[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 89 (Thursday, May 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24788-24789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11457]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2003-15100]


Notice of Informal Safety Inquiry

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of informal safety inquiry; technical conference.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to 49 CFR 211.61, FRA is issuing this document to 
notify all interested parties that FRA is conducting an informal safety 
inquiry and technical conference related to the application of safety 
appliances on passenger equipment. The primary focus of this informal 
safety inquiry and technical conference is to elicit views and 
information from interested parties to aid FRA in its safety oversight 
of existing passenger equipment with safety appliance arrangements that 
are mechanically affixed to brackets or plates that are welded onto the 
equipment. FRA intends for this informal inquiry to clarify further 
both the safety concerns and economic considerations involved in the 
various approaches available to FRA for addressing this existing 
equipment. The technical conference may also include a general 
discussion of the safety issues and practical concerns related to FRA's 
general prohibition on the weldment of safety appliances and safety 
appliance brackets or supports.

DATES: Technical Conference: A technical conference will be held on the 
date and at the location listed below to provide interested parties the 
opportunity to provide information and discuss the safety and economic 
issues related to the agency's handling of existing passenger equipment 
with safety appliances that are attached to the vehicles with some form 
of welded brackets, plates, or direct fixation. The date of the 
technical conference is as follows: June 17, 2003, at 10 a.m. in 
Washington, DC.
    Comments: In addition to, or in lieu of, participation in the 
technical conference, interested parties may submit comments and 
information relevant to the issues identified in this notice or 
discussed at the technical conference to the address noted below. Such 
written materials should be received within 30 days after the date of 
the technical conference, noted above.

ADDRESSES: (1) Technical Conference: The technical conference will be 
held in the Adams Room at the Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle, 
NW., Washington, DC 20005.
    (2) Attendance: Notification to FRA's Docket Clerk must identify 
the name, address, and telephone number of each participant or attendee 
at the technical conference. This notification should be submitted to 
the Docket Clerk, Office of Chief Counsel, Federal Railroad 
Administration, RCC-10, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW., Stop 10, Washington, 
DC 20590.
    (3) Comments: Anyone wishing to file a comment related to this 
informal safety inquiry should refer to the FRA docket number (Docket 
No. FRA-2003-15100). You may submit your comments and related material 
by only one of the following methods:
    (i) By mail to the Docket Management System, United States 
Department of Transportation, room PL-401, 400 7th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001; or
    (ii) Electronically through the Web site for the Docket Management 
System at http://dms.dot.gov. For instructions on how to submit 
comments electronically, visit the Docket Management System Web site 
and click on the ``help'' menu.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this 
rulemaking. Comments and documents as indicated in this preamble will 
become part of this docket and will be available for inspection or 
copying at room PL-401 on the Plaza Level of the Nassif building at the 
same address during regular business hours. You may also obtain access 
to this docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.
    FRA wishes to inform all potential commenters that anyone is able 
to search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our 
dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or 
signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 
65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Steve Carullo, Safety Specialist, 
Motive Power and Equipment Division, FRA Office of Safety Assurance and 
Compliance, RRS-14, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW., Stop 25, Washington, DC 
20950 (telephone 202-493-6480), or Thomas Herrmann, Trial Attorney, FRA 
Office of the Chief Counsel, RCC-10, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW., Stop 10, 
Washington, DC 20950 (telephone 202-493-6053).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the technical conference is 
to permit the exchange of information and concerns regarding FRA's 
safety oversight of existing passenger equipment containing safety 
appliances that are attached to the equipment by some form of weldment, 
typically the weldment of a bracket or plate to which the safety 
appliance is then mechanically fastened. Historically, FRA has required 
that safety appliances be mechanically fastened to the car structure. 
FRA has also historically required that any brackets or supports 
applied to a car structure solely for the purpose of securing a safety 
appliance must be mechanically fastened to the car body. See MP&E 
Technical Bulletin 98-14. FRA's prohibition on the weldment of safety 
appliances and their supports is based on its longstanding 
administrative interpretation of the regulatory ``manner of 
application'' provisions contained in 49 CFR part 231 which require 
that safety appliances be ``securely fastened'' with a specified 
mechanical fastener. See e.g., 49 CFR 231.12(c)(4); 231.13(b)(4); 
231.14(b)(4) and (f)(4). FRA's prohibition on the welding of safety 
appliances is based on its belief that welds are not uniform, are 
subject to failure, and are very difficult to inspect to determine if 
the weld is broken or cracked. Mechanical fasteners, by contrast, are 
generally

[[Page 24789]]

easily inspectable and tend to become noticeably loose prior to 
failure.
    Generally, FRA's longstanding interpretation of the regulation 
prohibiting the weldment of safety appliances has not been seriously 
questioned or opposed since its inception. Virtually all railcars 
manufactured for use in the United States have their safety appliances 
and their safety appliance brackets and supports mechanically fastened 
to the car body, unless a specific exception has been provided by FRA 
or the regulations. FRA acknowledges that it has permitted the weldment 
of certain safety appliances or their brackets and supports on 
locomotives and tanks cars. See MP&E Technical Bulletins 98-48 and 00-
06. Although, FRA intends for this safety inquiry and technical 
conference to address and discuss FRA's general prohibition on the 
weldment of safety appliances or their supports, FRA expects the 
primary focus of this proceeding to be specifically directed at the 
safety and economic implications related to the continued operation or 
modification of existing passenger equipment with welded safety 
appliances or safety appliance brackets or supports.
    Although FRA has remained consistent in its prohibition on the 
weldment of safety appliances and their supports, some passenger 
equipment has been manufactured and used in revenue service for a 
number of years with safety appliances being attached to the car body 
with some form of weldment. Currently, FRA is aware of approximately 
1,000 passenger cars or locomotives that have safety appliances or 
safety appliance brackets or supports welded to the body of the 
equipment. Some units of this equipment were introduced into service 
within the last few years; others have been in service for more than a 
decade. Some of the 1,000 units noted above have been the subject of 
formal waiver requests pursuant to the provisions contained in 49 CFR 
part 211. See FRA Docket Nos. 2000-8588 and 2000-8044. Although FRA's 
Safety Board has issued determinations in these two instances, FRA 
intends to stay those decisions until the completion of this informal 
safety inquiry. Based on its review of the information gathered during 
this inquiry and any other relevant information, FRA's Safety Board may 
reaffirm its previous decisions in these two waiver proceedings or 
modify them as necessary.
    Based on the foregoing information, FRA expects the focus of the 
discussions at the technical conference and written comments submitted 
in connection with this informal safety inquiry to include the 
following issues:
    [sbull] The safety implications related to the continued use of 
existing passenger equipment with welded safety appliances or supports;
    [sbull] Criteria for determining when an existing piece of 
passenger equipment with a welded appliance or support is defective or 
unsafe or both;
    [sbull] The economic implications of any type of modification 
program on the subject cars;
    [sbull] Alternative approaches to mandatory modification of 
existing equipment (e.g., notification of when the appliances become or 
replacement of the appliances when they become defective; mid-life 
over-hauls) and the economic implication of any suggested approach;
    [sbull] The safety implications and standards that should and could 
be addressed, were FRA to reconsider its long-standing administrative 
interpretation related to the weldment of safety appliances and their 
supports, such as:

--What part or parts of an appliance should FRA allow to be welded 
(e.g., just brackets and supports)?
--To what base structure or material should these have to be welded 
(e.g., structural member, car sheathing)?
--What quality control standards should apply to the welding process?
--What qualifications/training should the individual performing the 
welding need to possess?
--How should field or shop repairs or both be conducted on equipment 
with welded safety appliances or supports?
--What are the safety implications of allowing such repairs?
--When should a weld be considered defective?
--What visual and non-destructive inspection techniques are appropriate 
for welds?
--At what interval should welds be inspected?
--What records, if any, should be maintained of these inspections?

    [sbull] Other relevant issues or information.

Public Participation Procedures

    Any person wishing to attend the technical conference should notify 
FRA's Docket Clerk by mail at the address provided in the ADDRESSES 
section at least five working days prior to the date of the meeting and 
submit three copies of the issues or materials they wish to present at 
the conference. The notification should identify the party the person 
represents, and the particular subject(s) the person plans to address. 
The notification should also provide the Docket Clerk with the 
participant's mailing address. FRA reserves the right to limit 
participation in the conference of persons who fail to provide such 
notification.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 2, 2003.
George A. Gavalla,
Associate Administrator for Safety.
[FR Doc. 03-11457 Filed 5-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P