[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 12 (Thursday, January 17, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2507-2509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-1256]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2000-7257; Notice No. 26]


Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (``RSAC''); Working Group 
Activity Update

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Announcement of Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) 
working group activities.

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SUMMARY: FRA is updating its announcement of RSAC's working group 
activities to reflect their current status.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Trish Butera or Lydia Leeds, RSAC 
Coordinators, FRA, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW., Mailstop 25, Washington, 
DC 20590, (202) 493-6213 or Grady Cothen, Deputy Associate 
Administrator for Safety Standards and Program Development, FRA, 1120 
Vermont Avenue, NW., Mailstop 25, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 493-6302.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice serves to update FRA's last 
announcement of working group activities and status reports on April 6, 
2001, (66 FR 18352). The seventeenth full Committee meeting was held 
April 23, 2001, at the Mayflower Hotel in the Colonial Ballroom in 
Washington, DC. The eighteenth meeting is scheduled for February 13, 
2002.
    Since its first meeting in April of 1996, the RSAC has accepted 
seventeen tasks. Status for each of the tasks is provided below:
    Task 96-1--Revising the Freight Power Brake Regulations. This Task 
was formally withdrawn from the RSAC on June 24, 1997. FRA published an 
NPRM on September 9, 1998, reflective of what FRA had learned through 
the collaborative process. Two public hearings were conducted and a 
technical conference was held. The date for submission of written 
comments was extended to March 1, 1999. The final rule was published on 
January 17, 2001 (66 FR 4104). An amendment extending the effective 
date of the final rule until May 31, 2001 was published on February 12, 
2001, (66 FR 9905). In addition, the FRA is reviewing petitions for 
reconsideration of the final rule and has published amendments to 
Subpart D of the final rule (66 FR 36983; 8/1/01). Contact: Thomas 
Hermann (202) 493-6036.
    Task 96-2--(Completed) Reviewing and recommending revisions to the 
Track Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 213). This task was accepted April 
2, 1996, and a Working Group was established. Consensus was reached on 
recommended revisions and an NPRM incorporating these recommendations 
was published in the Federal Register on July 3, 1997, (62 FR 36138). 
The final rule was published in the Federal Register on June 22, 1998 
(63 FR 33991). The effective date of the rule was September 21, 1998. A 
task force was established to address Gage Restraint Measurement System 
(GRMS) technology applicability to the Track Safety Standards. A GRMS 
amendment to the Track Safety Standards was approved by the full RSAC 
in a mail ballot during August 2000. The GRMS final rule amendment was 
published January 10, 2001 (66 FR 1894) and the Roadway Maintenance 
Machines NPRM was published January 10, 2001 (66 FR 1930). On January 
31, 2001, FRA published a notice extending the effective date of the 
GRMS amendment to April 10, 2001 (66 FR 8372). On February 8, 2001, FRA 
published a notice delaying the effective date until June 9, 2001 in 
accordance with the Regulatory Review Plan (66 FR 9676). Contact: Al 
MacDowell (202) 493-6236.
    Task 96-3--(Completed) Reviewing and recommending revisions to the 
Radio Standards and Procedures (49 CFR Part 220). This Task was 
accepted on April 2, 1996, and a Working Group was established. 
Consensus was reached on recommended revisions and an NPRM 
incorporating these recommendations was published in the Federal 
Register on June 26, 1997 ( 62 FR 34544). The final rule was published 
on September 4, 1998 (63 FR 47182), and was effective on January 2, 
1999. Contact: Gene Cox (202) 493-6319.
    Task 96-4--Reviewing the appropriateness of the agency's current 
policy regarding the applicability of existing and proposed regulations 
to tourist, excursion, scenic, and historic railroads. This Task was 
accepted on April 2, 1996, and a Working Group was established. The 
Working Group monitored the steam locomotive regulations task. Planned 
future activities involve the review of other regulations for possible 
adaptation to

[[Page 2508]]

the safety needs of tourist and historic railroads. Contact: Grady 
Cothen (202) 493-6302.
    Task 96-5--(Completed) Reviewing and recommending revisions to 
Steam Locomotive Inspection Standards (49 CFR Part 230). This Task was 
assigned to the Tourist and Historic Working Group on July 24, 1996. 
Consensus was reached and an NPRM was published on September 25, 1998 
(63 FR 51404). A public hearing was held on February 4, 1999, and 
recommendations were developed in response to comments received. The 
final rule was published on November 17, 1999 (64 FR 62828). The final 
rule became effective January 18, 2000. Contact: George Scerbo (202) 
493-6349.
    Task 96-6--(Completed) Reviewing and recommending revisions to 
miscellaneous aspects of the regulations addressing Locomotive Engineer 
Certification (49 CFR Part 240). This Task was accepted on October 31, 
1996, and a Working Group was established. Consensus was reached and an 
NPRM was published on September 22, 1998. The Working Group met to 
resolve issues presented in public comments. The RSAC recommended 
issuance of a final rule with the Working Group modifications. The 
final rule was published November 8, 1999 (64 FR 60966). Contact: John 
Conklin (202) 493-6318.
    Task 96-7--Developing Roadway Maintenance Machine (On-Track 
Equipment) Safety Standards. This task was assigned to the existing 
Track Standards Working Group on October 31, 1996, and a Task Force was 
established. The Task Force finalized a proposed rule which was 
approved by the full RSAC in a mail ballot in August 2000. The NPRM was 
published January 10, 2001 (66 FR 1930). The Task Force is to meet to 
review comments on February 27--March 1, 2002. Contact: Al MacDowell 
(202) 493-6236.
    Task 96-8--This Planning Task evaluated the need for action 
responsive to recommendations contained in a report to Congress 
entitled, Locomotive Crashworthiness & Working Conditions. This 
Planning Task was accepted on October 31, 1996. A Planning Group was 
formed and reviewed the report, grouping issues into categories, and 
prepared drafts of the task statements for Tasks 97-1 and 97-2.
    Task 97-1--Developing crashworthiness specifications to promote the 
integrity of the locomotive cab in accidents resulting from collisions. 
This Task was accepted on June 24, 1997. A Task Force on engineering 
issues was established by the Working Group on Locomotive 
Crashworthiness to review collision history and design options and 
additional research was commissioned. The Working Group reviewed 
results of the research and is drafting performance-based standards for 
freight and passenger locomotives to present to the RSAC for 
consideration. An accident review task force has evaluated the 
potential effectiveness of suggested improvements. An NPRM has been 
prepared and circulated, and the Working Group met to review the draft 
on October 9-10, 2001. The next meeting is scheduled for January 17-18, 
2002 to go over proposed drafts. The full RSAC will review after 
approval of the Working Group. Contact: Sean Mehrvazi (202) 493-6237.
    Task 97-2--Evaluating the extent to which environmental, sanitary, 
and other working conditions in locomotive cabs affect the crew's 
health and the safe operation of locomotives, proposing standards where 
appropriate. This Task was accepted June 24, 1997.
    (Sanitation). A draft sanitation NPRM was circulated to the Working 
Group on Cab Working Conditions with ballot requested by November 3, 
2000. The NPRM on sanitation was discussed during the full RSAC meeting 
on September 14, 2000 and published January 2, 2001 (66 FR 136). A 
public hearing was held April 2, 2001. Refinement and substantive 
changes were incorporated into the rule language. A meeting was held on 
August 21, 2001, to discuss comments in response to the NPRM on 
sanitation. Agreement was reached on resolution of the comments to the 
NPRM. The Working Group gave concurrence to send the recommendations to 
the full RSAC for mail ballot vote. The recommendations were approved 
by the full Committee in December 2001, and FRA is preparing the final 
rule for early issuance.
    (Noise exposure.) A Task Force has assisted in identifying options 
for strengthening the occupational noise exposure standard, and the Cab 
Working Group met in October and November, 2000, and April, 2001, and 
reached tentative agreement on most of the significant issues related 
to the noise NPRM. The Cab Working Group held a meeting April 3 to 5, 
2001, to discuss Noise exposure Standards. Refinement and substantive 
changes were incorporated into the rule language. A full draft NPRM 
will be circulated to the working group for consideration. The Cab 
Working Group has also considered issues related to cab temperature, 
and is expected to consider additional issues (such as vibration) in 
the future. Contact: Jeffrey Horn (202) 493-6283.
    Task 97-3--Developing event recorder data survivability standards. 
This Task was accepted on June 24, 1997. The Event Recorder Working 
Group is completing preparation of an NPRM. The NPRM went to the 
Working Group on May 21, 2001, for comments, and FRA has reviewed the 
comments. A new draft is under review within FRA. It will be circulated 
to the Working Group, which will be asked to consider it. Contact: 
Edward Pritchard (202) 493-6247.
    Task 97-4 and Task 97-5--Defining Positive Train Control (PTC) 
functionalities, describing available technologies, evaluating costs 
and benefits of potential systems, and considering implementation 
opportunities and challenges, including demonstration and deployment. 
Task 97-6--Revising various regulations to address the safety 
implications of processor-based signal and train control technologies, 
including communications-based operating systems. These three tasks 
were accepted on September 30, 1997, and assigned to a single Working 
Group. A Data and Implementation Task Force, formed to address issues 
such as assessment of costs and benefits and technical readiness, 
completed a report on the future of PTC systems. The report was 
accepted as RSAC's Report to the Administrator at the September 8, 
1999, meeting. The Standards Task Force, formed to develop PTC 
standards, is developing draft recommendations for performance-based 
standards for processor-based signal and train control standards. The 
NPRM was approved by consensus at the full RSAC meeting held on 
September 14, 2000. The NPRM was published in the Federal Register on 
August 10, 2001. A meeting of the Working Group was held December 4-6, 
2001, in San Antonio, Texas to formulate recommendations for resolution 
of issues raised in the public comments. Consultations continue to 
complete that activity, after which recommendations will be submitted 
to the full committee for consideration. Monitoring of implementation 
continues. Task forces on Human Factors and the Axiomatic Safety-
Critical Assessment Process (risk assessment) continue to work, and the 
Working Group will continue to meet to monitor project implementation. 
Contact: Grady Cothen (202) 493-6302.
    Task 97-7--Determining damages qualifying an event as a reportable 
train accident. This Task was accepted on September 30, 1997. A working 
group was formed to address this task and conducted their initial 
meeting on February 8, 1999. The working group

[[Page 2509]]

designed a survey form to collect specific data about damages to 
railroad equipment. The survey started on August 1 and ended January 
31, 2001. A statistical analysis, using the survey data, was done to 
see if the method could be used to calculate property damages. The 
report was complete by the last week of April, 2001. A meeting was held 
May 21-23, 2001 to review the report. The Working Group has agreed to 
terminate action on this task after reviewing the options. The Working 
Group is reviewing a draft close-out report for approval by the full 
RSAC. Contact: Robert Finkelstein (202) 493-6280.
    Task 00-1--Determining the need to amend regulations protecting 
persons who work on, under, or between rolling equipment and persons 
applying, removing or inspecting rear end marking devices (Blue Signal 
Protection). A working group has been formed and held its first meeting 
on October 16-18, 2000. Meetings have been held: February 27-March 1, 
2001, March 19-21, 2001, May 1-3, 2001, June 19-21, 2001 and October 
23-25, 2001. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for January 
2002. The Working Group has reached tentative consensus on several 
issues. Contact: Doug Taylor (202) 493-6255.
    Task 01-1--Developing conformity of FRA's regulations for accident/
incident reporting (49 CFR Part 225) to revised regulations of the 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department 
of Labor, and to make appropriate revisions to the FRA Guide for 
Preparing Accident/Incident Reports (Reporting Guide). This task was 
accepted April 23, 2001, by the full RSAC and assigned to the Accident/
Incident Working Group. At a meeting of the Working Group, held May 21-
23, 2001, the task was discussed, and four task forces were set up to 
review changes and/or modifications. To date, these task forces have 
identified a series of minor modifications to the Reporting Guide/
regulations for consideration. A target of September 15, 2001, was set 
for reporting the recommended changes. The Working Group met September 
11, 2001; meeting was dismissed due to national emergency. A meeting 
was held November 14-15, 2001 in St. Louis, Missouri. A Task Force on 
Remote Control met on December 11, 2001. The next meeting is scheduled 
for January 23-24, 2002, in Baltimore, Maryland. Contact: Contact: 
Robert Finkelstein (202) 493-6280.
    Please refer to the notice published in the Federal Register on 
March 11, 1996 (61 FR 9740) for more information about the RSAC.

    Issued in Washington, DC on January 11, 2002.
George A. Gavalla,
Associate Administrator for Safety.
[FR Doc. 02-1256 Filed 1-16-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P