Petition for Waiver of Compliance, 46680-46681 [2013-18501]

Download as PDF mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 46680 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 148 / Thursday, August 1, 2013 / Notices railroad states that the stenciling would detract from both the aesthetic and historical nature of the reproduction vintage rail car equipment. As Steam’s passenger equipment will operate in a limited area, Steam requests permission to keep documentation related to the restricted status of the equipment at its business office, similar to the conditions granted to other tourist and excursion railroads. In addition, Steam petitions for relief from all requirements of 49 CFR Part 224—Reflectorization of Rail Freight Rolling Stock, as the railroad states that reflectorization would detract from both the aesthetic and historical nature of the reproduction vintage equipment. A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications concerning the petition, is available for review online at www.regulations.gov and in person at the Department of Transportation’s Docket Operations Facility, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., W12–140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Operations Facility is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. 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 and may be submitted by any of the following methods: • 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 by September 16, 2013 will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be considered as far as practicable. 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 VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:02 Jul 31, 2013 Jkt 229001 comment (or signing the document, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). See https:// www.regulations.gov/#!privacyNotice for the privacy notice of regulations.gov or interested parties may review DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477). Robert C. Lauby, Deputy Associate Administrator for Regulatory and Legislative Operations. [FR Doc. 2013–18502 Filed 7–31–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–06–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Railroad Administration [Docket Number FRA–2013–0063] Petition for Waiver of Compliance In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this document provides the public notice that by a document dated June 6, 2013, the Association of American Railroads (AAR), on behalf of itself and its member railroads, has petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR Part 232, Brake System Safety Standards for Freight and Other Non-Passenger Trains and Equipment; End-of-Train Devices. FRA assigned the petition Docket Number FRA–2013–0063. Specifically, AAR seeks a waiver of compliance from Part 232, Appendix B, Part 232 Prior to May 31, 2001 as Clarified Effective April 10, 2002, 232.17(b)(2). This section states that brake equipment on passenger cars must be cleaned, repaired, lubricated, and tested as often as necessary to maintain it in a safe and suitable condition for service but not less frequently than as required in Standard S–045 in the Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices (MSRP) of the AAR. AAR petitioned FRA for a 5-year waiver so that AAR Standard S–4045 may be used in lieu of the obsolete Standard S–045 for the frequency requirements referenced in 49 CFR Part 232, Appendix B. AAR’s Braking Systems Committee recently revised S–4045’s Section E, Passenger Equipment Maintenance Requirements of the AAR MSRP. The revisions include a revised definition for a passenger equipment car as ‘‘[R]ail rolling equipment that is used only for excursions, recreational, or private transportation purposes (such as a vehicle designed to carry railroad PO 00000 Frm 00116 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 personnel). It does not apply to a passenger car intended for use by members of the general public as defined in US DOT–FRA Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 238.’’ This definition serves to address private passenger cars, particularly those operated by freight railroads that may be handled in either freight or passenger trains. Additionally, the revised standard aligns the requirements for air brake periodic attention with 49 CFR 238.309, Periodic brake equipment maintenance, to eliminate confusion for air brake dates on equipment that may be subject to both Part 238 and non-Part 238 service, i.e., passenger equipment that may be handled in either freight or passenger trains. Passenger equipment has operated in this dual service since 1999 with no significant difference in the numbers of defects found in D–22 and 26–C valve components between the service modes. Finally, S–4045 includes a clarification for the use of freight valves on passenger equipment by addressing the use of Rule 3 of the Field Manual of the AAR Interchange Rules as the proper reference for the maintenance of freight valves used on passenger equipment. The change recommended in this waiver request maintains existing safety levels and lessens compliance confusion by allowing uniform periodic inspection dates for railroad and privately owned passenger equipment, whether operating in a freight train, private train, or a Part 238 passenger train. It also maintains safety while reducing unnecessary costs. A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications concerning the petition, is available for review online at www.regulations.gov and in person at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Docket Operations Facility, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., W12–140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Operations Facility is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. 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 and may be submitted by any of the following methods: E:\FR\FM\01AUN1.SGM 01AUN1 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 148 / Thursday, August 1, 2013 / 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 by September 16, 2013 will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be considered as far as practicable. 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 document, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). See https:// www.regulations.gov/#!privacyNotice for the privacy notice of regulations.gov or interested parties may review DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477). Robert C. Lauby, Deputy Associate Administrator for Regulatory and Legislative Operations. [FR Doc. 2013–18501 Filed 7–31–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–06–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Railroad Administration [Docket Number FRA–2013–0068] mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Petition for Waiver of Compliance In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this document provides the public notice that by a document dated June 18, 2013, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) has petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR Part 214, Subpart C, Roadway Worker Protection. FRA assigned the petition Docket Number FRA–2013–0068. In its petition, Amtrak requests a temporary waiver from 49 CFR Part 214, Subpart C, seeking relief from the requirement to provide Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) for contractors and contractor employees (herein referred to as ‘‘workers’’) using hand tools within the 4-foot fouling envelope VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:02 Jul 31, 2013 Jkt 229001 of a track in publicly accessible areas, specifically passenger station platforms. The waiver is sought for the express purposes of performing manual snow removal with hand tools, which extend into the tactile warning area of a passenger platform (if equipped with a tactile warning strip), or other warning area beyond and including a similarly positioned and contrasting painted line (if not equipped), while the worker’s person is behind the area and in a position of safety. The tactile warning area is the area beyond and including a 24-inch-wide strip of truncated domes that is installed along the full length of the public-use areas of a passenger platform (pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards) and that is generally positioned approximately 24 inches from the outside of the nearest rail. The request for relief from the regulation is limited to platforms outside of the Northeast Corridor at stations for which Amtrak is not the operating railroad. Title 49 CFR 214.7 defines fouling a track as ‘‘the placement of an individual or an item of equipment in such proximity to a track that the individual or equipment could be struck by a moving train or on-track equipment, or in any case is within four feet of the field side of the near running rail.’’ In the case of a platform, 4 feet from the field side of the rail generally encompasses the space between the outside of the nearest rail and the platform, plus the width of a 24-inchwide, ADA-required, tactile strip. Currently, workers performing passenger station snow-removal activities, which breach the tactile (or painted) warning area with hand tools, must be provided with on-track safety in accordance with the RWP rule, while pedestrians and the riding public may move throughout the system in the very same areas without restriction. Contractor workers performing snow removal on passenger service infrastructure not owned by Amtrak are not qualified to provide on-track safety. Thus, workers may remove snow from platform areas behind the tactile (or paint-delineated) warning area, but must not remove snow in the area of the tactile (or paint-delineated) warning area without first establishing on-track safety in accordance with the RWP rule. As a result of this requirement, hazardous conditions on platforms remain unaddressed. Amtrak believes that the proposed alternate snow removal protection program (alternate program), used for specific snowremoval activities, will permit workers to address unsafe platform conditions from a safe location in a safe and timely PO 00000 Frm 00117 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 46681 manner, without workers being struck by a train, while occupying the area of the platform behind the tactile warning strip or contrasting painted line. Slippery or snow-covered platform surfaces pose a significant risk to passengers, especially if such conditions exist close to the platform’s edge. This potential risk continues if the surfaces remain slippery or snow-covered. In contrast, the potential risk to workers is intermittent depending on the presence of a train. Considering the differing levels of potential risk from both timebased and quantity-based perspectives, risk to passengers is significantly greater than the potential risk to workers. Throughout the 2012–2013 winter season, with the permission of FRA, Amtrak conducted a pilot test program of the alternate program used for specific snow-removal activities (see FRA–2011–0077). Amtrak believes that there was an improvement to the safety of the riding public during the pilot program and believes this improvement will continue in the form of faster response times, reduced hazardous walking conditions, and reduced passenger incidents, should the waiver be granted. Amtrak submits that it is logical to assume that removing snow and ice from the tactile or paintdelineated warning areas of passenger station platforms would result in a reduction in slips, trips, and falls due to inclement weather at station platforms. Further, there were no incidents meeting this criteria in the stations that were part of the pilot program. Amtrak also believes that no negative impact to the safety of workers removing snow will occur under the plan, based upon examination of publicly available data regarding passenger and employee injuries and fatalities on railroad passenger station platforms in addition to the data obtained throughout the pilot test program. Under Federal Transit Administration oversight, no consistent RWP requirements exist nationwide. Transit agencies are permitted to perform snowremoval activities at station platforms in accordance with protection requirements that the transit agency itself adopts. Many rail transit agencies have adopted policies similar to the practices that Amtrak proposes in this waiver, with no appreciable difference in worker injuries and fatalities on station platforms when compared with FRA data. Amtrak believes and has observed throughout the pilot test program that the alternate program, as proposed, will provide an equivalent level of safety to the current requirements under RWP, E:\FR\FM\01AUN1.SGM 01AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 148 (Thursday, August 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46680-46681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18501]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2013-0063]


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), this document provides the public notice that by a document 
dated June 6, 2013, the Association of American Railroads (AAR), on 
behalf of itself and its member railroads, has petitioned the Federal 
Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from certain 
provisions of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 
CFR Part 232, Brake System Safety Standards for Freight and Other Non-
Passenger Trains and Equipment; End-of-Train Devices. FRA assigned the 
petition Docket Number FRA-2013-0063.
    Specifically, AAR seeks a waiver of compliance from Part 232, 
Appendix B, Part 232 Prior to May 31, 2001 as Clarified Effective April 
10, 2002, 232.17(b)(2). This section states that brake equipment on 
passenger cars must be cleaned, repaired, lubricated, and tested as 
often as necessary to maintain it in a safe and suitable condition for 
service but not less frequently than as required in Standard S-045 in 
the Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices (MSRP) of the AAR. 
AAR petitioned FRA for a 5-year waiver so that AAR Standard S-4045 may 
be used in lieu of the obsolete Standard S-045 for the frequency 
requirements referenced in 49 CFR Part 232, Appendix B.
    AAR's Braking Systems Committee recently revised S-4045's Section 
E, Passenger Equipment Maintenance Requirements of the AAR MSRP. The 
revisions include a revised definition for a passenger equipment car as 
``[R]ail rolling equipment that is used only for excursions, 
recreational, or private transportation purposes (such as a vehicle 
designed to carry railroad personnel). It does not apply to a passenger 
car intended for use by members of the general public as defined in US 
DOT-FRA Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 238.'' This 
definition serves to address private passenger cars, particularly those 
operated by freight railroads that may be handled in either freight or 
passenger trains. Additionally, the revised standard aligns the 
requirements for air brake periodic attention with 49 CFR 238.309, 
Periodic brake equipment maintenance, to eliminate confusion for air 
brake dates on equipment that may be subject to both Part 238 and non-
Part 238 service, i.e., passenger equipment that may be handled in 
either freight or passenger trains. Passenger equipment has operated in 
this dual service since 1999 with no significant difference in the 
numbers of defects found in D-22 and 26-C valve components between the 
service modes. Finally, S-4045 includes a clarification for the use of 
freight valves on passenger equipment by addressing the use of Rule 3 
of the Field Manual of the AAR Interchange Rules as the proper 
reference for the maintenance of freight valves used on passenger 
equipment. The change recommended in this waiver request maintains 
existing safety levels and lessens compliance confusion by allowing 
uniform periodic inspection dates for railroad and privately owned 
passenger equipment, whether operating in a freight train, private 
train, or a Part 238 passenger train. It also maintains safety while 
reducing unnecessary costs.
    A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications 
concerning the petition, is available for review online at 
www.regulations.gov and in person at the U.S. Department of 
Transportation's Docket Operations Facility, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Operations Facility is 
open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
Holidays.
    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 and may be submitted by any of the following 
methods:

[[Page 46681]]

     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 by September 16, 2013 will be considered by 
FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date 
will be considered as far as practicable.
    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 document, 
if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
See https://www.regulations.gov/#!privacyNotice for the privacy notice 
of regulations.gov or interested parties may review DOT's complete 
Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 
2000 (65 FR 19477).

Robert C. Lauby,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Regulatory and Legislative 
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2013-18501 Filed 7-31-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P

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