 8-10, 2008, 
October 8, 2008, November 12-13, 2008, December 8-10, 2008, January 27-
28, 2009, February 24-25, March 11-12, and March 31-April 1, 2009, to 
continue development of the mandatory

[[Page 29271]]

medical guidelines. The Physicians Task Force is developing medical 
criteria and protocols for safety critical positions for the Working 
Group and FRA is drafting the regulation text. The completed draft 
medical standards language and the accompanying Mandatory Medical 
Guidelines document will be presented to the Working Group, when 
complete. There are currently no Medical Standards Working Group 
meetings scheduled. 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 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 to 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: 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 a NPRM with a target publication 
date of July 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. This task was accepted on 
December 10, 2008, to provide advice regarding development of 
implementing regulations for Positive Train Control (PTC) systems and 
their deployment under the RSIA. 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 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, February 25-27, 2009, March 17-18, 2009, 
and March 31-April 1, 2009. On April 2, 2009, the RSAC approved the 
request by the Working Group for agreement to vote on the draft rule 
text recommendations from the working group by mail ballot. On May 11, 
2009, by majority vote via mail ballot, the RSAC Committee accepted the 
recommendations of the PTC Working Group and will forward those 
recommendations to the Administrator, with the understanding that there 
are other issues for which FRA will be making proposals with respect to 
its resolution. The NPRM is currently in coordination with a target 
publication date of June 30, 2009. If time permits, the PTC Working 
Group will be reconvened to discuss any comments received on the NPRM. 
An additional Task Force was formed to assist FRA in developing a model 
template for a successful PTC Implementation Plan, which are to be 
submitted by April 16, 2010, under the mandates of the RSIA of 2008. 
FRA provided a draft template to the Task Force for comment on May 20, 
2009, and received an alternative draft on June 10, 2009, for review 
and consideration along with a proposed model for risk-based 
implementation prioritization. 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 Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, 
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 working 
group presented the draft language to the full Committee at the April 
2, 2009, meeting and the Committee approved the consensus 
recommendations by vote as the recommendations of the Committee to the 
FRA Administrator. The resulting NPRM is currently in coordination, 
with a target publication date of September 1, 2009. The Working Group 
may be reconvened to address comments received on the NPRM. 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, February 18-20, 2009 and March 
23-25, 2009. At the full RSAC meeting held on April 2, 2009, the 
working group reported that partial consensus was reached on the draft 
rule text and the Committee approved the consensus recommendations by 
vote as the recommendations of the Committee to the FRA Administrator 
and the final rule was published on May 27, 2009, with an effective 
date of July 16, 2009 (74 FR 25330). 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

[[Page 29272]]

report recommendations for proposed or IFR (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 group has 
been tasked to review safety data bearing on opportunities for reducing 
risk associated with the duties performed by freight and passenger 
conductors and to assist FRA in developing regulations responsive to 
the legislative mandate and to consider any revisions to 49 CFR part 
240 appropriate to conform and update the certification programs for 
locomotive engineers and conductors. The Conductor Certification 
Working Group has been officially formed through the Committee member 
nomination process and the first meeting is scheduled for July 21-23, 
2009, with follow-on meetings planned for August 25-27, 2009, and 
September 15-17, 2009. Contact: Mark McKeon, (202) 493-6350.
    Task No. 09-01--Passenger Hours of Service. This Task was accepted 
on April 2, 2009, to provide advice regarding development of 
implementing regulations for the hours of service of operating 
employees of commuter and intercity passenger railroads under the RSIA. 
The group has been tasked to review available data concerning the 
effects of fatigue on the performance of subject employees and to 
consider the role of fatigue prevention in determining maximum hours of 
service. The group has also been tasked to consider the potential for 
alternative approaches to hour of service using available tools for 
evaluating the impact of various crew schedules, and determine the 
effect of alternative approaches on the availability of employees to 
support passenger service. The group is charged to report whether 
existing hours of service restrictions are effective in preventing 
fatigue among subject employees, whether an alternative approach to 
hours of service for the subject employees would enhance safety, and 
whether alternative restrictions on hours of service could be coupled 
with other fatigue countermeasures to promote the fitness of employees 
for safety-critical duties. The Passenger Hours of Service Working 
Group has been officially formed through the formal Committee member 
nomination process and the first meeting is scheduled for June 24, 
2009. Contact: Grady Cothen, (202) 493-6302.

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 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, U.S. 
Department of Labor, and to make appropriate revisions to the FRA Guide 
for Preparing Accident/Incident Reports.
    Task 08-01--(Completed.) Report on the Nation's Railroad Bridges. 
Report to the FRA Administrator on the current state of railroad bridge 
safety management, update the findings and conclusions of the 1993 
Summary Report of the FRA Railroad Bridge Safety Survey, and include 
recommendations for further action.
    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 June 15, 2009.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. E9-14390 Filed 6-18-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P