Federal Railroad Administration August 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FRA is issuing this notice of interpretation to inform interested parties of its application and enforcement of the requirements for each railroad responsible for controlling joint operations territory to maintain a list of person(s) certified as a qualified locomotive engineer for the purposes of the joint operations. FRA has discovered that a number of controlling railroads are not maintaining accurate lists primarily because foreign railroads are not providing the controlling railroads with accurate information and the controlling railroads are not demanding it. If an accurate list is not maintained, a controlling railroad has little chance of preventing an uncertified or unqualified person from operating a locomotive or train in the joint operations territory. This document is intended to inform interested parties of what information is required to be maintained on the required list and provides information as to how often the listings should be updated.

FRA announces the 36th meeting of the RSAC, a Federal advisory committee that develops railroad safety regulations through a consensus process. The RSAC meeting topics will include opening remarks from the FRA Administrator, and status reports will be provided by the Passenger Safety, Locomotive Safety Standards, Railroad Bridge, Medical Standards, Railroad Operating Rules, and Track Safety Standards Working Groups. There will be a Committee vote on the acceptance of the report from the Railroad Bridge Working Group and a possible vote on an expanded task statement for the Track Standards Working Group. Accident/incident reporting is on the agenda for discussion by the Committee and there may be a vote on a contingent task statement. This agenda is subject to change.

On June 9, 2008, FRA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (73 FR 32515) proposing amending the eligibility and application form and content criteria of the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) Program to ensure the long-term sustainability of the program, promote competition in the railroad industry, and reduce the risk of default for applicants and the Government. Due to an administrative error, a Preliminary Regulatory Evaluation (Evaluation) was not included in the docket. This notice announces an extension of the comment period until August 26, 2008 to allow for consideration of the Evaluation.