[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 154 (Thursday, August 8, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41441-41442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-20262]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[FRA Docket No. RST-93-3]


Petition for an Extension of the Period Within Which Compliance 
With the Provisions of 49 CFR 213.113(a)(2), Notes C and D, Will be 
Waived

Burlington Northern Santa Fe

    In accordance with 49 CFR 211.9 and 211.41, notice is hereby given 
that Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) has submitted a petition dated 
May 20, 1996 for the continued use on certain of its lines of a track 
device known as a Bulldog Clamp. The purpose of the device is 
to provide additional security between detection and removal of certain 
types of transverse defects internal to a rail head. The device 
achieves this purpose by functioning as

[[Page 41442]]

a boltless track joint centered on a rail at the location of a flaw and 
being attached to the rail by two ``C'' clamps. It is claimed that 
avoidance of bolting the joint saves time, but more important, 
eliminates drilled bolt holes in the rail web which can serve later as 
sources of equally unwanted defects of a different type.
    The petition requests that, for regions of the railroad where it is 
proposed to employ the device, the Federal Railroad Administration 
(FRA) specifically approve the following three conditions:
    1. Once clamps are applied to detail fractures, engine burn 
fractures or defective welds measuring 25 percent or greater of the 
head area, train sped shall be limited to 60 miles per hour or the 
maximum allowable speed under section 213.9 of 49 CFR Part 213 for the 
class of track, whichever is lower.
    2. BNSF shall remove these devices from the rails not more than 20 
days after application. If the internal rail head defect has not been 
removed by that time, bolted joint bars will be immediately applied and 
the provisions of section 213.113 shall govern.
    3. This waiver shall continue in effect for a period of 24 months 
from the date that it is issued by FRA.
    It should be noted that this petition is the fourth in a series 
that commenced in August of 1990 (see at 55 FR 50266, 56 FR 13515 and 
59 FR 9518 for earlier Federal Register notices descriptive of this 
program). In the virtual six years since that date, the device has been 
used, it is claimed, well over one hundred times and not once did a 
rail defect so protected progress to failure.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written views, data or comments. FRA does to 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 EFRA, in 
writing, before the need 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 Number RST-93-3) and 
must be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Clerk, Office of Chief 
Counsel, Federal Railroad Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590. Communications received within 45 days after 
publication of this notice 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 
(9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) in Room 8201, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20690.

    Issued in Washington, DC on August 5, 1996.
Phil Olekszyk,
Acting Associate Administrator for Safety.
[FR Doc. 96-20262 Filed 8-7-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-M