Federal Railroad Administration 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document announces that FRA will begin reporting post- accident toxicological test results for tramadol to the employee and the railroad Medical Review Officers. FRA will also begin including post-accident toxicological test results for tramadol in its post- accident toxicology reports. Because tramadol was not a controlled substance when FRA began testing for it, FRA has kept post-accident toxicological test results for tramadol confidential.

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 the information collection requests (ICRs) below for clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified below.

FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that it intends to grant the City of Sacramento, California, Department of Public Works (Sacramento), a waiver from FRA's Buy America requirement under 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(2)(B) for the purchase of a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system for use in the Sacramento Valley Station Phase II intermodal project. The $30 million project is partially funded with a $15 million 2012 Transportation Infrastructure Generating Economic Recovery grant. The cost of the non-domestic material in the VRF system is approximately $202,500. FRA believes a waiver is appropriate under 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(2)(B) for the VRF system because VRF systems are not currently produced in the U.S.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the renewal Information Collection Requests (ICR) abstracted below is being 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 collections of information was published on March 30, 2015.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is issuing this NOI to advise the public that the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission intend to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to evaluate the impacts of construction and operation of the Port Bienville Railroad Project (Project). The EIS will evaluate route alternatives for freight rail service from the Port Bienville Short Line Railroad in Hancock County, Mississippi to Nicholson in Pearl River County, Mississippi.

The purpose of this document is to update the current schedule of civil penalties for violations of FRA's grade crossing safety regulations by adding recommended civil penalty amounts for violations of specific requirements contained in a recently added subpart. That subpart prescribes requirements that certain railroads establish emergency notification systems (ENS) for receiving toll-free telephone calls reporting various unsafe conditions at highway-rail grade crossings and pathway grade crossings, and for taking certain actions in response to those calls.

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 the information collection request (ICR) below for clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified below.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) hereby announces that it is seeking an extension of the following currently approved information collection activities. On April 27, 2015, FRA published in the Federal Register its Safety Advisory titled Mechanical Inspections and Wheel Impact Load Detector Standards for Trains Transporting Large Amounts of Class 3 Flammable Liquids (FRA Safety Advisory 2015-01). See 80 FR 23318. The information collection activities associated with FRA Safety Advisory 2015-01 received a six- month emergency approval from OMB on April 30, 2015. FRA seeks a regular clearance (extension of the current approval for three years) to continue this effort to enhance the mechanical safety of tank cars in high hazard flammable trains transporting large quantities of Class 3 flammable liquids. 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.

FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that it intends to grant the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a waiver from FRA's Buy America requirement under 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(2)(B) for the purchase of seven (7) turnouts manufactured by VAE Nortrak North America, Inc. at its plant in Birmingham, Alabama, for use in the LIRR North East Corridor Congestion Relief Project at Harold Interlocking. The turnouts will contain four components (ZU1-60 steel left and right switch point rail sections and Schwihag roller assemblies and plates) not produced in the U.S. The roller assemblies and plates are manufactured in Switzerland, and the ZUl-60 steel switch point rail sections are manufactured in Austria. The foreign material comprises approximately 11.9 percent of the turnouts' $3.1 million cost or approximately $367,000. FRA believes a waiver is appropriate under 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(2)(B) for the ZUI-60 steel switch point rail sections and roller assemblies and plates because domestically-produced components meeting the specific needs of LIRR are not currently ``produced in sufficient and reasonably available amount or are not of a satisfactory quality.''

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Information Collection Requests (ICRs) abstracted below are being 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 collections of information was published on March 3, 2015 (80 FR 11518).

FRA hereby gives notice that it is submitting the following Information Collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for emergency processing under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. FRA requests that OMB authorize the collection of information identified below immediately upon publication of this Notice for a period of 180 days.

FRA hereby gives notice that it is submitting the following Information Collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for emergency processing under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. FRA requests that OMB authorize the collection of information identified below immediately upon publication of this Notice for a period of 180 days.

Recent derailments have occurred involving trains transporting large quantities of petroleum crude oil and ethanol. Preliminary investigation of one of these recent derailments involving a crude oil train indicates that a mechanical defect involving a broken tank car wheel may have caused or contributed to the incident. FRA is issuing this Safety Advisory to make recommendations to enhance the mechanical safety of the cars in trains transporting large quantities of flammable liquids. This Safety Advisory recommends that railroads use highly qualified individuals to conduct the brake and mechanical inspections and recommends a reduction to the impact threshold levels the industry currently uses for wayside detectors that measure wheel impacts to ensure the wheel integrity of tank cars in those trains.

Consistent with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations, this document provides notice of FRA's intent to modify the existing instructions applicable to one currently approved information collection reporting form (Form FRA F 6180.54, Rail Equipment Accident/Incident Report). For a projected five-year period, FRA seeks to gather additional data on Form FRA F 6180.54 concerning rail cars carrying petroleum crude oil (crude oil) in any train involved in an FRA reportable accident. At present, railroads do not report this specific information to FRA on Form FRA F 6180.54, but rather aggregate crude oil information with information about all other hazardous materials being transported. This new reporting requirement will help FRA capture more specific information on accidents that involve trains transporting crude oil and provide FRA an opportunity to better address risks to railroad safety and the general public.

FRA and PHMSA are issuing this notice to remind railroads operating a ``high hazard flammable train'' (HHFT)defined as a train comprised of 20 or more loaded tank cars of a Class 3 flammable liquid in a continuous block, or a train with 35 or more loaded tank cars of a Class 3 flammable liquid across the entire trainas well as the offerors of Class 3 flammable liquids transported on such trains, that certain information may be required by PHMSA and/or FRA personnel during the course of an investigation immediately following an accident.

On April 3, 2015 (80 FR 18292), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) provided notice of a public hearing to receive views, data, and comments regarding BNSF Railway's (BNSF) petition for modification and extension of its waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained in title 49 Code of Federal Regulations part 232, Brake System Safety Standards for Freight and Other Non-Passenger Trains and Equipment, in Docket Number FRA-2006-24812. The notice contained an incorrect date of the public hearing.

FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that it intends to grant the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on behalf of its commuter railroad subsidiaries, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company (Metro-North), a waiver from FRA's Buy America requirement for the use of (a) transponders and (b) Temporary Speed Restriction (TSR) safety servers, which are made in Sweden. Transponders and TSR safety servers are two components of LIRR's and Metro-North's Positive Train Control system (PTC). The two non-domestic components represent approximately 1% of the $428 million total value of the contracts Metro-North and LIRR entered into with a system integrator to design and furnish PTC (PTC Contracts). The TSR safety servers cost less than $1 million and the transponders approximately $4 million. FRA anticipates funding the PTC Contracts, and other PTC-related projects, under a $967.1 million FRA Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing loan.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) hereby announces that it is seeking an extension of the following currently approved information collection activities. On March 13, 2015, FRA issued its ``Railworthiness Directive Under 49 CFR 180.509 for Railroad Tank Cars Equipped With Certain McKenzie Valve & Machining LLC Valves'' and published this Directive in the Federal Register on March 18, 2015. See 80 FR 14027. Also, on March 18, 2015, FRA published a Notice in the Federal Register requesting immediate Emergency Clearance Processing from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the information collection associated with its Railworthiness Directive Notice No. 1. See 80 FR 14238. On March 19, 2015, OMB granted FRA's request for Emergency Clearance for its Railworthiness Directive Notice No. 1. The information collection activities associated with FRA's Railworthiness Directive Notice No. 1 received a six-month approval. FRA now seeks a regular clearance (extension of the current approval for three years) while tank car owners possessing the thousands of tank cars utilizing these problematic unapproved valves have them removed and replaced with approved valves. FRA has issued this Railworthiness Directive (Directive) to all owners of tank cars used to transport hazardous materials within the United States to ensure they identify and appropriately remove and replace these valves with approved valves consistent with Federal regulations. 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.