[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 12, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 68723]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-28677]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2001-8622]


Notice of Public Hearing; Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Company

    The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company has petitioned the Federal 
Railroad Administration (FRA), seeking approval of the proposed 
discontinuance and removal of the traffic control system, on the single 
main track and sidings, between Spencer, Ohio, milepost 92.0 and 
Bellevue, Ohio, milepost 54.5, on the Hartland Subdivision, a distance 
of approximately 37.5 miles, and govern train movements by Track 
Warrant Control. This Block Signal Application proceeding is identified 
as Docket No. FRA-2001-8622.
    The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company has requested that FRA 
review its October 11, 2001 decision of denial. In a effort to clarify 
any previous misunderstandings, the FRA has conducted its own 
additional investigation and the FRA Railroad Safety Board made an on-
site visit and high-rail trip over the application area on July 18, 
2002. Notes of the visit, observations made during the trip, and 
additional information submitted by the railroad are contained in the 
public docket.
    After reviewing the original and most recent proposals, the various 
field investigations, the previous related dockets, and letters of 
protest, FRA has determined that a public hearing is necessary before a 
final decision is made on this application.
    The purpose of this public hearing is to gather additional 
information from all interested parties and to explore all available 
options and concerns before a final decision is made. Parties should be 
aware that available options may include reaffirmation of the denial, 
approval, conditional approval, or approval in part and denial in part.
    FRA is specifically interested in public comment regarding the 
following questions: Are there differences in risk exposure at 
different locations on the railroad? If so, what are they? Are any of 
the following options in the public interest and consistent with 
railroad safety?
    [sbull] Retention or partial retention of the existing traffic 
control system;
    [sbull] Conversion or partial conversion of the traffic control 
system to an automatic block signal system; or
    [sbull] Use of alternate technologies known to provide some degree 
of broken rail protection.
    Accordingly, a public hearing is hereby set for 9 a.m. on Thursday, 
December 12, 2002, in the Job and Family Services Building, located at 
185 Shady Lane Drive, in Norwalk Ohio. Interested parties are invited 
to present oral statements at the hearing.
    The hearing will be an informal one and will be conducted in 
accordance with Rule 25 of the FRA Rules of Practice (49 CFR Part 
211.25), by a representative designated by the FRA.
    The hearing will be a nonadversary proceeding and, therefore, there 
will be no cross-examination of persons presenting statements. The FRA 
representative will make an opening statement outlining the scope of 
the hearing. After all initial statements have been completed, those 
persons wishing to make brief rebuttal statements will be given the 
opportunity to do so in the same order in which they made their initial 
statements. Additional procedures, if necessary for the conduct of the 
hearing, will be announced at the hearing.

    Issued in Washington, DC on November 6, 2002.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety, Standards and Program 
Development.
[FR Doc. 02-28677 Filed 11-8-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P