Federal Railroad Administration November 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is issuing a waiver of its Buy America requirements to the California High-Speed Rail Authority (the Authority) to use certain products that are not produced in the United States for use in the California Inaugural High-Speed Rail Service Project between Merced, California and Bakersfield, California (Project). FRA is funding the Project under the Federal- State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program (FSP Program); 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 waiving the applicable BABA requirements for construction materials used in the Project. The final waiver would apply to the aluminum car shells, signal systems, high-speed rail turnouts and fire alarm systems based on the domestic nonavailability of such products, as identified by the Authority. The Authority estimates that over 98 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, 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 August 5, 2024, FRA published a notice providing a 60-day period for public comment on the ICR. FRA received no comments in response to the notice.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is seeking comments on whether to grant a waiver of its Buy America requirements to the Alabama State Port Authority (ASPA) for two rubber-tired gantry cranes, which are not produced in the United States, for use in the Rail Expansion, Rehabilitation, and Modernization ProjectMontgomery Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (Project). The Project received funds under the Fiscal Year 2022 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program; therefore, FRA's Buy America requirements apply to the Project. The proposed waiver would apply to two rubber-tired gantry cranes based on the domestic nonavailability of the cranes. The proposed waiver would not apply to any construction materials, and therefore, FRA is not waiving any applicable requirements under the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA).

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.