Federal Railroad Administration December 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
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Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) hereby announces that it is seeking renewal of the following currently approved information collection activities. Before submitting these information collection requirements (ICRs) for clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified below.
Agency Information Collection Activities
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b), this notice announces that new information collections requirements (ICRs) listed below have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). These new ICRs pertain to 49 CFR parts 222, 229, and 236. Additionally, FRA hereby announces that other ICRs listed below have been re-approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). These ICRs pertain to Parts 214, 216, 229, 238, and 240. The OMB approval numbers, titles, and expiration dates are included herein under supplementary information.
Revision of Method for Calculating Monetary Threshold for Reporting Rail Equipment Accidents/Incidents; Announcement of Reporting Threshold for Calendar Year 2006
FRA is amending a portion of the accident reporting regulations. Specifically, FRA is amending the method for calculating the monetary threshold for reporting rail equipment accidents/ incidents. The amendment is necessary because, in 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) ceased collecting and publishing railroad wage data used by FRA in the calculation. Consequently, FRA has had to seek a new source of publicly-available data. In the new formula, FRA uses wage data collected and maintained by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) in place of the unavailable BLS wage data. As equipment data remain available from the BLS, there is no change to the source of the equipment component of the reporting threshold. The purpose of the rule is to ensure and maintain comparability between different years of accident data by having the threshold keep pace with any increases or decreases in equipment and labor costs so that each year accidents involving the same minimum amount of railroad property damage are included in the reportable accident counts. In addition, FRA is using the newly established formula to calculate a new accident/incident monetary reporting threshold for calendar year 2006. This final rule increases the monetary threshold for reporting rail equipment accidents/incidents from $6,700 to $7,700, and applies to accidents and incidents involving railroad property damage that occur on or after January 1, 2006.
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) hereby announces that it is seeking renewal of the following currently approved information collection activities. Before submitting these information collection requirements for clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified below.
Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC); Working Group Activity Update
The FRA is updating its announcement of RSAC's Working Group activities to reflect its current status.
Passenger Equipment Safety Standards; Miscellaneous Amendments and Attachments of Safety Appliances on Passenger Equipment
FRA is proposing to clarify and amend its existing regulations in an effort to address various mechanical issues relevant to the manufacture, efficient utilization, and safe operation of passenger equipment and trains that have arisen since FRA's original issuance of the Passenger Equipment Safety Standards. FRA proposes miscellaneous amendments to its existing regulations in five areas by: Clarifying the terminology related to piston travel indicators; providing alternative design and additional inspection criteria for new passenger equipment not designed to allow inspection of the application and release of the brakes from outside the equipment; permitting some latitude in the use of passenger equipment with redundant air compressors when a limited number of the compressors become inoperative; recognizing current locomotive manufacturing techniques by permitting an alternative pneumatic pressure test for main reservoirs; and adding provisions to ensure the proper securement of unattended equipment. FRA is also clarifying the existing regulatory requirements related to the attachment of safety appliances and is proposing an identification and inspection protocol to address passenger equipment containing welded safety appliances or welded safety appliance brackets or supports. Finally, FRA is proposing to permit railroads the ability to apply out- of-service credit to certain periodic maintenance requirements.
Standards for Development and Use of Processor-Based Signal and Train Control Systems; Clarification and Correcting Amendments
FRA is clarifying preamble language and correcting rule text language in FRA's Standards for Development and Use of Processor-Based Signal and Train Control Systems, a final rule published on March 7, 2005 (PTC Rule). First, some language in the section-by-section analysis portion of the preamble to the PTC Rule inadvertently differs from the actual regulatory language, and FRA is noting the unintended variation to avoid confusion. Second, FRA is clarifying language regarding the applicability of new 49 CFR part 236, subpart H (the Processor-Based Standards) to highway-rail grade crossing warning systems (HGCWS). FRA wants to ensure that the rule language conforms with FRA's initial intent that the regulation apply to only certain HGCWS. Therefore, FRA is adding a provision to clarify which HGCWS products may be excluded from the requirements of the PTC Rule. FRA is also adding a provision to clarify that certain HGCWS products excluded from the requirements of the Processor-Based Standards may, at the option of the railroad, be made subject to the Processor-Based Standards. Third, FRA is adding a provision to clarify which HGCWS products shall be included in the software management control plans pursuant to 49 CFR 236.18. Finally, FRA is correcting a minor error in which a provision of the Processor-Based Standards was incorrectly cited.
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