Federal Railroad Administration May 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FRA is issuing Safety Advisory 2010-01 in order to provide guidance to interested parties concerning the inspection and repair of FTTX series flatcars that have welded vertical hand brake supports that have been modified to accommodate a 10-inch wide hand brake step. FRA's Office of Railroad Safety Motive Power and Equipment (MP&E) Division has been notified that approximately 1,851 FTTX series flatcars that are owned by TTX Company (TTX) may have a notch cut into the vertical hand brake supports, which compromises the safety of the hand brake support angles.

FRA is proposing to amend its railroad communications regulations by restricting use of mobile telephones and other distracting electronic devices by railroad operating employees. This proposed rulemaking would codify most of the requirements of FRA Emergency Order No. 26, which would be supplanted by the final rule. FRA proposes that some of the substantive requirements of that order as well as its scope be changed by this rulemaking to accommodate changes previously recommended by a petition for review of that order and a number of additional amendments that FRA believes are appropriate. In addition, FRA is requesting comment regarding whether violations of this proposed subpart should be a basis for revoking a locomotive engineer's certification.

Under this Notice, the FRA is soliciting applications from interested and responsible parties for two grants: (1) To conduct a Locomotive Biofuel Study, and (2) to conduct a Study of the Use of Bio- based Technologies (Lubricants) that can be used in locomotives, rolling stock and other rail equipment.

Section 207 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (Division B of Pub. L. 110-432) (PRIIA) charged the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Amtrak jointly and in consultation with other parties, with developing new or improving existing metrics and minimum standards for measuring the performance and service quality of intercity passenger train operations. In compliance with the statute, the FRA and Amtrak jointly drafted performance metrics and standards for intercity passenger rail service and, on March 13, 2009, posted a draft document, entitled ``Proposed Metrics and Standards for Intercity Passenger Rail Service,'' on the FRA's Web site. Simultaneously, the FRA published a notice in the Federal Register (74 FR 10983) requesting comments on the Proposed Metrics and Standards from the Surface Transportation Board, rail carriers over whose rail lines Amtrak trains operate, States, Amtrak employees, nonprofit employee organizations representing Amtrak employees, and groups representing Amtrak passengers. Seventeen comments were submitted to the corresponding docket (number FRA-2009-0016) at regulations.gov by the end of the comment period on March 27, 2009 and as a result, the FRA and Amtrak have jointly made, and are jointly issuing, revisions to the Metrics and Standards. The final version of the Metrics and Standards is posted on the FRA's Web site at https://www.fra.dot.gov/us/ content/2165.

FRA is proposing to amend the Track Safety Standards and Passenger Equipment Safety Standards applicable to high-speed and high cant deficiency train operations in order to promote the safe interaction of rail vehicles with the track over which they operate. The proposal would revise existing limits for vehicle response to track perturbations and add new limits as well. The proposal accounts for a range of vehicle types that are currently used and may likely be used on future high-speed or high cant deficiency rail operations, or both. The proposal is based on the results of simulation studies designed to identify track geometry irregularities associated with unsafe wheel/ rail forces and accelerations, thorough reviews of vehicle qualification and revenue service test data, and consideration of international practices.