Federal Railroad Administration November 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FRA is issuing Safety Advisory 2016-02 out of concern for the number of railroad and railroad contractor fatalities that occur when roadway workers perform certain activities that fall outside the scope of FRA's safety regulations, but within the purview of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) regulations. FRA is issuing this Safety Advisory to remind railroads and railroad contractors, and their employees (including roadway workers) of the importance of identifying hazardous conditions at job locations, conducting thorough job safety briefings to discuss the hazardous conditions, and taking appropriate actions to mitigate those conditions. This Safety Advisory reminds railroads, railroad contractors, and their respective employees that OSHA's job safety regulations may apply to certain roadway worker activities and makes recommendations for hazard recognition strategies and challenge procedures that could improve roadway worker safety while roadway workers are engaged in activities subject to OSHA's regulations. FRA considers this Safety Advisory responsive to the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) Recommendations R-14-33, R-14-35, and R-14-36.

FRA announces its intent to prepare an EIS for the Baltimore- Washington Superconducting Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) (SCMAGLEV) Project (Proposed Action) jointly with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). The Proposed Action consists of the construction and operation of a high-speed SCMAGLEV train system between Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD with an intermediate stop at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI) Airport. FRA and MDOT will develop the EIS in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.

This document provides the public with notice that Amtrak submitted via FRA's Secure Information Repository a letter dated September 14, 2016, requesting FRA approval of its PTCSP Revision 4.0, dated August 2016, for Amtrak's Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System II (ACSES II).

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, FRA seeks the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the proposed information collection activities abstracted below. However, before submitting this proposed information collection request (ICR) to OMB for clearance, FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified below.