[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 102 (Friday, May 26, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28011-28013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-13018]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration


Petition for Waivers of Compliance

    In accordance with 49 CFR 211.9, 211.41 and 211.45, notice is 
hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has 
received a request for a waiver of compliance with certain requirements 
of the Federal safety laws and regulations. The individual petition is 
described below, including the party seeking relief, the regulatory 
provisions involved, the nature of the relief being requested and the 
petitioner's arguments in favor of relief.

National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)

Docket Number H-95-1
    Amtrak requests waivers of compliance with certain provisions of 
the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) railroad safety regulations. 
It is seeking relief from sections of Railroad Safety Appliance 
Standards (49 CFR Part 231), Railroad Safety Glazing Standards (49 CFR 
Part 223) and Railroad Track Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 213). The 
relief is being sought in order to demonstrate the IC3 ``Flexiliner'', 
a three-car, articulated, diesel hydraulic, multiple unit trainset 
built by ABB Scandia A/S for the Danish State Railway (DSB).
    The demonstration is a joint project by Amtrak and ABB Traction, 
Inc. (ABB), and a number of potential sponsors, including state 
departments of transportation and commuter agencies. Amtrak is serving 
as the host agency and is acting as liaison with the FRA. The 
Flexiliner which will be demonstrated was built for the DSB and is 
presently in revenue service in Denmark. Modifications will be made to 
the equipment in Denmark to ensure the trainset meets Amtrak and FRA 
requirements, where practical.
    Amtrak anticipates that the Flexiliner trainset will arrive at the 
Port of Baltimore in July 1995, and be taken to Washington, DC for 
commissioning tests. After completion of the tests, it is intended that 
the Flexiliner will operate across the country and be placed in revenue 
service in the Portland-Eugene, Oregon corridor. This is contingent 
upon ABB receiving a contract award from Oregon, following a 
competitive proposal evaluation. Demonstration runs in Amtrak's 
Northeast Corridor, at a maximum speed of 110 mph, may be scheduled for 
dignitaries before shipment to Oregon. The train may also operate in 
either demonstration service or revenue service between other city 
pairs in other parts of the country.

[[Page 28012]]

    The Flexiliner will be comprised of three units. The front and rear 
unit each have two air cooled diesel engines and hydraulic 
transmissions. The two bogies of the end units are powered and the 
trailing bogie supports one end of the intermediate non-powered unit. 
The train is equipped with spring-loaded parking brakes, which replaces 
the handbrakes.
    Amtrak seeks a temporary waiver from compliance with the Railroad 
Glazing Standards, Section 223.15 (a) and (b), which requires that all 
front and rear facing windows on passenger cars must meet the FRA Type 
I testing criteria and all side facing glazing on passenger cars must 
meet the FRA Type II testing criteria.
    The front and rear facing windshields, manufactured by the Triplex 
Aircraft and Special Products, Limited (TASP), Birmingham, England, is 
comprised of three sheets of glazing interlayered with soft PVB 
resulting in a thickness of approximately 22.9 mm (.916 inch). The 
front and rear facing glazing material was subjected to the British 
Railways Board (BRB) Specification No. 566 for Type 2 windows, for 
locomotives and multiple units operating at speeds up 180 km/hr. The 
glazing material is designed to resist the penetration into the vehicle 
of a sharp cornered hollow steel cube having sides of a dimension of 70 
to 75 mm (2.76'' to 2.95'') and a mass of .9 kg (2 lbs), 
traveling at a speed of 290 km/hr (180 mph) per hour, the 
window to be vertically mounted in an ambient temperature of not more 
than 10 degrees C and with the window heater turned off. The result of 
the impact test was that all glass plies broke, some spalling off inner 
glass face, small split in PVB interlayer, and no penetration of the 
missile. The test specimen of TASP glazing adequately met the impact 
requirements for BRB test No. 566 for Type 2 windows.
    The side glazing is manufactured according to the National 
Standards Institute Code ANSI Z97.1-1984. The side window glazing outer 
pane is 6 mm (.24'') thick, heat-reflecting (coated), hardened, clear 
``Antelio''. The space in between panes is 12 mm (.48''), Argon gas-
filled to improve insulation. The inner pane is 4 mm (.16'') thick, 
specially hardened clear float glass. In general, the ANSI Test Code 
for Z97.1 simulates the load from a 100 pound person running at a speed 
of 22 feet/second hitting the glazing. The test is simulated with an 
impactor made of a punching bag filled with lead shot weighing a total 
of 100 pounds. The impactor is swung in a pendulum arc from a distance 
of 12, 18, and 48 inches from the vertically supported glazing test 
specimen. Interpretation of the test results depends upon the breakage 
of the test specimen, but the details are not included in this notice. 
Neither the front and rear facing glazing, nor the side facing glazing 
materials are in compliance with Part 223 because none of it was tested 
according to the testing criteria found in Appendix A to Part 223, 
Certification of Glazing Materials.
    Section 223.15(c) requires that each passenger car be equipped with 
minimum of four (4) emergency [side] windows. The Flexiliner has no 
emergency side windows per se, and the escape method is to break the 
windows with emergency hammers strategically located in the passenger 
compartments. Further, ABB states that wide aisles lead passengers to 
the four wide entrance doors located in the side of the three unit 
trainset. The entrance doors are normally electrically activated and 
pneumatically operated, and in an emergency can be manually opened in 
the absence of pneumatic pressure or electricity. The two side cab 
doors at each end of the trainset may also be used as emergency exits.
    Amtrak also seeks a temporary waiver from Section 231.12(c), which 
requires that each passenger car with wide vestibules have two (2) 
horizontal handholds located near each end on each side of the 
vestibule end sill. The Flexiliner has no horizontal handholds at 
either end of the trainset. Modifying the vehicle structure for 
handholds is impractical for such a short duration test, according to 
Amtrak.
    Section 231.12(d) requires uncoupling levers. The Flexiliner does 
not have a conventional uncoupling lever, since it was designed to be 
uncoupled electrically by yard or operating crews. A manually operated 
emergency lever is provided which does not meet FRA requirements. 
Amtrak is seeking a temporary waiver because to design and install a 
manual uncoupling lever is not practical for this [test] program. 
Further, the Flexiliner has a European style automatic coupler at each 
end. ABB stated that an adaptor would be provided so that the 
trainset's automatic coupler can be coupled to a standard AAR coupler.
    Amtrak states that during all tests, demonstration service, and 
revenue service, the train will not exceed the authorized speed for the 
class of track over which it is operating. However, Amtrak desires to 
explore cant deficient curving operation of this non-tilt trainset at 
speeds developing cant deficiency values in excess of the three inch 
limit defined in the track safety standards. The track safety standards 
in Section 213.57(b) prescribe a speed limit, not distinguishing 
between freight and passenger rolling stock, at which trains may 
operate over curved track as a function of curve radius (curvature) and 
the installed superelevation. In the general case, for any combination 
of curvature and superelevation there is a specific (``balanced'') 
speed at which the effect of centrifugal force is cancelled and in the 
case of passenger cars the result is passenger insensitivity to actual 
curve negotiation. This is an ideal outcome for passenger trains which 
usually operate considerably faster than freight trains and, as a 
consequence, would demand greater superelevation to produce the 
balanced effect. The track standards permit the operation of trains on 
curves at speeds producing a conservative underbalance (or, put another 
way, ``cant deficiency'') in line with historic industry practice. On 
the other hand, successful passenger train operation in many places 
overseas is predicated on curve negotiation at train speeds developing 
significantly higher cant deficiencies than permitted by the U.S. track 
regulations. This practice has been followed abroad without incident 
for many years. State railroad authorities in Western Europe and Japan 
approved curving speeds for specifically designed rolling stock that 
produce cant deficiencies at the upper end of the acceptable range 
without passengers incurring centrifugal force-induced discomfort (for 
a detailed discussion of cant deficiency, see 52 FR 38035, October 13, 
1987).
    Amtrak and FRA have worked together in the conduct of cant-
deficiency-related analyses for four trainsets of foreign origin up to 
now. In its petition, Amtrak outlines the now standard procedural steps 
it intends to take in arriving at a safety qualification of the IC3 
trainset in the mode of cant deficient operation at values above three 
inches. If the petition is granted it would be FRA's responsibility to 
assure that Amtrak follows these procedures rigorously in this case 
just as was done in the past.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in this proceeding by 
submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate 
scheduling a public hearing in connection with this proceeding 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 H-95-1) 
and [[Page 28013]] must be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Clerk, 
Office of Chief Counsel, Federal Railroad Administration, Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C., 20590. 
Communications received by July 1, 1995 will be considered 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, S.W., Washington, 
D.C. 20590.

    Issued in Washington, D.C. on May 23, 1995.
Phil Olekszyk,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Compliance and Program 
Implementation.
[FR Doc. 95-13018 Filed 5-25-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-M