[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 125 (Wednesday, June 28, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39979-39980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-16352]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with Part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR), notice is hereby given that the Federal Railroad Administration 
(FRA) received a request for a waiver of compliance

[[Page 39980]]

with certain requirements of its safety standards. 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.

Canadian National/Illinois Central Railroad (CN/IC) (Waiver 
Petition Docket Number FRA-1999-6143)

    CN/IC is seeking a permanent waiver of compliance with the Railroad 
Safety Appliance Standards, 49 CFR part 231.27(b)(4)(ii), which 
requires that ``When made of material other than wood, the tread 
surface shall be of anti-skid design and constructed with sufficient 
open space to permit the elimination of snow and ice from the tread 
surface.'' In FRA's Technical Bulletin MP&E 98-17, issued on June 15, 
1998 (originally issued in 1990 as Technical Bulletin MP&E 90-11) the 
floor most closely resemble cars described in Part 231.27, ``House and 
other box cars without hatch covers built or put in service after 
October 1, 1966.'' CN/IC states that its 350 cars (reporting marks ICG 
978650 to and including 978999) were built between 1981 and 1982. CN/IC 
further states that the original specifications for the car's 
construction required that all safety appliances will be in accordance 
with the United States Safety Appliance Standards and Power Brake 
Requirements as issued by FRA. CN/IC was under the assumption that the 
cars would have been grandfathered as having an excepted design. CN/IC 
cited its records which indicate that the car's end platform 
arrangements have never been stipulated as the primary or secondary 
cause in a personnel injury. CN/IC maintains that the demand for the 
bulkhead flatcars has been minimal, and thirty-one percent of the cars 
are either retired, bad ordered, not operating in the U.S., or in 
storage. Therefore, CN/IC requests that a waiver of compliance be 
granted for this series of cars.
    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 1999-
6143) and must be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Clerk, DOT 
Central Docket Management Facility, Room Pl-401, Washington, DC 20590-
001. Communications received within 30 days of the date 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.-5:00 p.m.) at the 
DOT Central Docket Management Facility, Room Pl-401 (Plaza Level), 400 
7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. 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.

    Issued in Washington, DC on June 22, 2000.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 00-16352 Filed 6-27-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P