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

Railroad Safety Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting Postponement
Document Number: 2016-30813
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-12-22
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
FRA announces the postponement of the fifty-seventh meeting of the RSAC, a Federal Advisory Committee that develops railroad safety regulations through a consensus process.
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
Document Number: 2016-30740
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-12-21
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
On October 18, 2016, under its emergency processing procedures, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection activities associated with FRA's Railworthiness Directive No. 2016-01. This 6-month approval expires on April 30, 2017. Since OMB's approval of the information collection activities associated with Railworthiness Directive No. 2016-01, on November 18, 2016, FRA issued a revised Railworthiness Directive which supersedes the original Directive. FRA is now seeking approval for the revised information collection activities and associated burden listed below. Before submitting this information collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval, FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities, which are identified in this notice.
Notice of Application for Approval of Discontinuance or Modification of a Railroad Signal System
Document Number: 2016-30446
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-12-19
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
Document Number: 2016-30445
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-12-19
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
Document Number: 2016-30444
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-12-19
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
Document Number: 2016-30443
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-12-19
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Notice of Application for Approval of Discontinuance or Modification of a Railroad Signal System
Document Number: 2016-30141
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-12-16
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
Document Number: 2016-30142
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-12-15
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
Document Number: 2016-30140
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-12-15
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
Document Number: 2016-30139
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-12-15
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Update to Email Address for the Electronic Submission via the Internet of Certain Accident/Incident Reports
Document Number: 2016-29309
Type: Rule
Date: 2016-12-07
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
This final rule updates FRA's accident/incident reporting regulations to provide the current electronic mail address railroads must use to electronically submit to FRA certain accident/incident report forms.
Railroad Police Officers
Document Number: 2016-29256
Type: Rule
Date: 2016-12-07
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
This rule amends FRA's regulations on railroad police officers to implement certain provisions of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Consistent with the FAST Act, FRA is amending its regulations to allow: Railroads to hire contractors as railroad police officers; railroad police officers to transfer from one state to another without immediately needing to be commissioned or certified in the new state; and a state to recognize an officer's training at another state's recognized police academy or at a Federal law enforcement training center as meeting the state's basic police officer certification or commissioning requirements.
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
Document Number: 2016-29237
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-12-06
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
FRA is seeking public comments on its proposal to renew its Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance to participate in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) program, ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' (OMB program). FRA will submit the information collection requirements described below to OMB for review, as required by the PRA. The OMB program was created to facilitate Federal agencies' efforts to streamline the process to seek public feedback on service delivery. Current FRA clearance under the OMB program expires May 31, 2017.
Passenger Equipment Safety Standards; Standards for Alternative Compliance and High-Speed Trainsets
Document Number: 2016-28280
Type: Proposed Rule
Date: 2016-12-06
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
FRA is proposing to amend its regulations for passenger equipment safety standards, which currently provide for passenger rail service in a shared right-of-way under two separate tiers of safety standards: Tier I (speeds up to 125 miles per hour (mph)) and Tier II (speeds up to 150 mph). Consistent with the regulations' approach supporting interoperable passenger rail service by sharing the right- of-way, this proposed rulemaking would add a new tier of safety standards (Tier III) to facilitate the safe implementation of interoperable high-speed passenger rail service at speeds up to 220 mph. However, Tier III standards would require operations at speeds above 125 mph to be in an exclusive right-of-way without grade crossings. The proposal also would establish crashworthiness and occupant protection performance requirements in the alternative to those currently specified for Tier I passenger trainsets. Adopting the proposed alternative crashworthiness and occupant protection requirements would remove regulatory barriers, allowing a more open U.S. rail market, incorporating recent technological designs. In addition, the proposal would increase from 150 mph to 160 mph the maximum speed FRA's existing regulations allow for passenger equipment that complies with FRA's Tier II standards.
Mitigation and Investigation of Passenger Rail Human Factor Related Accidents and Operations in Terminals and Stations With Stub End Tracks
Document Number: 2016-29013
Type: Notice
Date: 2016-12-05
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
FRA is issuing Safety Advisory 2016-03 to stress to passenger and commuter railroads the importance of taking action to help mitigate human factor accidents, assist in the investigation of such accidents, and enhance the safety of operations in stations and terminals with stub end tracks. This safety advisory contains various recommendations to passenger and commuter railroads related to inward- and outward- facing cameras, sleep apnea, and operating practices to potentially mitigate the occurrence and assist in the investigation of human factor related accidents and to enhance the safety of operations in terminals and stations with stub end tracks.
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