Federal Railroad Administration 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is seeking comments on whether to grant a waiver of its Buy America requirements to the Nevada Department of Transportation (NVDOT) for certain components that are not produced in the United States for use in a high-speed passenger train project between Las Vegas, NV and Rancho Cucamonga, CA (Project). FRA selected the Project for funding under the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program (FSP Program), and therefore, FRA's Buy America requirements apply to the Project. FRA's Buy America requirements include both FRA's statutory requirements, which require 100 percent of the manufactured products and steel and iron used in an FRA-funded project to be produced in the United States, and the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA), which requires that all construction materials used in the FRA-funded project be produced in the United States. FRA is not proposing to waive the applicable BABA requirements for construction materials used in the Project, and therefore this proposed waiver would not apply to the construction materials used in the Project. The proposed waiver would apply to the trainset, signal systems, high-speed rail turnout and fire alarm systems based on the domestic nonavailability of such components, as identified by NVDOT's railroad operating partner Brightline West and the two potential suppliers (Alstom and Siemens) of the rolling stock and signaling systems for the project. NVDOT and Brightline estimate that over 95 percent of the total direct dollar expenditures for the Project would be spent on domestically sourced products and labor, including 100 percent of the civil infrastructure costs.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, FRA seeks approval of the Information Collection Request (ICR) summarized below. Before submitting this ICR to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified in the ICR.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, this notice announces that FRA is forwarding the Information Collection Request (ICR) summarized below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the information collection and its expected burden. On October 2, 2023, FRA published a notice providing a 60-day period for public comment on the ICR. FRA received no comments in response to the notice.

This document provides the public with notice that, on November 28, 2023, the New Mexico Rail Runner Express (NMRX) submitted a request for amendment (RFA) to its FRA-certified positive train control (PTC) system. FRA is publishing this notice and inviting public comment on the railroad's RFA to its PTC system.

This document provides the public with notice that, on November 8, 2023, Metro-North Commuter Railroad (MNR) submitted a request for amendment (RFA) to its FRA-approved Positive Train Control Safety Plan (PTCSP). As this RFA may involve a request for FRA's approval of proposed material modifications to an FRA-certified positive train control (PTC) system, FRA is publishing this notice and inviting public comment on the railroad's RFA to its PTCSP.

This document provides the public with notice that, on November 1, 2023, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) submitted a request for amendment (RFA) to its FRA- approved Positive Train Control Safety Plan (PTCSP) in order to update its positive train control (PTC) Onboard Computer (OBC) to Rev. 14.00 to correct two defects. As this RFA may involve a request for FRA's approval of proposed material modifications to an FRA-certified PTC system, FRA is publishing this notice and inviting public comment on SEPTA's RFA to its PTCSP.

This document provides the public with notice that, on October 31 and November 3, 2023, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) submitted a request for amendment (RFA) to its FRA-approved Positive Train Control Safety Plan (PTCSP). As this RFA may involve a request for FRA's approval of proposed material modifications to an FRA-certified positive train control (PTC) system, FRA is publishing this notice and inviting public comment on the railroad's RFA to its PTCSP.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, FRA seeks approval of the Information Collection Request (ICR) summarized below. Before submitting this ICR to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified in the ICR.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, FRA seeks approval of the Information Collection Request (ICR) summarized below. Before submitting this ICR to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified in the ICR.

This document provides the public with notice that, on October 17, 2023, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) submitted a request for amendment (RFA) to its FRA-certified positive train control (PTC) system. FRA is publishing this notice and inviting public comment on the railroad's RFA to its PTC system.

This document provides the public with notice that, on October 16, 2023, New Jersey Transit (NJT) submitted a request for amendment (RFA) to its FRA-certified positive train control (PTC) system. The RFA notifies FRA of a planned PTC outage to its I-ETMS PTC System for maintenance purposes. FRA is publishing this notice and inviting public comment on the railroad's RFA to its PTC system.

FRA is requiring the installation of inward- and outward- facing locomotive image recording devices on all lead locomotives in passenger trains, as required by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). In general, the final rule requires that these devices record while a lead locomotive is in motion and retain the data in a crashworthy memory module. The rule also treats locomotive-mounted recording devices on passenger locomotives as ``safety devices'' under existing Federal railroad safety regulations to prohibit tampering with or disabling them. Further, this rule governs the use of passenger locomotive recordings to conduct operational tests to determine passenger railroad operating employees' compliance with applicable railroad rules and Federal regulations. Finally, this rule requires Texas Central Railroad (TCRR) to install and maintain trainset image recording systems appropriate to TCRR's operation.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, FRA seeks approval of the Information Collection Requests (ICRs) summarized below. Before submitting the ICRs to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified in the ICRs.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its implementing regulations, FRA seeks approval of the Information Collection Request (ICR) summarized below. Before submitting this ICR to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified in the ICR.

FRA is issuing Safety Advisory 2023-05 to heighten awareness within the railroad industry of the potential failure of king pin assemblies in highway-rail grade crossing warning systems equipped with breakaway gates. This Safety Advisory recommends that railroads inspect and replace all worn components in king pin assemblies. This Safety Advisory also recommends that railroads develop inspection and maintenance programs for king pin assemblies.

FRA announces the sixty-fifth meeting of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC), a Federal advisory committee that provides advice and recommendations to FRA on railroad safety matters through a consensus process. This meeting of the RSAC will focus on efforts made regarding potential safety improvements related to the February 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.