Federal Railroad Administration August 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.

On May 31, 2023, FRA published an NPRM proposing to require railroads to develop written programs for certifying signal employees and to submit those written certification programs to FRA for approval prior to implementation. On July 5, 2023, FRA published a notice extending the comment period by 30 days. By this notice, FRA is extending the NPRM's comment period by an additional 15 days.

This notice details the application requirements and procedures for the states of Alaska, South Dakota, and Wyoming to obtain Special Transportation Circumstances (STC) directed grant funding for eligible rail Capital Projects. The funding has been made available for the program by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017; Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019; Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020; Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021; Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022; Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023; and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2022 and 2023 supplemental Appropriations) (together, the Appropriations Acts). The opportunities described in this notice are available under Assistance Listing number 20.325, ``Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements.'' Alaska, South Dakota, and Wyoming must each submit applications for projects meeting the requirements of this notice to receive directed funding. Should FRA identify additional available funding after the release of this NOFO, FRA may elect to award such additional funding to a project submitted for funding under this NOFO, as permitted by law.

This document provides the public with notice that on July 25, 2023, North County Transit District (NCTD) submitted a request to field test its new Crash Energy Management (CEM) Bi-Level cab cars that have been equipped with NCTD's Interoperable Electronic Train Management System (I-ETMS) technology. FRA is publishing this notice and inviting public comment on NCTD's request to test its positive train control (PTC) system.

This document provides the public with notice that, on July 20, 2023, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) submitted a request for amendment (RFA) to its FRA-certified positive train control (PTC) system in order to establish an Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System II (ACSES II) Construction Zone (CZ) to support the construction of an extension of the Patchogue Siding and associated signal system changes for LIRR's modification of the current track infrastructure. FRA is publishing this notice and inviting public comment on the railroad's RFA to its PTC system.