Federal Railroad Administration October 27, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FRA hereby gives notice that it is seeking emergency approval processing from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) for the information collection request (ICR) listed below. FRA requests that OMB authorize the collection of information identified below on or before October 31, 2008, for a period of 180 days after the date of issuance of this notice in the Federal Register. On October 7, 2008, in response to the September 12, 2008, Chatsworth, California, collision of a Union Pacific (UP) freight train and a Metrolink commuter train, which resulted in the deaths of 25 people and numerous injuries, as well as other recent accidents/incidents involving cell phone use and use of electronic/electrical devices, FRA published in the Federal Register Emergency Order No. 26 (E.O. 26) (see 73 FR 58702) restricting on-duty railroad operating employees' use of cell phones and other distracting electronic and electronic devices. Because E.O. 26 goes into effect on October 27, 2008, and because E.O. 26 imposes information collection requirements that must be fulfilled by the nation's railroads, FRA is seeking emergency approval for the proposed collection of information to enforce compliance with E.O. 26 and to ensure the safety of affected railroad employees and the general public during train operations throughout the United States.