[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 190 (Friday, October 1, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 53444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25540]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration
[Docket No. FRA-1999-6070]


Notice of Application for Approval of Discontinuance or 
Modification of a Railroad Signal System or Relief From the 
Requirements of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 236

    Pursuant to Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 235 and 
49 U.S.C. App. 26, the following railroads have petitioned the Federal 
Railroad Administration (FRA) seeking approval for the discontinuance 
or modification of the signal system or relief from the requirements of 
49 CFR Part 236 as detailed below.

Docket No. FRA-1999-6070

    Applicant: Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Mr. William G. 
Peterson Director Signal Engineering 4515 Kansas Avenue Kansas City, 
Kansas 66106.
    Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway seeks approval of the 
proposed annual modification of the signal system for winter operation, 
on the two main tracks, between milepost 1151.74 and milepost 1152.34, 
near Marias, Montana, on the Montana Division, Hi Line Subdivision. The 
proposed changes consist of the following, on an annual basis, during 
winter operations:
    1. Temporarily spike, clamp, and disable switch controls in field 
for power-operated double crossover switches;
    2. Temporarily discontinue and turn to the field, the westbound 
home signals at Marias; and
    3. Temporarily extend the OS out to the existing westbound repeater 
signals, remove the number boards from the westbound repeater signals, 
and in effective convert the westbound repeater signals to the new 
westbound home signals.
    The reasons given for the proposed changes are that during winter 
operations it is impossible to keep switches clear of snow, causing 
train delays due to switches being out of correspondence, and the 
potential for unsafe air loss associated with stopping on a 1.66 
percent grade can be prevented.
    Any interested party desiring to protest the granting of an 
application shall set forth specifically the grounds upon which the 
protest is made, and contain a concise statement of the interest of the 
Protestant in the proceeding. Additionally, one copy of the protest 
shall be furnished to the applicant at the address listed above.
    All communications concerning this proceeding should be identified 
by the docket number and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT 
Central Docket Management Facility, Room PI-401, Washington, D.C. 
20590-0001. Communications received within 45 days of the date of this 
notice will be considered by the 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.-
5:00 p.m.) at DOT Central Docket Management Facility, Room PI-401 
(Plaza Level), 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590-0001. 
All documents in the public docket are also available for inspection 
and copying on the internet at the docket facility's Web site at 
http://dms.dot.gov.
    FRA expects to be able to determine these matters without an oral 
hearing. However, if a specific request for an oral hearing is 
accompanied by a showing that the party is unable to adequately present 
his or her position by written statements, an application may be set 
for public hearing.

    Issued in Washington, D.C. on September 27, 1999.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 99-25540 Filed 9-30-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P