[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 208 (Friday, October 28, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page ]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-26694]


[Federal Register: October 28, 1994]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Petition for Exemption or Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with 49 CFR 211.9 and 211.41, notice is hereby given 
that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has received from the 
Association of American Railroads (AAR) a request for an interim waiver 
of compliance with a requirement of Federal rail safety standards. The 
petition is described below, including the regulatory provisions 
involved and the nature of the relief being requested.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate 
scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since 
the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. If any interested party 
desires an opportunity for oral comment, they should notify FRA, in 
writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for 
their request.
    All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number (e.g., Waiver Petition Docket Number RSFC-94-
2) and must be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Clerk, Office of 
Chief Counsel, Federal Railroad Administration, Nassif Building, 400 
Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590. Communications received 
before December 1, 1994, will be considered by FRA before final action 
is taken. Comments received after that date will be considered as far 
as practicable. All written communications concerning these proceedings 
are available for examination during regular business hours (9 a.m.-5 
p.m.) in Room 8201, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20590.

Association of American Railroads (AAR)--(Waiver Petition Docket 
Number RSFC-94-2)

    The Association of American Railroads (AAR) seeks an interim waiver 
of compliance with certain provisions of the Railroad Freight Car 
Safety Standards, 49 CFR Part 215. The AAR is requesting an exemption 
from the requirement of 49 CFR 215.103(h) which requires the removal 
from service of freight car wheels that show signs of having been 
overheated as evidenced by reddish brown discoloration, as it is 
applied to heat-treated curved-plate wheels. As a result of a petition 
by the AAR (Rulemaking Petition No. 93-1), the FRA intends to initiate 
a rulemaking addressing the proposal to revise 49 CFR 215.103(h) as it 
applies to heat-treated curved-plate (HT-CP) freight car wheels.
    AAR indicates that it is filing this petition for an interim waiver 
to address the situation while the rulemaking process proceeds.
    AAR requests that FRA issue a waiver providing in substance, that:
    49 CFR 215.103 shall not prohibit a railroad from placing or 
continuing in service a freight car if the only reason for such 
prohibition is one or more wheels that are discolored as described in 
49 CFR 215.103(h), provided:
    (i) Each such discolored wheel is heat-treated and is of curve-
plate design,
    (ii) Each such wheel is identified as a heat-treated curved-plate 
wheel in accordance with AAR interchange rules, and
    (iii) The railroad has submitted to FRA and to AAR a written 
agreement to participate in the Data Collection Program on Premature 
Wheel Failure.
    AAR cites the following justification for the waiver request:
    1. HT-CP wheels are extraordinarily resistant to the development of 
residual tensile rim stresses which are a precondition for wheel 
fracture.
    2. The resistance of HT-CP wheels to development of residual 
tensile rim stress is a function of the design of the wheels and the 
manufacturing processes used.
    3. In-service wheel failure data and experimental data show that 
HT-CP wheels have an incidence of residual tensile rim stress and of 
wheel failure that is approximately the same as non-discolored HT-CP 
wheels.
    4. Transport Canada, the Canadian rail safety agency, does not 
prohibit the use of discolored curved-plate wheels on railroad freight 
cars. Canadian data collected over nine years similarly show that 
discolored and non-discolored HT-CP wheels fail for residual tensile 
rim stress related reasons at approximately the same rate.
    5. New air brake testing procedures have significantly reduced the 
likelihood of sticking brakes--the principal cause of the development 
of residual tensile rim stress in HT-CP wheels.
    6. Removal of HT-CP wheels costs the railroad industry 
approximately $40 million per year, yet provides no discernible safety 
benefit.

Data Collection on Premature Wheel Failure

    AAR proposes a data collection program that will provide a data 
base which can be used to make sound decisions about railroad freight 
car wheels, particularly HT-CP wheels.

    Issued in Washington, DC on October 21, 1994.
Phil Olekszyk,
Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Compliance and Program 
Implementation.
[FR Doc. 94-26694 Filed 10-27-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-M