Federal Railroad Administration 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Requirements (ICRs) abstracted below have been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs describes the nature of the information collections and their expected burdens. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on December 10, 2004 (69 FR 71869).

FRA is issuing Safety Advisory 2005-01 to advise all railroads to review their operating rules and take certain other action necessary to ensure that train crews who operate manual (hand-operated) main track switches in non-signaled territory restore the switches to their normal position after use. FRA intends this advisory to reduce the risk of serious injury or death both to railroad employees and the general public due to not restoring such switches to their normal position after use.

On November 2, 2004, FRA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (69 FR 63890) proposing to establish comprehensive, minimum standards for locomotive crashworthiness. In that NPRM, FRA established a January 3, 2005 deadline for submission of written comments. FRA has received a request to extend the comment period to give interested parties additional time to review, analyze, and submit comments on the NPRM. After considering this request, FRA has decided to extend the comment period until February 3, 2005. This notice announces the extension of the comment period.

FRA is issuing this final rule to mandate the reflectorization of freight rolling stock (freight cars and locomotives) to enhance the visibility of trains in order to reduce the number and severity of accidents at highway-rail grade crossings in which train visibility is a contributing factor. This rule establishes a schedule for the application of retroreflective material and prescribes standards for the construction, performance, application, inspection, and maintenance of the material.