Federal Railroad Administration 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice announces FRA is forwarding for renewal the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the information collection and its expected burden. On December 21, 2016, FRA published a notice providing a 60-day period for public comment on the ICR.

On July 1, 2016, FRA published two interim final rules to comply with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. FRA received no comments in response to the interim final rules. This document confirms the July 1, 2016, interim final rules will not be changed and the effective date is August 1, 2016.

To comply with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, FRA is adjusting the minimum, maximum, and aggravated maximum penalties it will apply when assessing a civil penalty for a violation of a railroad safety statute, regulation, or order under its authority. FRA is also adjusting the minimum penalty, ordinary maximum penalty, and aggravated maximum penalty that it will apply when assessing a civil monetary penalty for a knowing violation of the Federal hazardous material transportation laws or a regulation, special permit, order, or approval issued under those laws. The aggravated maximum penalty under the hazardous material transportation laws is available only for a violation that results in death, serious illness, or severe injury to any person or substantial destruction of property.

FRA announces the eighth meeting of the NECSC, a Federal Advisory Committee mandated by section 212 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) and amended by section 11305 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (FAST Act). The NECSC is made up of stakeholders operating on the Northeast Corridor, and the purpose of the NECSC is to provide annual recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation. The NECSC meeting agenda will include presentations on: Implementation of Positive Train Control; the state of moveable bridges; New York City tunnel system inspection and maintenance; an update to the ongoing study of maintenance-of-way worker fatigue; state of the NEC catenary; condition of railroad tracks adjacent to the NEC; security along the NEC; and a general discussion of safety issues. This agenda is subject to change.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, FRA is informing the public that FRA has made three proposed revisions to the Quarterly Positive Train Control (PTC) Progress Report Form (Form FRA F 6180.165), which the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) previously approved on June 20, 2016, under its regular processing procedures. Before submitting this revised quarterly information collection request to OMB for regular clearance and approval, FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the proposed information collection identified below.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice announces that FRA is forwarding the renewal and reinstatement of the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, comment, and approval. The ICR describes the information collections and the expected burden. On December 6, 2016, FRA published a notice providing a 60-day period for public comment on the ICR.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice announces that FRA is forwarding the currently approved Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the information collection and its expected burden.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice announces that FRA is forwarding the proposed Information Collection Requests (ICRs) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs describe the information collections and their expected burden. On October 26, 2016, FRA published a notice providing a 60-day period for public comment on the ICRs.

On August 12, 2016, FRA published a final rule requiring commuter and intercity passenger railroads to develop and implement a system safety program (SSP) to improve the safety of their operations. See 81 FR 53850. In this document we are issuing a stay of those requirements until March 21, 2017.

This Notice announces the establishment of FRA's emergency relief docket (ERD) for calendar year 2017. The designated ERD for calendar year 2017 is Docket Number FRA-2017-0001.