[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 129 (Tuesday, July 7, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36732-36733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17827]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with title 49 CFR 211.9 and 211.41, notice is hereby 
given that the following railroads have petitioned the Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA) for exemption from or waiver of compliance with a 
requirement of its safety standards. Their petitions are 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 of 
their request.
    All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate waiver petition docket number and must be submitted in 
triplicate to the Docket Clerk, Office of Chief Counsel, Federal 
Railroad Administration, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Mail 
Stop 10, Washington, DC 20590.
    Communications received within 45 days of the date of 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 a.m. to 
5 p.m.) in Room 7051, 1120 Vermont Street, NW., Washington, DC. The 
individual petitions are as follows:

National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)
FRA Waiver Petition Docket No. HS-98-01

    Amtrak requests a waiver to maintain train and engine employee's 
hours of duty records in an electronic program in lieu of manually 
signed paper records.

Florida East Coast Railway Company (FEC)
FRA Waiver Petition Docket No. HS-98-02 

    FEC requests a waiver to utilize their ``Paperless Time Ticket 
Program'' to produce an electronic record of train and engine employee 
hours of duty in lieu of manually signed paper records.
    Both Amtrak and the FEC request a waiver of compliance with certain 
provisions of FRA Safety Regulations (Hours of Service of Railroad 
Employees). The waivers requested seek relief from Title 49 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 228.9(a)(1) for each railroad to utilize 
a computerized system of recording hours of duty data. Part 228.9(a)(1) 
requires that records maintained under Part 228 be signed by the 
employee whose time is being recorded, or in the case of train and 
engine crews, signed by the ranking crew member. Amtrak and the FEC 
seek

[[Page 36733]]

to utilize a secure computerized program of recording hours of duty 
information which would not comply with the above requirements for a 
``signature'' of the employee or ranking crew member. Amtrak and the 
FEC propose that each railroad's train and engine employee will have 
his or her own unique identification number and personal identification 
number (PIN). The PIN will remain confidential to the employee. When 
accessing the computer for input of the hours of service record, 
required by Sec. 228.11, the (PIN) will not appear on the computer 
screen when the employee enters his or her number. All data entered 
under access gained through use of the confidential PIN will be 
electronically stamped with the entering employee's name. The program 
will display the electronic signature on the employee's hours of duty 
record. Amtrak and the FEC requests a waiver to use the electronic 
stamp to satisfy the signature requirements of the ``Hours of Service 
of Railroad Employees.'' The railroads maintain that the change is in 
the best interests of all parties, in that, it will reduce unnecessary 
paperwork and the costs associated therewith while providing the 
railroads, its employees and the FRA with a superior level of 
information on a more timely basis than is currently available.

    Issued in Washington, DC on June 29, 1998.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 98-17827 Filed 7-6-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-6-P