Federal Railroad Administration 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
Results 51 - 100 of 134
Positive Train Control Systems
FRA proposes amendments to the regulations implementing a provision of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 that requires certain passenger and freight railroads to install positive train control (PTC) systems. This notice proposes the removal of various regulatory requirements that require railroads to either conduct further analyses or meet certain risk-based criteria in order to avoid PTC system implementation on track segments that do not transport poison- or toxic-by-inhalation (PIH) hazardous materials traffic and are not used for intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation as of December 31, 2015.
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Requirements (ICRs) abstracted below are being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs describe the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collections of information was published on June 13, 2011 (76 FR 34287).
Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the California High-Speed Rail Project Merced to Fresno Section
FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been prepared for the California High-Speed Train (HST) Project Merced to Fresno Section (Project). FRA is the lead Federal agency and the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) is the lead state agency for the environmental review process. The Authority proposes to construct and operate a reliable high- speed electric-powered passenger train system along an approximately 65-mile corridor, from Merced, CA, to Fresno, CA that links those cities by delivering predictable and consistent travel times. The Project includes high-speed track alignments, stations in downtown Merced and Fresno. A heavy maintenance facility for assembly, testing, and commissioning of trains, train inspection and service, and train overhaul may be constructed in the Merced to Fresno Section. The Draft EIR/EIS presents the Project's purpose and need, identifies all reasonable alternatives including track alignments, stations, and heavy maintenance facilities as well as the no action alternative, describes the affected environment, analyzes the potential environmental impacts of all the reasonable alternatives and the no action alternative, and identifies appropriate mitigation measures to minimize the potential environmental impacts.
Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the California High-Speed Train Project Fresno to Bakersfield Section
FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been prepared for the California High-Speed Train (HST) Project Fresno to Bakersfield Section (Project). FRA is the lead Federal agency and the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) is the lead state agency for the environmental review process. The Authority plans to construct and operate a fully grade- separated, dedicated double-track, electric powered, passenger rail, high-speed railroad along a 114-mile corridor between Fresno and Bakersfield, CA. The Project includes stations in downtown Fresno and Bakersfield, and a possible Kings/Tulare Regional Station east of Hanford, CA. A heavy maintenance facility for assembly, testing, and commissioning of trains, train inspection and service, and train overhaul may be constructed in the Fresno to Bakersfield Section. The Draft EIR/EIS presents the Project's purpose and need, identifies all reasonable alternatives including track alignments, stations, and heavy maintenance facilities as well as the no action alternative, describes the affected environment, analyzes the potential environmental impacts of all the reasonable alternatives and the no action alternative, and identifies appropriate mitigation measures to minimize the potential environmental impacts.
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) hereby announces that it is seeking renewal of the following currently approved information collection activities. Before submitting these information collection requirements for clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified below.
Hours of Service of Railroad Employees; Substantive Regulations for Train Employees Providing Commuter and Intercity Rail Passenger Transportation; Conforming Amendments to Recordkeeping Requirements
FRA is amending its hours of service recordkeeping regulations, to add substantive hours of service regulations, including maximum on-duty periods, minimum off-duty periods, and other limitations, for train employees (e.g., locomotive engineers and conductors) providing commuter and intercity rail passenger transportation. The new substantive regulations require that railroads employing such train employees analyze and mitigate the risks for fatigue in the schedules worked by these train employees, and that the railroads submit to FRA for its approval the relevant schedules and fatigue mitigation plans. This final rule also makes corresponding changes to FRA's hours of service recordkeeping regulation, to require railroads to keep hours of service records and report excess service to FRA in a manner consistent with the new substantive requirements. This regulation is authorized by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
Tupelo, Mississippi Railroad Relocation Project
The Federal Railroad Administration announces the availability of the Tupelo, Mississippi Railroad Relocation Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for public review and comment.
Risk Reduction Program
FRA is announcing public hearings to provide interested persons an opportunity to discuss the development of a regulation requiring certain railroads to develop a Risk Reduction Program (RRP). The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 requires the development and implementation of railroad safety risk reduction programs. Risk reduction is a comprehensive, system-oriented approach to safety that (1) determines an operation's level of risk by identifying and analyzing applicable hazards and (2) develops plans to mitigate that risk. Each RRP is statutorily required to be supported by a risk analysis and a Risk Reduction Program Plan (RRPP), which must include a Technology Implementation Plan and a Fatigue Management Plan.
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Requirement (ICR) abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on April 20, 2011 (76 FR 22165).
Track Safety Standards; Concrete Crossties
This document delays the effectiveness of the final rule, which mandates specific requirements for effective concrete crossties, for rail fastening systems connected to concrete crossties, and for automated inspections of track constructed with concrete crossties. The Track Safety Standards were amended via final rule on April 1, 2011, and the final rule was scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2011. FRA received two petitions for reconsideration in response to the final rule that contain substantive issues requiring a detailed response. Accordingly, in order to fully respond to the petitions for reconsideration, this document delays the effective date of the final rule until October 1, 2011.
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b), this notice announces that new information collection requirements (ICRs) listed below have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). These new ICRs pertain to 49 CFR parts 213, 216, 220, 225, 229, 236, 237, and 240. Additionally, FRA hereby announces that additional ICRs listed below have been re-approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). These ICRs pertain to parts 207, 209, 210, 212, 214, 215, 216, 218, 219, 221, 222, 223, 228, 234, 238, 239, and 244. The OMB approval numbers, titles, and expiration dates are included herein under supplementary information.
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) hereby announces that it is seeking renewal of the following currently approved information collection activities. Before submitting these information collection requirements (ICRs) for clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified below.
Northeast Corridor Safety Committee; Meeting Postponement
FRA announced the first meeting of the Northeast Corridor Safety Committee, a Federal Advisory Committee mandated by Section 212 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) on June 6, 2011 (See 76 FR 32391). This meeting is postponed until further notice and will be rescheduled at a future date.
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Requirements (ICRs) abstracted below are being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs describe the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collections of information was published on April 1, 2011 (76 FR 18294).
Northeast Corridor Safety Committee; Notice of Meeting
FRA announces the first meeting of the Northeast Corridor Safety Committee, a Federal advisory committee that is mandated by Section 212 of the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA). The Committee is made up of stakeholders operating on the Northeast Corridor, and the purpose of the Committee is to provide annual recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation.
Accident/Incident Reporting Requirements
This document responds to petitions for reconsideration related to FRA's November 9, 2010, final rule revising FRA's regulations addressing accident/incident reporting and recording, the FRA Guide for Preparing Accident/Incident Reports (FRA Guide), its accident/incident recording and reporting forms in addition to its Companion Guide: Guidelines for Submitting Accident/Incident Reports by Alternative Methods (Companion Guide). The final rule, which becomes effective June 1, 2011, was intended to clarify ambiguous regulations and to enhance the quality of information available for railroad casualty analysis. This document amends and clarifies the final rule based on FRA's review of the petitions for reconsideration and in order to make necessary technical and clarifying changes.
Northwestern Pacific Railroad Co.; Notice of Partial Relief from Emergency Order No. 21
In response to a November 11, 2010, petition, this notice provides partial relief for the Northwestern Pacific Railroad Co. (NWP Co.) from the limitations of FRA Emergency Order No. 21. The relief allows the NWP Co. to re-open to rail traffic approximately 61.1 miles of trackage owned by Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) \1\ extending between (1) a point designated as Brazos Junction, milepost (MP) B49.8 and the Ignacio Wye, MP 5-25.8 and (2) a point designated as MP 62.9 near Windsor, California. Emergency Order No. 21 remains in effect between MP 62.9 near Windsor, California and MP 295.5 at Arcata, California, except for the partial relief from Emergency Order No. 21 that FRA granted in Emergency Order No. 21, Notice 2, for approximately 1.5 miles of track and certain yard track in Willits, California.
Study on Protection of Certain Railroad Risk Reduction Data From Discovery or Use in Litigation
In accordance with section 109 of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA), FRA is soliciting public comment on the issue of whether it is in the public interest, including public safety and the legal rights of persons injured in railroad accidents, to withhold from discovery or use in litigation in a Federal or State court proceeding for damages involving personal injury or wrongful death against a carrier any report, survey, schedule, list, or data compiled or collected for the purpose of evaluating, planning, or implementing a railroad safety risk reduction program required under the RSIA, including a railroad carrier's analysis of its safety risks and its statement of the mitigation measures with which it will address those risks.
Railroad Safety Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting
FRA announces the forty-fourth 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 Hours of Service, Training Standards, Track Safety Standards, Dark Territory, Passenger Safety, and Medical Standards Working Groups. This agenda is subject to change, including the possible addition of further proposed tasks under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
Railroad Safety Appliance Standards
FRA is amending the regulations related to safety appliance arrangements on railroad equipment. The amendments will promote the safe placement and securement of safety appliances on modern rail equipment by establishing a process for the review and approval of existing industry standards. This process will permit railroad industry representatives to submit requests for the approval of existing industry standards relating to the safety appliance arrangements on newly constructed railroad cars, locomotives, tenders, or other rail vehicles in lieu of the specific provisions currently contained in part 231. It is anticipated that this special approval process will further railroad safety by allowing FRA to consider technological advancements and ergonomic design standards for new car construction and ensuring that modern rail equipment complies with the applicable statutory and safety-critical regulatory requirements related to safety appliances while also providing the flexibility to efficiently address safety appliance requirements on new designs in the future for railroad cars, locomotives, tenders, or other rail vehicles.
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) hereby announces that it is seeking renewal of the following currently approved information collection request (ICR). Before submitting these information collection requirements for clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities identified below.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
