Petition for Waiver of Compliance, 7627-7628 [2011-2921]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 28 / Thursday, February 10, 2011 / Notices
conditions listed under ‘‘Conditions and
Requirements’’ above.
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e)
and 31315 each exemption will be valid
for two years unless revoked earlier by
FMCSA. The exemption will be revoked
if: (1) The person fails to comply with
the terms and conditions of the
exemption; (2) the exemption has
resulted in a lower level of safety than
was maintained before it was granted; or
(3) continuation of the exemption would
not be consistent with the goals and
objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and
31315. If the exemption is still effective
at the end of the 2-year period, the
person may apply to FMCSA for a
renewal under procedures in effect at
that time.
Issued on: February 4, 2011.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator, Office of Policy.
[FR Doc. 2011–2984 Filed 2–9–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
In accordance with part 211 of Title
49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR),
notice is hereby given that the Federal
Railroad Administration (FRA) received
a request for a waiver of compliance
with certain requirements of its safety
standards. The individual petition is
described below, including the party
seeking relief, the regulatory provisions
involved, the nature of the relief being
requested, and the petitioner’s
arguments in favor of relief.
Association of American Railroads
jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA–2005–
21613]
FRA granted waiver Docket Number
FRA–2005–21613 to the Association of
American Railroads (AAR) on December
5, 2005, establishing an extensive
testing and inspection program to
determine extended clean, repair and
test intervals for air brake valves and
related components as required by the
Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards
per 49 CFR 229.27 Annual tests and
§ 229.29 Biannual tests. Eighteen (18)
separate groups of locomotives were
identified for investigation in the waiver
approval letter. This waiver has expired
and AAR’s request is to extend the
waiver for another 5 years, as provided
for in condition 12 of the original
approval letter. As part of this request
for extension, AAR has also requested
that three Wabtec Railway Electronics
(WRE) air brake system models (EPIC,
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:10 Feb 09, 2011
Jkt 223001
EPIC–II, and EPIC 3102D2) be combined
into one testing category, thereby
reducing the number of locomotive
groups that must be investigated.
In support of this petition, AAR says
that this extension will be utilized to
collect additional data sufficient to
determine appropriate test and
inspection intervals for electronic air
brake equipment. They have also
submitted information from WRE
supporting combining EPIC 3102D2 and
EPIC II models into one group, stating
that they have commonality of
pneumatic components and electronic
controls.
Electronic airbrake systems began to
be introduced in the early 1990s. Due to
the clean operation of these systems, the
brake manufacturers applied for and
were granted industry wide waivers
permitting the clean, repair and test
intervals under 49 CFR 229.27 and
229.29, to be extended to 5 years.
Waiver Docket Number FRA–2000–7367
(formerly H–95–3), applies to electronic
brake systems manufactured by New
York Air Brake Corporation (NYAB) and
Waiver Docket Number FRA–2002–
13397 (formerly H–92–3) applies to
electronic air brake systems
manufactured by Wabtec Railway
Electronics.
The successful performance of the
electronic air brake systems out to 5
years led the CSX Transportation, Inc.
(CSXT) to apply for a further extension
for NYAB electronic air brake systems.
An extensive test and inspection
program under waiver Docket Number
FRA–1999–6252 led to further extension
of the airbrake servicing interval for the
subject CSXT locomotives. The joint
FRA-industry-labor committee approach
to performing waiver evaluations was
also validated by the experience on
CSXT.
Based largely on the success of CSXT
clean, repair, and test interval extension
program, AAR applied for and was
granted a waiver establishing a similar
program for many groups of locomotives
owned and operated by their member
railroads. Conditional approval of
waiver Docket Number FRA–2005–
21613 established the terms under
which the relief granted to CSXT could
be extended to other AAR member
railroads and established a means of
evaluating 18 groups of locomotives for
potential increases in electronic airbrake
clean, repair and test intervals. The
groups of locomotives are based on
locomotive manufacturer, air brake
manufacturer, manufacturer’s system
model, and whether or not the
locomotives are equipped with an air
dryer. The process for evaluating groups
of locomotives was based on the
PO 00000
Frm 00097
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
7627
establishment of the same type of test
and inspection program as had been
used on CSXT for each group of
locomotives identified in the approval
letter.
In the 5 years that this waiver has
been in effect, several joint committees
including representatives of FRA,
railroads, labor organizations (both
operating and maintaining crafts),
locomotive manufacturers, airbrake
manufacturers, and others have met
repeatedly to evaluate the condition of
the electronic air brake equipment on
various groups of locomotives at ages
beyond the 5-year clean, repair and test
cycle previously approved. The BNSF
Railway (BNSF) has convened a joint
waiver committee to evaluate GE and
EMD locomotives equipped with NYAB
CCB–2 air brakes without an air dryer.
Interim results at the 7 years of service
mark have shown the air brake system
condition to be substantially the same as
for similar CSXT locomotives which are
air dryer equipped. Tests, teardowns
and inspections of WRE Fastbrake
systems have recently begun on the
Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and CSXT.
Some of the locomotive groups being
studied have not yet reached the clean,
repair and test cycle time limit and the
committees will continue to meet if this
extension is granted. Certain other
combinations of equipment have not yet
passed beyond the 5-year age covered
under the earlier waivers so committees
to cover these groups are yet to be
formed.
In addition to the committee work
being done, Norfolk Southern, UP,
Amtrak, and Canadian National have
submitted the proper documentation
and have been individually approved
for the same relief granted to CSXT
based on the established similarity of
their locomotives and electronic
airbrake systems to those evaluated on
CSXT.
Interested parties are invited to
participate in these proceedings by
submitting written views, data, or
comments. FRA does not anticipate
scheduling a public hearing in
connection with these proceedings since
the facts do not appear to warrant a
hearing. If any interested party desires
an opportunity for oral comment, they
should notify FRA, in writing, before
the end of the comment period and
specify the basis for their request.
All communications concerning these
proceedings should identify the
appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver
Petition Docket Number 2005–21613)
and may be submitted by any of the
following methods:
E:\FR\FM\10FEN1.SGM
10FEN1
7628
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 28 / Thursday, February 10, 2011 / Notices
• Web site: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
• Fax: 202–493–2251.
• Mail: Docket Operations Facility,
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590.
• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal Holidays.
Communications received within 30
days of the date of this notice will be
considered by FRA before final action is
taken. Comments received after that
date will be considered as far as
practicable. All written communications
concerning these proceedings are
available for examination during regular
business hours (9 a.m.–5 p.m.) at the
above facility. All documents in the
public docket are also available for
inspection and copying on the Internet
at the docket facility’s Web site at
https://www.regulations.gov.
Anyone is able to search the
electronic form of any written
communications and comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or signing the comment, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may
review DOT’s complete Privacy Act
Statement in the Federal Register
published on April 11, 2000 (Volume
65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78).
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 4,
2011.
Robert C. Lauby,
Deputy Associate Administrator for
Regulatory and Legislative Operations.
[FR Doc. 2011–2921 Filed 2–9–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
In accordance with Part 211 of Title
49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR),
notice is hereby given that the Federal
Railroad Administration (FRA) has
received a request for a waiver of
compliance from certain requirements
of its safety standards. The individual
petition is described below, including
the party seeking relief, the regulatory
provisions involved, the nature of the
relief being requested, and the
petitioner’s arguments in favor of relief.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:10 Feb 09, 2011
Jkt 223001
Denton County Transportation
Authority
[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA–2010–
0180]
The Denton County Transportation
Authority, Texas (DCTA), seeks a waiver
of compliance from certain provision of
Title 49 of the CFR. Specifically, DCTA
has ordered 11 Stadler Bussnang AG,
GTW 2/6 Diesel Multiple Units (DMU),
the first of which will arrive in July of
2011, for use on its new ‘‘A-train’’
commuter rail service between Dallas,
Texas, and Denton, TX. These vehicles
are constructed by European
manufacturer and meet European safety
standards for crashworthiness and
related safety measures. DCTA has
submitted two petitions for relief
simultaneously. The first petition for
relief, the ‘‘Base Waiver,’’ seeks relief
from certain requirements of Title 49 of
the CFR, particularly part 238,
Passenger Equipment Safety Standards
(§§ 238.115, 238.121, 238.223, 238
Appendix D Locomotive Fuel Tanks,
238.229, 238.230, 238.305, 238.309);
part 229, Railroad Locomotive Safety
Standards (§§ 229.31, 229.51, 229.47,
229.71, 229.135, 229 Appendix D
Certification of Crashworthy Event
Recorder); part 231, Railroad Safety
Appliance Standards (§ 231.14); and
Part 239, Passenger Train Emergency
Preparedness (§ 239.101). The second
petition for relief pertains to DCTA’s
plan to store, test, and maintain these
DMU’s on yard and out-of-service
mainline tracks until FRA considers
them for revenue service.
DCTA is building its new ‘‘A-train’’
commuter rail service along a 21.3-mile
corridor adjacent to and parallel with
Interstate 35 between Dallas, TX, and
Denton, TX, along right-of-way-owned
by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)
and featuring five (5) station stops.
DART and DCTA directly operate the
mainline and maintain trackage rights
agreement with freight railroads for
operation on the line. This rail corridor
is currently active and is served only by
the Dallas Garland and Northeastern
Railroad (DGNO), which will continue
to provide freight service to customers
in the Lewisville, TX, area. DCTA has
chosen these Stadler DMU’s because
DCTA states that they offer an
equivalent or higher level of safety,
security, and performance to the
passengers and crew than conventional
FRA-compliant equipment. Initially,
DCTA will use FRA-approved and
compliant RDC–1 Budd DMU’s, leased
from Trinity Railway Express (TRE), for
a short period of time until FRA
considers the Stadler DMU for revenue
service. If FRA approves the Stadler
PO 00000
Frm 00098
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
DMU for revenue service, and in order
to mitigate any potential hazards that
may arise from mixing Stadler DMU’s
with the general railroad system, DCTA
will operate its ‘‘A-train’’ commuter rail
service during an exclusive passenger
period that is temporally separate from
DGNO freight trains. This temporal
separation may not be necessary once
DCTA submits criteria and procedures
that provide a technical framework for
presenting evidence to FRA in support
of a petition for waiver of Tier 1
crashworthiness and occupant
protection standards [Alternate Vehicle
Technology (per guidelines set forth in
the Engineering Task Force report to the
Passenger Safety Working Group of the
Railroad Safety Advisory Committee)].
Pertaining to the second petition,
DCTA will be testing and
commissioning the Stadler DMU’s while
sharing the facility and yard storage
tracks at the Operations and
Maintenance (O&M) Facility with the
leased RDC–1 DMU’s. The O&M Facility
has been designed to accommodate both
the RDC and the Stadler DMU’s
sufficiently, with storage capacity to
hold both fleets concurrently. In order
to reduce potential hazards associated
with co-mingling these two vehicle
types in the O&M Facility, DCTA will
operationally segregate the two types by
using locked switches, derails, and blue
flag protection. Testing on the mainline
will be outlined in a Test Plan for FRA’s
approval and will occur in test zones
and during times that no passenger or
freight movements occur. DCTA states
that this second petition for relief need
only be applicable for the time period
between FRA’s approval of the ‘‘Base
Waiver’’ and upon DCTA receiving
permission from FRA to begin using the
Stadler DMU in revenue service.
Noting that certain provisions in 49
CFR Part 231 pertaining to safety
appliances are statutorily required, and
therefore not subject to FRA’s waiver
authority, DCTA also requested that
FRA exercise its authority under 49
U.S.C. 20306 to exempt DCTA from
certain provisions of Chapter 203, Title
49 of the United States Code because the
GTW 2/6 DMU vehicles will be
equipped with their own array of safety
devices resulting in equivalent safety.
Interested parties are invited to
participate in these proceedings by
submitting written views, data, or
comments. FRA does not anticipate
scheduling a public hearing in
connection with these proceedings since
the facts do not appear to warrant a
hearing. If any interested party desires
an opportunity for oral comment, they
should notify FRA, in writing, before
E:\FR\FM\10FEN1.SGM
10FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 28 (Thursday, February 10, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7627-7628]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2921]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
In accordance with part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration
(FRA) received a request for a waiver of compliance with certain
requirements of its safety standards. The individual petition is
described below, including the party seeking relief, the regulatory
provisions involved, the nature of the relief being requested, and the
petitioner's arguments in favor of relief.
Association of American Railroads
[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2005-21613]
FRA granted waiver Docket Number FRA-2005-21613 to the Association
of American Railroads (AAR) on December 5, 2005, establishing an
extensive testing and inspection program to determine extended clean,
repair and test intervals for air brake valves and related components
as required by the Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards per 49 CFR
229.27 Annual tests and Sec. 229.29 Biannual tests. Eighteen (18)
separate groups of locomotives were identified for investigation in the
waiver approval letter. This waiver has expired and AAR's request is to
extend the waiver for another 5 years, as provided for in condition 12
of the original approval letter. As part of this request for extension,
AAR has also requested that three Wabtec Railway Electronics (WRE) air
brake system models (EPIC, EPIC-II, and EPIC 3102D2) be combined into
one testing category, thereby reducing the number of locomotive groups
that must be investigated.
In support of this petition, AAR says that this extension will be
utilized to collect additional data sufficient to determine appropriate
test and inspection intervals for electronic air brake equipment. They
have also submitted information from WRE supporting combining EPIC
3102D2 and EPIC II models into one group, stating that they have
commonality of pneumatic components and electronic controls.
Electronic airbrake systems began to be introduced in the early
1990s. Due to the clean operation of these systems, the brake
manufacturers applied for and were granted industry wide waivers
permitting the clean, repair and test intervals under 49 CFR 229.27 and
229.29, to be extended to 5 years. Waiver Docket Number FRA-2000-7367
(formerly H-95-3), applies to electronic brake systems manufactured by
New York Air Brake Corporation (NYAB) and Waiver Docket Number FRA-
2002-13397 (formerly H-92-3) applies to electronic air brake systems
manufactured by Wabtec Railway Electronics.
The successful performance of the electronic air brake systems out
to 5 years led the CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) to apply for a
further extension for NYAB electronic air brake systems. An extensive
test and inspection program under waiver Docket Number FRA-1999-6252
led to further extension of the airbrake servicing interval for the
subject CSXT locomotives. The joint FRA-industry-labor committee
approach to performing waiver evaluations was also validated by the
experience on CSXT.
Based largely on the success of CSXT clean, repair, and test
interval extension program, AAR applied for and was granted a waiver
establishing a similar program for many groups of locomotives owned and
operated by their member railroads. Conditional approval of waiver
Docket Number FRA-2005-21613 established the terms under which the
relief granted to CSXT could be extended to other AAR member railroads
and established a means of evaluating 18 groups of locomotives for
potential increases in electronic airbrake clean, repair and test
intervals. The groups of locomotives are based on locomotive
manufacturer, air brake manufacturer, manufacturer's system model, and
whether or not the locomotives are equipped with an air dryer. The
process for evaluating groups of locomotives was based on the
establishment of the same type of test and inspection program as had
been used on CSXT for each group of locomotives identified in the
approval letter.
In the 5 years that this waiver has been in effect, several joint
committees including representatives of FRA, railroads, labor
organizations (both operating and maintaining crafts), locomotive
manufacturers, airbrake manufacturers, and others have met repeatedly
to evaluate the condition of the electronic air brake equipment on
various groups of locomotives at ages beyond the 5-year clean, repair
and test cycle previously approved. The BNSF Railway (BNSF) has
convened a joint waiver committee to evaluate GE and EMD locomotives
equipped with NYAB CCB-2 air brakes without an air dryer. Interim
results at the 7 years of service mark have shown the air brake system
condition to be substantially the same as for similar CSXT locomotives
which are air dryer equipped. Tests, teardowns and inspections of WRE
Fastbrake systems have recently begun on the Union Pacific Railroad
(UP) and CSXT.
Some of the locomotive groups being studied have not yet reached
the clean, repair and test cycle time limit and the committees will
continue to meet if this extension is granted. Certain other
combinations of equipment have not yet passed beyond the 5-year age
covered under the earlier waivers so committees to cover these groups
are yet to be formed.
In addition to the committee work being done, Norfolk Southern, UP,
Amtrak, and Canadian National have submitted the proper documentation
and have been individually approved for the same relief granted to CSXT
based on the established similarity of their locomotives and electronic
airbrake systems to those evaluated on CSXT.
Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings
by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate
scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since
the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. If any interested party
desires an opportunity for oral comment, they should notify FRA, in
writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for
their request.
All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the
appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number 2005-
21613) and may be submitted by any of the following methods:
[[Page 7628]]
Web site: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., W12-140, Washington, DC
20590.
Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal Holidays.
Communications received within 30 days of the date of this notice
will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments
received after that date will be considered as far as practicable. All
written communications concerning these proceedings are available for
examination during regular business hours (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the above
facility. All documents in the public docket are also available for
inspection and copying on the Internet at the docket facility's Web
site at https://www.regulations.gov.
Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written
communications and comments received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment,
if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.).
You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal
Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages
19477-78).
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2011.
Robert C. Lauby,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Regulatory and Legislative
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2011-2921 Filed 2-9-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P
