Federal Railroad Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document provides the public with notice that, on December 11, 2024, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) submitted a request for amendment (RFA) to its Positive Train Control Type Approval and System Certification in order to add Amtrak AMT-27, which includes instructions for testing signal apparatuses and signal systems. 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 Amtrak's RFA to its Positive Train Control Type Approval and System Certification.

On October 24, 2024, FRA published an NPRM proposing to revise its regulations governing the minimum safety requirements for railroad track. The proposed changes would require all Class I and II railroads, as well as intercity passenger railroads and commuter railroads, to operate a qualifying Track Geometry Measurement System (TGMS), a type of automated track inspection (ATI) technology, at specified frequencies on all Class 1 through 5 mainline and controlled siding track that transports: annual tonnage greater than 10 million gross tons (MGT), regularly scheduled passenger rail service, or trains containing hazardous materials. FRA also proposed increasing the required frequency of TGMS inspections on Class 6 track. By this notification, FRA is extending the NPRM's comment period, which will close on December 23, 2024, by 15 days.

FRA is amending the Freight Car Safety Standards (FCSS) to implement section 22425 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Act). The Act places certain restrictions on newly built freight cars placed into service in the United States (U.S.) including limiting content that originates from a country of concern (COC) or is sourced from a state-owned enterprise (SOE) and prohibiting sensitive technology that originates from a COC or is sourced from a SOE. The Act mandates that FRA issue a regulation to monitor and enforce industry's compliance with the Act's standards.

This document provides the public with notice that, on October 30, 2024, Trinity Railway Express (TRE) submitted its Positive Train Control Safety Plan (PTCSP), Version 2.0, dated October 30, 2024, to FRA's Secure Information Repository. TRE asks FRA to approve its updated PTCSP and certify TRE's Interoperable Electronic Train Management System (I-ETMS) as a "mixed" positive train control (PTC) system. 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 TRE's RFA to its PTCSP.

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 4, 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 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.

FRA is proposing to amend certain regulations governing positive train control (PTC) systems. Since December 31, 2020, by law, PTC systems have generally governed rail operations on PTC-mandated main lines, which encompass nearly 59,000 route miles today. Through FRA's oversight and continued engagement with the industry, FRA has found that its existing PTC regulations do not adequately address temporary situations during which PTC technology is not enabled, including after certain initialization failures or in cases where a PTC system needs to be temporarily disabled to facilitate repair, maintenance, infrastructure upgrades, or capital projects. FRA expects PTC systems to be reliable and robust, further reducing the occurrence of initialization failures and outages. This NPRM proposes to establish strict parameters and operating restrictions under which railroads may continue to operate safely in certain necessary scenarios when PTC technology is temporarily not governing rail operations. The purpose of this NPRM is to enable continued, safe operations and improve rail safety by facilitating prompt repairs, upgrades, and restoration of PTC system service.

FRA is proposing to revise its regulations governing the minimum safety requirements for railroad track. The proposed changes would require all Class I and II railroads, as well as intercity passenger railroads and commuter railroads, to operate a qualifying Track Geometry Measurement System (TGMS), a type of automated track inspection (ATI) technology, at specified frequencies on all Class 1 through 5 mainline and controlled siding track that transports: annual tonnage greater than 10 million gross tons (MGT); regularly scheduled passenger rail service; or trains containing hazardous materials. FRA also proposes increasing the required frequency of TGMS inspections on Class 6 track.

This document provides the public with notice that, on October 11, 2024, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) submitted a request for amendment (RFA) to its FRA-approved Positive Train Control Safety Plan (PTCSP) to install Construction Zone (CZ) Transponders to reconfigure its positive train control (PTC) system on the South Side Middleboro Main Line (MML) at the Pilgrim Interlocking at Milepost (MP) 34.86 to its final configuration in order to interface with the adjacent new South Coast Rail (SCR) Lines. The CZ will result in the suspension of portions of the PTC system on the MML from December 1, 2024, to December 15, 2024. As this RFA involves 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 MBTA's RFA to its PTC system.

FRA is issuing Safety Advisory 2024-01 to emphasize the importance of rules and procedures regarding the safety of roadway workers who operate or work near roadway maintenance machines (RMMs). This safety advisory recommends that railroads and contractors review and update their rules regarding communication between roadway workers who work near RMMs and the operators of those RMMs, and increase monitoring of their employees for compliance with existing rules and procedures (including through operational testing). This safety advisory also recommends that railroads review and update their rules regarding work/red zones and evaluate the work/red zone distances for each type of RMM. In addition, this safety advisory recommends that railroads and contractors conduct additional safety briefings to raise worker awareness of the hazards associated with operating and working around RMMs.

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 substantive comments in response to the notice.