Federal Railroad Administration 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 describe 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 collections of information was published on March 24, 2009 (74 FR 12443).

FRA is reopening the comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on December 31, 2008 (73 FR 80349) which proposed revisions to FRA regulations governing the qualification and certification of locomotive engineers. Reopening the comment period is necessary to provide interested parties the opportunity to submit comments on the information and testimony offered at the public hearing related to the NPRM that was conducted on April 14, 2009. The comment period is reopened until June 15, 2009.

FRA is amending a number of its regulations to update the

This direct final rule makes miscellaneous revisions to the procedures for obtaining waivers from a safety rule, regulation, or standard during an emergency situation or an emergency event, and the procedures for disqualifying individuals from performing safety- sensitive functions. FRA's purpose in revising these procedures is to make them consistent with sections 305 and 308 of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (the ``Act''), Public Law 110-432, Division A, which was signed into law on October 16, 2008. Interested parties may submit written adverse comments or may request an oral hearing on these miscellaneous revisions during the thirty (30) day period following publication of this rule. FRA anticipates no adverse comments.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) hereby announces that it is seeking approval of the following 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.

On December 30, 2008, FRA published a final rule, pursuant to two statutes, which increased the minimum, ordinary maximum, and aggravated maximum civil monetary penalty it may apply when assessing a civil penalty for a violation of a railroad safety statute or regulation under its authority. (73 FR 79698). In preparing that final rule for publication, an error was made: FRA instructed that the numerical amount ``$16,000'' be removed from footnote 1 of appendix A to 49 CFR part 232 of the final rule and the numerical amount ``$25,000'' be added in its place. The instruction should have directed the removal of the numerical amount ``$11,000'' and the addition of ``$25,000'' in its place.

FRA is issuing this notice of interpretation to inform interested parties of its application and enforcement of the harassment or intimidation provisions contained in 49 CFR part 225, specifically relating to situations in which a supervisor or other railroad official accompanies an injured employee into an examination room. This notice of interpretation informs the regulated community as to when such behavior constitutes harassment or intimidation calculated to discourage or prevent the reporting of an accident, incident, injury or

FRA is recommending inspection and, when necessary, repair of American Car and Foundry (ACF) Center Flow[reg] Covered Hopper Cars, when appropriate. These cars have a history of side sill failure. On April 16, 2008, FRA was notified that car CSXT 254526, an ACF Center Flow[reg] Covered Hopper Car, experienced a catastrophic side sill failure. Both sides of the side sill, the side sheet, and the roof fractured. As a result, the A-end of the car was pulled away from the rest of the car body.

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.

The FRA is updating its announcement of RSAC's Working Group activities to reflect its current status.

This notice is to advise the public that FRA and the California High Speed Rail Authority (Authority) will jointly prepare a project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and project Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Merced-to-Bakersfield section of the Authority's proposed California High-Speed Train (HST) System in compliance with relevant State and Federal laws, in particular the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In 2001, the Authority and FRA started a tiered environmental review process for the HST system and in 2005, completed the first tier California High Speed Train Program EIR/EIS and approved the statewide HST system for intercity travel in California between the major metropolitan centers of Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area in the north, through the Central Valley, to Los Angeles and San Diego in the south. The approved HST system would be about 800-miles long, with electric propulsion and steel-wheel-on-steel-rail trains capable of operating speeds of 220 miles per hour (mph) on a dedicated system of fully grade-separated, access-controlled steel tracks and with state- of-the-art safety, signaling, communication, and automated train control systems. In approving the HST system, the Authority and FRA also selected preferred corridor alignments and station location options throughout most of the system. In 2008, the Authority and FRA completed a second program EIR/EIS to evaluate alignments and station locations within the broad corridor between and including the Altamont Pass and the Pacheco Pass to connect the Bay Area and Central Valley portions of the HST system. The Authority and FRA selected the Pacheco Pass with San Francisco and San Jose termini network alternative, as well as preferred corridor alignments and station location options. The selected alignment uses the Union Pacific (UPRR) railroad corridor through the portion of the Central Valley from just north of Madera to just south of Stockton and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) alignment from Madera to Bakersfield, as selected with the Statewide Program EIR/EIS. The preparation of the Merced to Bakersfield HST Project EIR/EIS will involve development of preliminary engineering designs and assessment of environmental effects associated with the construction, operation, and maintenance of the HST system, including track, ancillary facilities and stations, along the preferred alternative corridors from Merced to Bakersfield.

In compliance with section 207 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (Division B of Pub. L. 110-432), the FRA and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) have jointly drafted performance metrics and standards for intercity passenger rail service, and are requesting comments on that draft from the Surface Transportation Board, rail carriers over whose rail lines Amtrak trains operate, States, Amtrak employees, nonprofit employee organizations representing Amtrak employees, and groups representing Amtrak passengers. The draft document, entitled ``Proposed Metrics and Standards for Intercity Passenger Rail Service,'' is available on the FRA's Web site at https://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/2165. Comments may be submitted to the corresponding docket (number FRA-2009-0016) at regulations.gov and will be considered before the finalized Section 207 metrics and standards are adopted.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Requirement (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on December 16, 2008 (73 FR 76442).

On November 26, 2008, FRA published the final rule in this docket that established procedures to enable railroad carriers to challenge rail routing decisions made by FRA's Associate Administrator for Safety. The final rule was published with an immediate effective date. Under applicable federal statutes, this document did not qualify for an immediate effective date.