[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 170 (Thursday, August 31, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53079-53080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-22291]


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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 extension of a waiver of compliance 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.

Union Pacific Railroad Company

[Waiver Petition Docket Number FRA-2000-7669 (formally RSOP-96-1)]

    Union Pacific Railroad Company (UP) seeks an extension of a waiver 
of compliance from certain sections of 49 CFR Part 218, Subpart B--Blue 
Signal Protection of Workers. UP originally requested a permanent 
waiver of the provisions of 49 CFR 218.25, Workers on a main track, at 
its El Paso, Texas, fueling facility.
    UP has designated four additional tracks at the fueling facility as 
main tracks for a total of six main tracks in the facility, which are 
in the middle of the yard and are used for functions normally performed 
on yard tracks. UP originally requested relief so that they could have 
the flexibility of treating these main tracks at the El Paso facility

[[Page 53080]]

as tracks other than main tracks so it may have the option of 
protecting its employees working on, under, or between rolling 
equipment in accordance with 49 CFR 218.25 or 218.27, or a combination 
of both, in lieu of Part 218.25, Workers on a main track. UP believes 
that the safest and most efficient method of protecting its employees 
in the El Paso facility is through the use of a combination of blue 
signal protection and remotely controlled switches. This waiver was 
previously conditionally approved on May 27, 1997, for a two-year 
period, and a one-year extension was granted on June 24, 1999.
    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 (Waiver Petition Docket Number 2000-7669) and 
must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT Docket Management Facility, 
Room PL-401 (Plaza Level), 400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 
20590. 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 
above facility. 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, D.C. on August 25, 2000.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 00-22291 Filed 8-30-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P