Federal Railroad Administration – 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.

This document provides the public notice that by letter received February 21, 2025, Alaska Railroad (ARRC) petitioned FRA for relief from certain regulations concerning calibration of air flow method (AFM) indicators.

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 notice that by letter received January 8, 2025, Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART) petitioned FRA for relief from certain regulations concerning the clean, oil, test, and stencil (COT&S) requirements of diesel multiple unit (DMU) vehicles.

This document provides the public notice that by letter dated December 26, 2024, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) petitioned FRA for an extension of relief from certain regulations concerning rail cars equipped with end of car cushioning units.

This document provides the public notice that by letter dated October 25, 2024, BNSF Railway (BNSF) petitioned FRA for an extension of relief from certain 2-year periodic testing requirements for its solid-state microprocessor-based equipment.

This document provides the public with notice that, on February 10, 2025, Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) submitted a request for amendment (RFA) to its FRA-approved Positive Train Control Safety Plan (PTCSP) to request approval to install an updated software version V3.5.121, which includes Zone Controller (ZC) software, a ZC database, Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) software, and a Carborne Controller (CC) software update. As this RFA involves 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 PATH's RFA to its PTCSP.

This document provides the public notice that by letter dated January 24, 2025, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) revised its request for relief to permit the replacement of wheelsets on rail cars as part of CPKC's In-train Wheelset Replacement Program.

FRA is issuing this notice to approve a petition from Georgia Central Railway, L.P. (GC) and Heart of Georgia Railroad, Inc. (HOG) (collectively, Petitioners), subsidiaries of Genesee and Wyoming (G&W), for a Test Program designed to test self-propelled, zero-emission, battery-electric rail vehicles and their associated computer and telemetry technology systems, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the system and new operational approaches to rail vehicle technology in the short-haul movement of containers. The approval grants limited, temporary suspension of certain FRA rules necessary to facilitate the conduct of the Test Program, including an exemption for certain safety appliance laws (collectively, Impacted FRA Safety Standards).

This Notice announces the establishment of FRA's emergency relief docket (ERD) for calendar year 2025. The designated ERD for calendar year 2025 is docket number FRA-2025-0015.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is seeking comments on whether to grant a general applicability public interest waiver of its Buy America requirements for the purchase of used locomotives that would serve as the underframe or chassis to convert them to all- electric, renewable diesel, battery-powered, or other renewable-energy locomotives. Such projects would remove highly polluting locomotives from the national rail network and replace them with more efficient locomotives that will reduce overall emissions, address environmental burdens on communities, and create domestic jobs. Purchases of these locomotives under FRA-funded projects are subject to FRA's Buy America requirements. However, given the age of these used locomotives, it is difficult and may not be possible to verify whether they are fully compliant with FRA's Buy America requirements. In this general applicability waiver, FRA does not propose to waive the applicable Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) requirements. This proposed waiver would not apply to any other manufactured products, steel, iron, or construction materials.

FRA is withdrawing the October 29, 2024, NPRM that proposed to update FRA's procedures for waivers and safety-related proceedings to define the two components of the statutory waiver and suspension standard, "in the public interest" and "consistent with railroad safety."

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).