Federal Railroad Administration July 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FRA announces its intent to conduct a series of open meetings throughout the United States, in cooperation with appropriate State agencies, to consider issues related to the safety of private highway- rail grade crossings. At each open meeting, FRA intends to solicit oral statements from private crossing owners, railroads and other interested parties on issues related to the safety of private highway-rail grade crossings, which will include, but not be limited to, current practices concerning responsibility for safety at private grade crossings, the adequacy of warning devices at private crossings, and the relative merits of a more uniform approach to improving safety at private crossings. FRA has also opened a public docket on these issues, so that interested parties may submit written comments for public review and consideration.

The FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared for the proposed DesertXpress high-speed train project. The project includes passenger stations, a maintenance facility, and a new railroad line along the I- 15 corridor between Victorville, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. FRA is issuing this notice to solicit public and agency input into the development of the scope of the EIS and to advise the public that outreach activities conducted by the FRA will be considered in the preparation of the EIS. Federal cooperating agencies for the EIS are the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Alternatives to be evaluated and analyzed in the EIS include (1) take no action (No-Project or No-Build); and, (2) construction of a privately financed steel-wheel-on-steel-rail high-speed train, including a proposed station in Victorville and a station in Las Vegas, and a maintenance facility in Victorville. Several alternative routings would be considered in the EIS.