Federal Railroad Administration December 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Petition for Waiver of Compliance
Document Number: 2014-30465
Type: Notice
Date: 2014-12-30
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
Document Number: 2014-30247
Type: Notice
Date: 2014-12-30
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the renewal Information Collection Requests (ICRs) abstracted below arebeing forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICRs 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 October 17, 2014 (79 FR 62513).
Monetary Threshold for Reporting Rail Equipment Accidents/Incidents for Calendar Year 2015
Document Number: 2014-30113
Type: Rule
Date: 2014-12-24
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
This rule maintains the rail equipment accident/incident monetary reporting threshold at $10,500 for railroad accidents/ incidents involving property damage that occur during calendar year (CY) 2015 that FRA's accident/incident reporting regulations require to be reported to the agency. FRA is maintaining the reporting threshold at the CY 2014 level because, in part, wage data for the second-quarter of 2014, (the data used to calculate the threshold) was abnormally high due to retroactive payment of wage increases resulting from labor contract agreements affecting several railroads. FRA believes that the data does not accurately reflect the changes in labor costs for the second-quarter of 2014 and leads to an overinflated threshold calculation for CY 2015. In addition, FRA is maintaining the monetary threshold for CY 2015 at the CY 2014 level while it reexamines the method for calculating the monetary threshold it last updated in 2005.
Alcohol and Drug Testing: Determination of Minimum Random Testing Rates for 2015
Document Number: 2014-29747
Type: Rule
Date: 2014-12-19
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
This notice of determination provides the FRA Administrator's minimum annual random drug and alcohol testing rates for calendar year 2015. According to data from FRA's Management Information System, the rail industry's random drug testing positive rate has remained below 1.0 percent for the last two years. FRA's Administrator has therefore determined that the minimum annual random drug testing rate for the period January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015, will remain at 25 percent of covered railroad employees. In addition, because the industry-wide random alcohol testing violation rate has remained below 0.5 percent for the last two years, the Administrator has determined that the minimum random alcohol testing rate will remain at 10 percent of covered railroad employees for the period January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. Railroads remain free, as always, to conduct random testing at higher rates.
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
Document Number: 2014-29398
Type: Notice
Date: 2014-12-16
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Notice of Public Hearing and Extension of Public Comment Period
Document Number: 2014-29397
Type: Notice
Date: 2014-12-16
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Notice of Application for Approval of Discontinuance or Modification of a Railroad Signal System
Document Number: 2014-29127
Type: Notice
Date: 2014-12-12
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Petition for Waiver of Compliance
Document Number: 2014-28518
Type: Notice
Date: 2014-12-05
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
Document Number: 2014-28506
Type: Notice
Date: 2014-12-05
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the renewal Information Collection Requests (ICR) abstracted below are 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 September 5, 2014 (79 FR 56616).
Notice of Intent To Grant Buy America Waivers to National Railroad Passenger Corporation and California High-Speed Rail Authority for the Non-Domestic Final Assembly of Four “Prototype” Tier III High-Speed Rail Trainsets
Document Number: 2014-28365
Type: Notice
Date: 2014-12-02
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that it intends to grant the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) and California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) waivers from FRA's Buy America requirement for the non-domestic final assembly of up to four (two for Amtrak; two for the Authority) ``prototype'' Tier III high-speed rail (HSR) trainsets in connection with the procurement of HSR trainsets. These waivers apply only to the final assembly of up to two prototype HSR trainsets each for Amtrak and the Authority. Each waiver is subject to the following condition: Before issuing a ``Notice To Proceed'' to any selected supplier, Amtrak and the Authority each must certify and provide support to FRA that its selected supplier still has not established domestic manufacturing facilities capable of assembling the prototypes and delivering them within a reasonable time. All components used in the prototypes must still be domestically manufactured or separate waivers for components requested and granted before assembly of the prototypes can commence.
Roadway Worker Authority Limits-Importance of Clear Communication, Compliance with Applicable Rules and Procedures, and Ensuring that Appropriate Safety Redundancies Are in Place in the Event of Miscommunication or Error; Correction
Document Number: 2014-28380
Type: Notice
Date: 2014-12-01
Agency: Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation
On November 25, 2014, FRA published a document in the Federal Register to reemphasize the importance of clear communication and compliance with applicable rules and procedures regarding roadway worker authority limits on controlled track, and to ensure that appropriate safety redundancies are in place to protect against miscommunication or error. The document contained an incorrect job designation (``foreman'' instead of ``roadway worker in charge'') for an employee in the first incident discussed in the safety advisory that resulted in an employee fatality, and an incorrect location (``Danbury,'' instead of ``West Haven,'' Connecticut) for the second incident that also resulted in an employee fatality. The safety advisory otherwise remains unchanged.
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